*In terms of privacy, customisation, camera quality, and battery time.
For the longest time I have only used either iPhone or Samsung. I plan on switching to Android for the next phone I get, but I find that Samsung phones are often too big for me and put too much energy on camera quality (I don’t take many photos). I have started to look into brands such as Nokia and Motorola, and I would like to know what you guys think of them. Additionally, do you suggest any other phone brands aside from them? My biggest priorities are privacy and long battery time. Bonus if the phone can run LineageOS (I have excluded Graphene as they are only compatible with Pixel phones).
Thank you for any answers. Cheers!
Xiaomi and Oneplus have some battery beasts of phones.
As I usually unlock bootloader, I just buy cheap Chinese phones from around 100 bucks, right now I’m using a FreeYond M5 5G. Debloated and rooted. Working like a charm.
Edit: I prefer Motorola over Nokia.
Why exclude GrapheneOS? It’s a really good mobile OS, and the creator has given his reasons for only supporting Pixels.
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Are you good bro? You’re putting a LOT of words in somebody else’s mouth and your sources here don’t really back up your argument
If you mention Graph<nospam>eneOS, you summon him. Check his history
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xiaomi has awesome hardware, audio jack, sd slot, even ir blaster.
their privacy policy is bad, but a lot of them have official lineageos (and microg-patched lineage) and it works really really well.
Currently in the process of installing Lineageos on my brothers redmi note 10 pro.
Its a huge pain compared to my phone, mainly because unlocking the bootloader requires an account with his number connected. Then I had to install Windows to use their shitty unlock app, which the requires you to wait up to 30 days for seemingly no reason. Luckily “just” a week for us.
But yeah the hardware is amazing.
yes the unlock process is obtuse as fuck! they do something similar to samsung and their RMM bullshit of having to wait.
luckily after its done they wont bother you again.
Until their cheap manufacturing quality makes them stop working because of a motherboard failure
chinese electronics have come a long way, if you dont get them from the dollar store that is
Check out the Poco X3 Pro motherboard failure, and this is a common issue in a lot of Poco and Redmi phones, the only one that are worth it are the high ends Mi devices, and at that price point you can just buy a Pixel phone
Its actually so good that the redmi note 8 (with lineageos-mucrog) I had before performed basically the same as my pixel 6a
Samsung Ultra all the way. It has top of the world hardware, software support
AND I can customize my phone the way I want.
I like fairphone the best out of all the ones that are currently available, however, my next phone will be a Pixel 8A because grapheneos doesn’t support fairphone
Also no plans to support it. It meets their requirement of long support.
Me too fairphone for the repairability of it and long update support.
Fairphone 4 user here, i love it. but ghost touch keeps coming back, i’m on my second screen now.
Same problem with ghost touch here lol
they’ll send you a replacement, but they take weeks to reply
The irony of using Android is that if you want privacy and security you’ll have to buy a Pixel phone. Everything else is either less secure or harder to install alternative systems.
Why is this a problem? Buy one used if buying from Google is a problem. Then flash.
This irony shows the superiority of Google.
They monopolize without having intention of monopoly.
It’s admirable
In that case, would you not recommend Motorola? I’m not very well versed on their terms of privacy, and I really like the way they look and how seemingly good the battery is, but if it’s considered unsafe or full of malware then I might need to look other ways.
The problem is that GrapheneOS really, truly, actually is the only way to get even reasonable levels of privacy on a mobile device right now.
That sounds so much like a shill statement, and it seems that way from others too I’m sure. But its true. If you understand anything at all that happens under the hood of an operating system and android in general, GrapheneOS is the ONLY option for actual privacy and security. And the unfortunate part, is that only Pixels are supported by this.
And the unfortunate part, is that only Pixels are supported by this.
Because unlike the Fairphone guys google actually plays fairly and builds a decent phone with security in mind.
I will read more into this, but it sounds reasonable. If I were to get a Pixel, is there any particular model I should get or does it not matter? Does Graphene support all models?
GrapheneOS supports recent Pixels. I think right now they are supporting the 5a and later, with legacy and extended support back to the 4.
In general, they stop providing updates when Google does. Check both to be sure, but newer is better if you want longer support.
I’m going Google will launch a Pixel 8a in a couple months so I can either get it or the 8 at a discount.
For posterity and nuance, here’s the answer from their site: Which devices are supported? but you’re right for the most part.
Read this: https://grapheneos.org/faq#device-support
Unlike others, Graphene has very strict requirements when it comes to devices to ensure you’re safe.
As usual if you’re looking to have any security (Verified boot) GrapheneOS + Pixel phone is the only options. I really don’t get it how come people in places like this are okay with having a phone with all their personal data and logins without verified boot. Stolen / lost phone and game over.
