I broke my phone a few months ago and I hadn’t use a phone since I didn’t need it until now. I’m willing to buy one that’s around under 500$. I’m thinking of getting google pixel maybe, any recommendations?

  • jazzfes@lemmy.ml
    19·
    3 years ago

    I can fully recommend a Fairphone 3+. I’m using one now for a few months and it’s great!

    Excellent battery life of around two days. Installing lineageos took maybe 10 minutes. And I haven’t noticed any bugs.

    Since all bloat is removed it’s super quick. On top of this, you can get replacement parts and easily screw them in. No glue, no heat guns, or heat plates. Battery is also replaceable.

    I also like the ethics in their procurement.

    Check it out:

    https://www.fairphone.com/en/

    On top, you don’t end up giving your money to Google.

    • Gwynne@lemmy.mlOP
      5·
      3 years ago

      woah. you can replace the camera and It’s not bad at all. for privacy what’s the benefits of using this phone?

      • Ephera@lemmy.ml
        9·
        3 years ago

        It’s well-supported by LineageOS and will probably remain supported for longer than most other phones. That’s the only benefit that I’m aware of, but that makes it already better than like 99% of phones on the market.

        • jazzfes@lemmy.ml
          4·
          3 years ago

          Well yes! It is dead easy to have a de-googled phone. You can then do all the things in firefox etc. you do to enhance privacy. Install apps via F-Droid store (open source apps only). Some VPN provider have their apps on F-Droid as well.

          If you still need some level of Google services, I suppose you could install MicroG. I haven’t tried that though.

      • Jama@lemmy.ml
        3·
        3 years ago

        No privacy nightmare ui (like miui) and no bloat or privacy invasive apps (no Facebook preinstalled and suchlike). And if you ever want to switch to a degoogled phone using microg it will be easy (a degoogled phone means of course Google will not be able to spy on your notifications, locations, apps, etc.). You can try to check /e/ system phones, or iodè phones too (both degoogles), but you really need to know what you’re doing and which of the apps you use will not work (those are rare, but exist)

        • jazzfes@lemmy.ml
          3·
          3 years ago

          Just a nitpick:

          microg is optional mostly. You can install most apps from the playstore via e.g. Aurora store. However if you don’t have microg or something similar, some of the propriety ones won’t work.

          I rarely run into an issue with this, and I’m using LineageOS without microg or similar for many years. The only issue that was a bit annoying was the local contact tracing app, which didn’t work and which, for a moment, made me think I may not be able to visit a sports game… turned out well though and didn’t need the app to get in :)

          • Eldbogi@lemmy.ml
            3·
            3 years ago

            Yeah the only reason I’m using mircog is that it’s needed for notifications for some apps that I use.

    • Gwynne@lemmy.mlOP
      4·
      3 years ago

      I would use an old phone anytime if It’s better for privacy. but battery life is important too for usability, I don’t think those old batteries will last…

      • dandelion@lemmy.ml
        3·
        3 years ago

        Maybe that is correct, but you can still buy new batteries for those models and swap them (unlike with most new phones) and on the second hand markets these phones are so cheap that you could buy another one so you can use it to charge an empty battery, after putting the other full battery in the main phone. If you would want to go full Libre mode, I think they (tehnoetic.com) would remove the wifi adapter and you would have to use a usb dongle for WiFi.

  • AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml
    4·
    3 years ago

    IMO, for a balance between usability and privacy, most Android phone with the ability to unlock the bootloader and has good AOSP ROM support will be a good choice. /e/ OS seems like a good un-Googled choice for most phones, unless you have a Pixel:

    Pixel with GrapheneOS will be more security focused and is generally considered the best choice security wise among new Android phones. Caveat is that Graphene takes a fair chunk of your performance and trades it for software hardening, and more importantly, you’re giving money straight to Google.

    Other options include pure Linux phones, like the Pinephone or the Librem, but those are effectively still in alpha, so expect little in the way of app choices and an unstable OS.

  • ugh... lo!@lemmy.ml
    97·
    3 years ago

    The GrapheneOS is the only good security solution on phones right now, so check their website for supported models.

    Some time ago I bought Pixel 3XL (used, not new) for pretty good price, so I suppose your budget is OK for that

    • Cuppingmustard@lemmy.ml
      2·
      3 years ago

      For what its worth, been using graphene for two months now on a pixel 5 and I’m still amazed by how well it works. Can only second this path as someone who is really focused on privacy and security. There are a few inconveniences (updates, app availability, gpush services etc) but those are all very worth it for me to sacrifice in order to be secure and private. I don’t think you’ll regret. Tons of second hand (new) phones on the market where I come from so should be easy to get going

      • ugh... lo!@lemmy.ml
        53·
        3 years ago

        Privacy can be controlled on application level, but there are a lot of system stuff that user can’t change and the best solution for system is GrapheneOS in terms of security, as I said in first comment.

        Google is evil, no question about that, but Google is just a brand / label on the phone. Ironically, but most secure and privacy-friendly phone is Google Pixel without Google

        As for privacy, any phone capable of running lineageos is fine, but lacks security

          • ugh... lo!@lemmy.ml
            22·
            3 years ago

            OK, has any xiaomi phone audited by anybody?

