Your phone is about to stop being yours.
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@UrbanCityCowboy Oh no! I have their new model here for review, as well...
What gives you this impression?
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@TeflonTrout @lproven That looks pretty good.
Does it run a (custom) ROM that won't be affected by Google's restrictions later this year?
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Alternatives!
Multiple companies will sell you a brand new phone with a de-Googled Android or a non-Android OS.
De-Googled Android phones:
Murena… https://murena.com/
Fairphone… https://www.fairphone.com/
FXtec… https://store.fxtec.com/
Punkt… https://www.punkt.ch/products/mc03-premium-secure-smartphone
Volla… https://volla.online/en/index.php
Not to be confused with…
Jolla… https://jolla.com/
Furilabs… https://furilabs.com/
Purism… https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
The last 3 are pure Linux phones which do not run OSes derived from Android, but they can all run an Android VM or container and so allow you to install and use Android apps.
This is *not* an exhaustive list. They are just ones I know of or have tried.
If I missed anyone out, please, let me know.
Not forgetting one or more forthcoming Motorola ones.
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@goodenough They got rid of that a decade ago...
Google is 20, Chrome is 10, and Microsoft would rather ignore the Nokia deal's 5th birthday
Party poppers in Mountain View, party poopers in Redmond
theregister (www.theregister.com)
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@codemonkeymike @antonproitzelhaimer @gbsills @lproven There are Linux phones?
@InkySchwartz @codemonkeymike @gbsills @lproven
Yes, there -are: e. g. : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone
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Alternatives!
Multiple companies will sell you a brand new phone with a de-Googled Android or a non-Android OS.
De-Googled Android phones:
Murena… https://murena.com/
Fairphone… https://www.fairphone.com/
FXtec… https://store.fxtec.com/
Punkt… https://www.punkt.ch/products/mc03-premium-secure-smartphone
Volla… https://volla.online/en/index.php
Not to be confused with…
Jolla… https://jolla.com/
Furilabs… https://furilabs.com/
Purism… https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
The last 3 are pure Linux phones which do not run OSes derived from Android, but they can all run an Android VM or container and so allow you to install and use Android apps.
This is *not* an exhaustive list. They are just ones I know of or have tried.
If I missed anyone out, please, let me know.
@lproven This is very helpful. Normally I update my phone on an extremely slow schedule, because I don't need the newest things (or their cost) and the world doesn't need excessive e-waste. I'm feeling very nervous and frustrated about trying to keep my Note20 Ultra in service as Google changes the rules of its use out from under me on a September deadline.
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@lproven how about forking AOSP? Not sure if that is even viable or doable, just curious to see what the thoughts are about that.
@dezon Kind of what all the de-Googled Android vendors do right now...
And Google is trying to make it more difficult:
AOSP on a diet plan as Google halves Android code drops
: Two a year is for your own good, Mountain View insists
theregister (www.theregister.com)
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@ottercynical @lopta @lproven Then, horrid as Google's ideas are, there are no alternatives.
We need to attack the root cause of this.
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As far as I can tell, they don't sell phones with PostmarketOS installed. They sell the Pro Explorer with SailfishOS installed, and they *don't* sell (
because it's out of stock) the Beta with Manjaro installed.I don't doubt people can install Postmarket themselves, I was just wondering if anyone sells phones with it *already* installed.
@klu9 @jackdaniel @lproven are you talking new phones only or would second hand phones be acceptable? After all postmarketOS was originally designed just for old devices.
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@klu9 @jackdaniel @lproven are you talking new phones only or would second hand phones be acceptable? After all postmarketOS was originally designed just for old devices.
2nd hand acceptable
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2nd hand acceptable
@klu9 I guess that would be easy enough to do, though there aren't many phones that are "fully" supported yet. I'd do it but I'm in one of the most remote places on Earth when it comes to shipping things in and out, Australia... @jackdaniel @lproven
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@ottercynical @lopta @lproven Oh, yes. The RCA of *this* goes much deeper.
(Who on earth even thought connecting a glucose monitor to an *American cloud-based app* was a good idea to start with? Let's see .... )
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Your phone is about to stop being yours.
Keep Android Open
Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.
(keepandroidopen.org)
125 days until lockdown
Starting September 2026, a silent update, nonconsensually pushed by Google, will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google, signed their contract, paid up, and handed over government ID.
Every app and every device, worldwide, with no opt-out.
@lproven
Everyone to use degoogled Android then? -
Your phone is about to stop being yours.
Keep Android Open
Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.
(keepandroidopen.org)
125 days until lockdown
Starting September 2026, a silent update, nonconsensually pushed by Google, will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google, signed their contract, paid up, and handed over government ID.
Every app and every device, worldwide, with no opt-out.
-
Your phone is about to stop being yours.
Keep Android Open
Your phone is about to stop being yours. In September 2026, Google will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with them.
(keepandroidopen.org)
125 days until lockdown
Starting September 2026, a silent update, nonconsensually pushed by Google, will block every Android app whose developer hasn't registered with Google, signed their contract, paid up, and handed over government ID.
Every app and every device, worldwide, with no opt-out.
FWIW I turned my list of alternatives into an article. It's here:
Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone
Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone
: Both Cupertino and Google are imposing ever stricter limits on their phones – but you have alternatives
theregister (www.theregister.com)
Both Cupertino and Mountain View are imposing ever stricter limits on their phones – but you *do* have alternatives
<- by me on @theregister
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Spycrab, no you can't. Read the page carefully, it explicitly tells you that it won't work.
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@EricBono @theregister I've never tried either myself, TBH, so I can't even guess. Ask them?
The modern Punkt phone (review coming soon!) offers to preload the Protonmail client apps, so I'm guessing yes.
And if they run on that, that suggests they'll run on anything? Maybe? -
@EricBono @lproven @theregister on #SailfishOS I use hydroxide to bridge mail to the native email client. A bit hacky, but works.
It's been a while, but the last time I tried the Tuta Android client worked.
GitHub - emersion/hydroxide: A third-party, open-source ProtonMail CardDAV, IMAP and SMTP bridge
A third-party, open-source ProtonMail CardDAV, IMAP and SMTP bridge - emersion/hydroxide
GitHub (github.com)
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@InkySchwartz @codemonkeymike @gbsills @lproven
Yes, there -are: e. g. : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone
@antonproitzelhaimer @codemonkeymike @gbsills @lproven Fair, but that's pretty expensive for most people.
We need well priced, reliable, and repairable tech. And the best I seem to be able to do is try to find a oneplus nord n100 and then mod it to run on an established linux/unix os. Which is very afforadable for me but requires me to operate beyond the bleeding edge of my ability. And is a 4 year old phone with a built in battery, no 5G, and an uncertain repair environment. Sigh.
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@dezon Kind of what all the de-Googled Android vendors do right now...
And Google is trying to make it more difficult:
AOSP on a diet plan as Google halves Android code drops
: Two a year is for your own good, Mountain View insists
theregister (www.theregister.com)
@lproven yes, I am actually using one of those: GrapheneOS. Still I am curious if these kind of actions can't be stopped by such projects. Installing an APK should be possible, how to circumvent these kind of checks. What would it require. No Google Play Services? Couldn't those kind of checks be prohibited by firewalling or substituting those locally. So many questions, so less knowledge about this specific threat.