Calyx, for instance, isn’t as good as GrapheneOS, they do a lot of snitching on you (including to Google and Mozilla) and they overlook critical details such as this one allowing the OS to contact 3rd parties such as Qualcomm.
Other phone brands, let’s say Fairphone just don’t make thing right. Fairphone guys have been petitioned multiples times to open their platform and/or collaborate with projects such as GrapheneOS and CalyxOS so user can have private and secure phones but they don’t care.
CalyxOS does support the Fairphone 4 however that’s only due to the persistence and reverse engineering efforts of the CalyxOS project / community. If you decide to use it you won’t have a secure bootloader anymore due to a bug in Fairphone’s firmware that they choose not to fix. That’s how “fair” the “Fairphone” really is.
Here is more relevant information for you from here:
XTRA is technology offered by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. in the US and QT Technologies Ireland Limited in the European Economic Area to improve mobile device performance. XTRA downloads a data file from Qualcomm containing the predicted orbits of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites. Using the XTRA data file reduces the time the device needs to calculate its location, thus saving time and battery power when using location-based applications. Newer versions of the XTRA software also upload a small amount of data to us. We use the uploaded data for purposes described in this Policy, such as maintaining and improving the quality, security, and integrity of the service. XTRA uploads the following data types: a randomly generated unique ID, the chipset name and serial number, XTRA software version, the mobile country code and network code (allowing identification of country and wireless operator), the type of operating system and version, device make and model, the time since the last boot of the application processor and modem, and a list of our software on the device
Before you say this is the CPU’s fault, it isn’t, at least on its own. GrapheneOS also deals with this kind of stuff and has patches and options so you can block it.
Calyx does a lot of snitching on you
That is certainly over dramatic for what is in that article. All they do with Google is trivial things like updating your systems internal clock. A large portion of what is in that article is able to be disabled and prevented by not using Micro-G.
There seems to be massive beef and drama between Calyx and Graphene communities, I have no idea what any of that is about, but this dramatization doesn’t help.
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I can’t speak for privacy interworkings but Motorola makes it very easy to unlock the bootloader. I’m a fan of Xiaomi as well but my current Motorola is doing everything I need it to do and wasn’t expensive at all.
This isn’t about malware, it’s about how much you value your data and how likely it is for a mobile phone to be lost / stolen. GrapheneOS + Pixel phone is the only true option if you want any kind of ensure that even of the device is lost your data won’t be accessed.
Details here: https://lemmy.world/comment/8732695
GrapheneOS + Pixel phone is the only true option if you want any kind of ensure that even of the device is lost your data won’t be accessed.
I think that’s an exaggeration. You don’t need secure boot for your data to be encrypted. What secure boot prevents is someone modifying the device without your knowledge (e.g. to capture your keys).
Yes, and if they capture your keys what happens? They get to your data.
I don’t recall it was hard to install IodéOS on a Fairphone 4.
It isn’t, but it isn’t also secure. Your bootloader is easily compromised and people can get to your data in no time.
True, since Fairphone’s focus seems to be on fairness in the hardware. I wish they were better on the software side as well.
I think if Fairphones get GrapheneOS support, it would be a no brainer for many. A phone you can repair yourself, which is fairly produced, with the safety and the absence of Google from GrapheneOS would be a good combo
I think if Fairphones get GrapheneOS support…
Then Fairphone needs to up their hardware security and software support. GrapheneOS has minimum requirements that vendors must meet for GrapheneOS to support them, and Fairphone doesn’t measure up. Only Pixels do, at the moment.
Me too.
Fairphone should also work on the fairness side of things, because they dropped the headphone jack and, with a heavy heart I’m sure, started selling unfair Lithium Earbuds…
Their reasoning was, in part, people who bought their modular repairable phone said it was too big.
OnePlus.
I’d never buy Samsung again, they are full of bloat and make it excessively hard to unlock the bootloader and get root access or install an alternative OS.
Samsung support is also a straight up scam. They’ll lie to your face about how they’re getting ready to send you a replacement, and then ghost you. I hope the feds sue them too but I’m not holding my breath. We filed a complaint with our state’s AG and fuck all came of it.
@viking@infosec.pub @clark@midwest.social
I had multiple OnePlus phones and I still think it’s the best Android phone on the market with great CP. But I am currently using Moto X40, great experience too.
i daily a Fairphone 4, has neither the best camera nor the best battery life. but it’s the most repairable and durable phone i’ve owned.
i’ve had extremely good experieces with oneplus phones, dunno about custom ROM support though.
i’ve also heard good things about modern motorola phones, if the ROM support is there it’s worth a shot imo.