            What about proprietary hardware of all other vendors?

            I’m not trying to say that pixel is perfect or something, I think whole mobile market is a proprietary shit, tbh. But you need phone anyway, so IMT just trying to tell that pixel smells less that xiaomi, Asus or anything else

              • ugh... lo!@lemmy.ml
                3·
                3 years ago

                I’m not from USA and “cultism” is not for me, I’m enthusiast of open source and don’t trust proprietary software and hardware. Sadly, but there is no 100% hardware ready for end-users, so I’m just trying to find a balance.

                Btw, any device has proprietary “security” components, so it’s all about “smells less”, not " trusted one".

                My own opinion - GrapheneOS is good one, using it on Pixel devices is a trade-off.

                Anyway, that thread comes to holywar and I don’t want to take part in it, my arguments and thoughts you can find in comments above, if you disagree with them - OK, I’m fine with it. Just shared my thoughts

    • Gwynne@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      3 years ago

      security? well, do you know if there is any spyware or such like that in that phone? I don’t use gapps

            • Gwynne@lemmy.mlOP
              1·
              3 years ago

              I think I’ll buy a pixel then, I’m a bit too cautious so can I ask which model pixel do you own?

              • linkert@lemmy.ml
                4·
                3 years ago

                I run GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel 3 (secondhand). It’s a nice phone - made sure to extract the GCamera app in order to keep the camera app that actually works to the cameras full potential.

                Other than that I just want to express my red hot hatred for all established mobile OSes. Its all crapware.

      • Jama@lemmy.ml
        2·
        3 years ago

        It’s not an easy solution. GrapheneOS is really good, but you need to be sure you will not need Google service and NEITHER MicroG, because those aren’t supported by GrapheneOS

        • Gwynne@lemmy.mlOP
          2·
          3 years ago

          Do you reaaally need google apps? It’s good that I don’t even have to option to use crapware like whatsapp. forcing people to talk to me through matrix

          • Jama@lemmy.ml
            2·
            3 years ago

            I don’t need any Google apps, and luckily I don’t need WhatsApp either, but some apps I use (like my goddamn bank) need Google services, and for this I rely on MicroG

    • carribean prole@lemmy.ml
      1·
      3 years ago

      reading the comments, there’s definitely some GrapheneOS hate based on the developers behavior mostly, IMO whether or not the dev is an asshole doesn’t mean it isn’t a solid ROM, just like i don’t agree with Lemmy admins politics (me being an anarchist) i can still recognize this is a valuable platform worthy of support.

      One criticism is that GrapheneOS only supports the Pixel line, these phones are google and have shitty screens, no headphone jacks and only one i know has an SD card slot, that’s my main issue, on the idea of ‘google hardware’ being evil, it’s possible there are hardware backdoors similar to ME, this is true of pretty much any phone.

      Another criticism is that Graphene doesn’t support any kind of GAPPs, personally this is a plus for me, GAPPs, even MicroG present a huge privacy risk, but some people need GAPPs for whatever reason, an alternative security focused OS that does suppor GAPPs is CalyxOS https://calyxos.org

      LineageOS is usually my Go To as it supports a wide variety of phones, but there are issues depending on model, as many devices are marked ‘officially supported’ when they are still very unstable or sparsely maintained, LineageOS doesn’t generally get the same kernel patches and necessary security updates that GrapheneOS/CalyxOS does, so these two are preferable if security/privacy are high priority. If you just want a googless phone with reasonable security/privacy, especially if you have an old phone you’d like to breath new life into. Lineage will probably be fine.

      https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

  • Antonama@lemmy.ml
    22·
    3 years ago

    I have a pixel 4 running linegage. Its one of the most secure you can get

  • copacetic@lemmy.ml
    33·
    3 years ago

    I just bought a used iPhone SE 2020 for 300€. The screen of my old Pixel 2 broke and its support ran out recently. Still a great phone otherwise. As a long-term Android user I miss a few things like SyncThing on iOS. However, with a strong focus on privacy, I’d say iOS wins over Android.

      • copacetic@lemmy.ml
        3·
        3 years ago

        I’m thinking in incentives a lot.

        • Apple wins if I buy more Apple stuff, so they are incentivized to pull me into their ecosystem. This means they will neglect integration with non-Apple services.
        • Google wins if I click on more ads, so they are incentivized to show me more desirable ads. Getting private data is crucial for this.

        If you are willing to go through the hassle of flashing your own OS, then buying Android hardware is the way. However, if you just want to buy something that works out of the box as much as possible, then Apple wins the privacy aspect in my opinion.

      • AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml
        3·
        3 years ago

        Also, Apple will just decide one day that your phone is no longer worthy and you won’t be able to install or update any apps. People rag on Android for having crappy long-term support, which is still fair IMO, but they seem to ignore the fact that really old Android devices can still run a lot of the newer apps, and alternative ROMs/PostMarket OS can provide an up to date OS well after official support ends.