Recently I’ve been looking for a phone that will allow me to install an google-free OS. I’ve never installed a different OS on a phone before. I’ve been looking online but haven’t really found a clearly best option.
Problem with standard recommendation
From what I’ve read GrapheneOS seems the best alternative OS. Unfortunately they only support the Pixel devices. I want to have local, offline access to my files (e.g. music files, documents) and don’t want to be dependent on cloud services. The Pixel with the most storage comes with only 256GB and no slot for an SD card.
Possible options
There are some other routes that may be feasible that I’ve listed here.
Fairphone 6
- No USB 3
- Pricey for what you get, both in terms of hardware and in terms of fairness, at least according to this post).
- It has an SD card slot
- You can order it with e/os installed, very convenient
- No GrapheneOS
Fairphone 5
- According to this post, the FP6 is a lot snappier
- Not significantly cheaper than the FP6
- It does come with USB 3
- It has an SD card slot
- Can also order this with e/os.
- No GrapheneOS
Sony
According to the Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame Sony isn’t the worst of the bunch.
- Many Sony’s from the LineageOS list of compatible devices have an SD card slot
- Have to install the OS yourself
- No GrapheneOS
Pixel
Get a refurbished Pixel anyways and get a separate dumb MP3 player for music.
- Might be an option but 256GB is still cutting it tight with what I want to have available offline.
- The 256GB option is a lot more expensive than the 128GB option compared to the cost of a 128GB SD card
- Extra costs from buying the extra MP3 player
- Have to install the OS yourself
- Can install GrapheneOS
DumbPhone:
Get a dumbphone for calls, texting, banking, govt stuff, 2FA app, and music listening. Have a separate linux phone for all the other stuff.
- Not sure how privacy friendly the dumbphones are, might still be using Google Play services?
- Two devices instead of one to carry around
- Extra costs for two devices
- Tinkering with a linux phone could be a fun project
Bonus option: don’t get the linux phone
- Less screen time
- Only 1 device to buy/carry
- Can’t go on the internet while traveling
Questions
- What would be your recommendation that allows plenty of storage on the phone?
- Do you have good/bad experiences with any of these phones/operation systems?
- Are there any good options I’ve missed?
I have a Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS that used to be my daily driver. It’s nice, but I’m trying to move away from doing everything on an Android or iOS smartphone, so I’m going the multi-device route. I still use my Pixel for banking apps on wifi at home and as a Briar server.
I got a OnePlus 6 to install Linux on because it’s one of the more well-supported options and I got it on eBay for $80. It works okay, but doesn’t check enough boxes to replace any devices. I’m waiting on an MNT Pocket Reform computer that I hope can be a better, albeit more bulky option.
I got a Mudita Kompakt as my phone primarily because of the switch that can cut power to the GSM module and the 4-day battery life. It’s slow, but calling, texting, and Signal work fine on it. I use it with a $10/month 30GB/month T-Mobile data-only plan and a VoIP phone through JMP. chat.
I use a digital camera for photography and a Tangara music player.
I got a physical transit pass to not need a smartphone for that.
When the PocketMage kit becomes available, I hope to offload notes and calendar to that. I’m also playing with replacing other smartphone functionality with a Meshtastic or NomadNet bot hosted on a server at home combined with a T-Deck LoRa device for things like live transit schedules and weather forecasts.
It is a lot of different devices that take up a significantly larger volume and are heavier, but what I’ve found is that I don’t need all of them all of the time and more often than not I still just have the Mudita Kompakt in my pocket.
I’ve an old OP7T, with 512gb. Only thing is security is no longer updated. Installing Linux is fun, sure, but security is lacking because the hardware vendors no longer updates the drivers. Meaning big security holes. At least this is my understanding, or the thing could act as cloud storage, or at least local storage.
Thanks a bunch for this great overview. Looks like you keep up with open hardware. The multi-device route is something I’m considering as well, e.g. going to the gym with only an mp3 player, having a separate navigation device, etc.
The Tangara music player looks awesome, unfortunately they’re currently not available (according to this). Do you know of any other cool open hardware devices that are worth checking out?
Had a look at the Mudita Kompakt, never heard of it before. Love the idea of a minimalist eink phone. You say it’s slow, is that because of the eink display? Is it slow also when texting/using Signal or only when using more intensive apps? Do you know if the OS is open source? It looks like they have Mudita OS open sourced, but that it’s not used in the Mudita Kompakt.
Yeah I heard the Tangara team is taking a break. Hopefully they’ll start back up soon.
The other open hardware devices that I’m excited for are the Precursor once it gets more functionality and the Teufel MYND once it’s available in the US. There is, unfortunately, a lot of stuff out there that claims to be open hardware, but isn’t released under an open license or any license at all, and true open hardware end-user devices are few and far between.
The CPU on the Mudita Kompakt is a huge part of what makes it slow. There is definitely latency in Signal because of that. The OS is not open source and it’s pretty infuriating. There was an opportunity to create a device that the open source and security communitirs could rally around. Instead they decided to focus on pseudo-science and “wellness”, which is incredibly unfortunate.