I have had my ZFold 4 going on 3 years now. The battery is degrading significantly and the factory screen protector is peeling off.
Google has been shitting the bed; lately it is much worse and unlikely to get better.
I’m looking to alternatives; it looks like google pixels are the most recommended (GrapheneOS, Lineage, e/OS); I am not happy about supporting Google, so will not buy new.
I wish there was a real alternative; Jolla and fairphone don’t ship to my country, purism is far too US centric.
What to do…
Jolla and fairphone don’t ship to my country
When frame.work still wasn’t shipping to my country I just used a mail forwarder and it wasn’t very expensive (depends on the weight of the package)
GrapheneOS is rumoured to be working with an OEM to have a branded GOS phone. No word as yet of the status of this partnership. If you can wait you may be able to have GOS without a Pixel.
Buy a used pixel…
yep, get a used pixel and put grapheneos on it.
I have a Pixel 6 series that is end of life soon, I’ll probably get one of the Pixel 9’s that will get me security updates through 2031 if the phone doesn’t break by then.
Edit: if OP hasn’t heard, GrapheneOS team revealed … that they are collaborating with a mainstream Android device manufacturer (OEM) to provide official system support for some of the manufacturer’s future devices.
So buy a used pixel for now, one that will get security updates for a few years, and hope that the new non-google manufacturer starts selling the grapheneOS approved device by the time you’re ready to replace the used pixel.
There’s a lot of info direct from grapheneOS here in this reddit thread, they said 2026 or 2027 for the release of the new non-google phone.
Make sure you have full permission. I have a Pixel7a. I was able to enable OEM permissions, but cannot put graphineOS on my phone because it’s carrier locked (US).
I’ve been looking at the Linux phones, I hope to get one one day.
if OP hasn’t heard, GrapheneOS team revealed … that they are collaborating with a mainstream Android device manufacturer (OEM) to provide official system support for some of the manufacturer’s future devices.
That article is very low on detail. 🤷
And whenever Graphene OS is mentioned, one must also mention its leader (first lead dev, now director) Daniel Micay. Personally I think he’s mentally unwell. For many years he’s been attacking even the mildest critique in the most vicious ways, and ultimately - even if the code itself were genius - I cannot trust an OS developed by such a person. If you don’t believe me, watch this Louis Rossman video.
even if the code itself were genius - I cannot trust an OS developed by such a person.
One can legitimately argue that Daniel’s paranoia is the reason GOS is so locked down.
I am not happy about supporting Google, so will not buy new.
I very much support that decision. The used phone market is overflowing and you can get yesterday’s favorite for a fraction of the price. Choose which OS you want to flash first, then search for compatible devices.
Jolla and fairphone don’t ship to my country
I might still suggest SailfishOS; it is possible to install on select Sony Xperia devices, most notably the X10 II and X10 III. The upcoming J2 will be beefy. There are some US American users, check out the forums.
There’s also Ubuntu Touch.
Jolla and fairphone don’t ship to my country
Which country? Someone I know well had a Fairphone shipped to a country where it does ship then brought it back home to a country where it doesn’t, and it works absolutely fine. Check the supported bands beforehand, but maybe there’s somewhere you can ship it to or some service that can forward it to where you live?
Recently I bought a phone that was only released in India via eBay. It worked well. I just needed a <5€ wall plug adapter for the charger.
I live in New Zealand…this happens with a lot of stuff.
You can look through the lists of compatible devices for Lineage or e/OS and do you shopping from there as they have larger lists of compatible phones. Pixels and Graphine are sort of locked together, but there’s a lot more options with other OSes.
https://lineagephones.com/lineageos-devices/ https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/ https://doc.e.foundation/devices
Not all phones allow installs or run the OS the same way - pick maybe 2 or 3 or 4 options you like (go into a store or anywhere that you can handle a physical device as part of this) and then look at your install steps and check to see if people say online they have problems with that phone a lot. I suggest avoiding Samsung as they contain a small fuse that burns out when you root the phone and once rooted, you can never un-root the phone and go back to zero if you find that apps you need pitch a fit about a rooted phone.
I suggest avoiding Samsung as they contain a small fuse that burns out when you root the phone
Clarification: Samsung doesn’t add a fuse to the motherboard here - this is built into the die.
Incredibly common in semiconductors for all sorts of uses, most often for one-time programmable ROM chips (not used as an actual fuse, rather to etch specific data that can’t be erased or overwritten). Pretty cool little things.
Google pixel phones are crap. I had to get rid kf my 6a because of a dangerou battery.
O dont have an alternative to offer as I bought the fairphone 6 (which im very happy with). Hooefully they will expand beyond Europe soon. They’ve just started selling their ear buds in the USA via a partner company for example.
