Comment on Looking to get a new phone with FOSS on it. What should I look into?
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
So there is a bit of a situation going on rn…
Google is going evil mode on locking down android devices to disallow sideloading. I think its fair to assume that this might end up also affecting bootloader unlocking for future pixel devices and even future firmware versions for older devices.
That being said i would generally not recommend pixels anyways because they are just not very repairable. Not having a swappable battery or even an SD card slot is just a hard blocker for me.
Fairphones are not cheap but also not super expensive, if bought used, so if thats an option for you then i would go for that. A used FP5 goes for ~400€ or less if you get lucky. The FP6 just came out so the 5 dropped in price.
In terms of OS, only pixels support GrapheneOS but i assume you knew that already. The Fairphones are supported by LineageOS, e/os, Ubuntu Touch and more. Until recently i would have recommended CalyxOS but the development on that has been paused until further notice so its not a good idea.
Hope that answered some of your questions :)
awaysaway@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
super helpful reply, thanks for sharing!
could you point to any TLDR on OS options for fairphones?
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
This kinda thing? forum.fairphone.com/t/…/11425
At the moment im still running CalyxOS on my FP4 because the issue i mentioned in my last comment was announced fairly recently.
If development on CalyxOS continue i would very much recommend it above all the other options.
If i decide to switch im gonna be trying out Ubuntu Touch for the first time soon. Ubuntu touch is a custom linux based OS that comes with waydroid which allows the device to run android apps in a sandbox. I havent tested this yet but from what i have seen it seems pretty nice.
For all the android ROMs (most of them being based on LineageOS) one important thing to consider is if they do OTA (over the air = self installing) updates. Some ROMs dont do this so you would have to manually flash updates through a computer+cable.
Some more info here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LineageOS#Forks