OnePlus 6 and 6T had really broad custom Rom support, it is till now one of the best Phones for linux(pmOS) With some Roms you can even relock the bootloader
I am currently using my almlst 6 year old oneplus6 with lineage OS without any real issues
Did you tried DivestOS? Its my favorite Rom for the op6
Sony. They still have a headphone jack.
Also asus (at least zenphone)
Headphone Jack club
Conair was always my favorite
Not under your specs but the Sony Xperia line offers a headphone jack + microSD, can be unlocked, & has flagship specs (1 & 5). The 5 & 10 models are also smaller devices that actually fit in one hand too. This characteristic combo does not come in the other models folks are suggesting. Older models have LineageOS for microG support if you want an ungoogled phone (but beware the stock camera app is trash).
i loved my XZ2 Compact SO MUCH and then all the carriers in my country simultaneously dropped voice calling support for it. i’m still so salty
Because we need innovation, even if we got on just fine then
casts protect
iPhone
This made me laugh
In regards to stock systems, I agree.
Been stuck in the convenient ecosystem for a while, and I cope by telling myself Apple makes the bulk of its money with hardware and services. Not ads like Google. But if I would start over from zero, I think Graphene OS and Linux would be the way. But migrating the whole family away from our current Apple line up - I dread that challenge.
Eh, you can always start with yourself. Let the rest make their own decisions.
The thing about the Apple experience is that it doesn’t only integrate well among your own devices, but also others. Being isolated from that can be pretty challenging, especially if you are the only one in the family. Unless you come up with a whole marketing concept to make the change seem attractive to other (not techy) family members, you’d be cycling uphill.
Can you be more specific?
I’ve heard this argument, but AFAIK the main things are iMessage and FaceTime. I don’t know about your family, but I generally don’t want FaceTime most of the time. I haven’t used iMessage, but it seems like Signal is a drop in replacement, and the benefits are compatibility with Android and desktop apps for Windows and Linux.
Perhaps the play is to switch one app at a time. That’s what I’m going to try to get ready to leave Android for Linux phones (assuming they’ll be daily-driveable at some point).
There’s the little things like airdrop as well
iMessage and FaceTime are really not that relevant outside the US and, as you said, can be relatively easily replaced by Signal. As another commenter pointed out, it’s more about little things like Airdrop or iCloud’s all around seamlessness that cannot be matched by anything else I’ve tried. Family sharing alone would be a major loss if I were to switch. What Google or Microsoft have to offer in that regard is laughable in comparison (not that they’re any more “private”), and AFAIK, there is no FOSS alternative all of the iCloud family sharing functionality.
Makes sense, thanks for elaborating.
I’ll have to look into the FOSS tools to see what could be a reasonable set of alternatives. Some initial thoughts:
- KDE Connect - connects phone to Linux computer in an interesting way - easy to send files, see SMS, and a couple other things; it’s a bit chunky, but maybe something I could help with
- restic - automatic backup for desktop; pair with Syncthing to automatically keep stuff on your phone synced with your desktop
- Steam now has better family sharing, and you could set something like Plex up to handle video streaming for owned content
But each of these are a bit inconvenient compared to what Apple offers. I’ll think about it some more, and maybe I’ll try building something. My kids will be getting old enough to have phones in a couple years, and I’d really rather avoid Apple’s ecosystem, but their friends will likely all have iPhones so I’ll want a reason for them to prefer something else.
I already use KDE Connect to exchange files with my Linux laptop and it’s not the best, but it’s good enough for the occasional thing.
Steam is not a solution IMO because it locks you in just as much as Apple while being clunky and giving you the illusion of choice. And it’s only for games. Family sharing on Apple products is more than games. If you’ve bought apps or subscriptions, you can share them with family members at no additional cost (if the app opts into that which is disclosed to you very clearly in the App Store). Screen Time is great to block apps above a certain age rating and to restrict or outright block purchases for children. Another thing is location sharing in the Find My app. I know there are many solutions for that, but I just like the UX in the Find My app a lot more.
About the Plex server, I’ve heard they’ve changed their TOS and are now pretty shady or something. Also, if I were to make a server like that, I’d be pirating stuff anyway which I already do through my go-to pseudo-streaming piracy sites.
I could see myself hosting a Synology NAS in the future, but that is still not as convenient or well thought out as the iCloud services tbh.
For Privacy?
Not e2ee. Can be tapped.
Only with physical access, which nowaday nobody does.
I wouldn’t put it past an insurance company.
Nah, just ask the telecoms nicely and they’ll give you whatever stream you want.
