Android without Google is now 100% usable
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- Опубліковано 1 чер 2024
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00:00 Intro
01:07 Sponsor: Secure and monitor your internet connection
02:02 What is /e/ OS?
04:17 What's new in /e/ OS 1.0?
06:28 App Support
08:32 Default apps and cohesiveness
10:01 FairPhone 4 Quick Look
13:36 Install /e/ OS on your smartphone
15:03 Will I move back to /e/ OS?
16:30 Sponsor: Get a 100% Linux compatible device from Tuxedo
17:32 If I was a rich man, lalalalala
They replace the default apps with their own, all based on open source applications, and the launcher with their own iOS like version, but they also remove the connectivity check that calls home to Google, as well as the time servers, they let you change the DNS servers, they remove the Google Play Services and replaced them with Micro G.
They offer users what they call Murena cloud, Murena being the global brand that regroups the OS, the services, and the smartphones they sell.
The Murena team was nice enough to send me a FairPhone 4 as a review unit, running /e/ OS 1.0.
The launcher is still a grid of apps, very iOS like, without an app drawer. Advanced privacy is a feature that lets you hide your IP address, provide a fake location, and denies all trackers. It will show you a graph of all blocked trackers, and you can manage these per app.
Instead of the Google Play Store, you get the App Lounge. It allows you to login anonymously, or using a Google Account, to let you buy paid apps.
I downloaded a bunch of apps, including my banking app, Twitter, Firefox, UA-cam, Game Pass, Freeletics, or UA-cam music, and they all worked flawlessly, as you'd expect.
The App Lounge still retains its privacy ratings, giving a score out of 10 for each app, powered by Exodus Privacy.
In terms of internals, /e/ OS is still based on Lineage 18.1, so it's on Android 11, but it does have all the latest security patches, and gets updated regularly.
I'm less excited about the FairPhone 4. While is absolutely love the mission behind this phone, it doesn't feel like a device that suits my needs.
First, it's pretty heavy, at 228 grams. But it doesn't have high refresh rate, and after using a phone and a tablet, and a PC screen that run at least at 100hz, the return to 60hz is brutal
It uses a snapdragon 750G with 5G support, it has 6 to 8GB of RAM depending on the storage, either 128GB or 256GB. The battery is 3900 mAh, and definitely lasts the whole day without any problems.
The cameras are pretty good, with dual 48MP on the back at F1.6 and F2.2 aperture, so you get a wide angle, and the selfie camera is 25MP at F2.2, with a small notch.
The phone itself comes in grey, green, or speckled green, I got the gray variant, and you can add a charger and cable optionally, if you don't already have them.
The price is pretty high too for these specs, at 579€, but that's the price you pay for a sustainable phone with a huge warranty and repairability. You also get a fingerprint reader
What if you don't want a fairphone but you like /e/ OS? Well, you can do that as well, after all I used it on a galaxy S8+ before.
They have 3 ways to get /e/ OS. First, you have their online store, where they offer a variety of devices, including the Fairphone 3 and 4, Galaxy S nines and S nines +.
Second, you can use their Easy Installer. Third, if your device isn't supported by the easy installer, you can just flash /e/ OS on a LOT of phones. - Наука та технологія
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@@MrOrtmeier does it have easy selective unblocking? Like, I see that something is broken, go to the blocked log, and unblock just those addresses or filters for that client?
You should ask Sigma to sponsor a review of their re-mounting service, and change your 56mm to X-mount to work with your X-Pro3 ;-)
I have a fairphone .does it work on that ?
@@MrOrtmeier hey have you seen the beagle bone black it's very much like the rpi?
@@AndroidFerret yes i think that's what he was using
The best thing about this project is that they sell phones with this ROM preinstalled. That makes it accessible to normal people who care about privacy, as well as give people like us an easy way to financially support them. I think it's pretty difficult for open source developers to get paid for their work, which is one of the biggest things holding open source back.
one of the few companies actually releasing their os/roms for devices that they don't sell.
and also get warranty in return, which is also great
how does the small open source dev benefit if the phone seller gets the money?
I've been using E OS on a Samsung A5 2017 for over a year, very satisfied with the system. The battery lasts four times longer than the original system, in addition to the performance being much better
Yeah, battery life is amazing!
wow! That's impressive
shitty OS
I have the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - I have no chance - unless I am prepared to delve deep into it. For an expensive phone no chance but when my contract is up in 18 months I may well have a look then!
Please reply sir .. can we use banking apps like Paytm, paypal, phone pay ..
This is what a degooglified android phone really needed, i hope this trend of a more sustainable and user friendly open software/hardware keeps growing, in time it can even compete with Microsoft and Mac, I hope to see the day such a dream come true.
11:50 😂😂 "6.3 inches is too big.............! For a phone."
True though. Its hard to find smaller android phones these days.
mines 6.7 i think lol
@@crusadertwo239 that’s a big phone
@@nodraw_ yeah lol
@@nodraw_ absolutely, mine is 7" and you definitely need 2 hands...
Very happy for the rise of non-big tech, privacy focused services. If Proton was a bit more robust I could probably get away with only needing Google for UA-cam...!
Me also ... I'm so happy to see this becoming more mainstream
But as far as I know, Android itself is owned by Google
I don't think you can escape from Google
@@-_wanderer it’s primarily maintained by google but since it’s open source we can check what they’ve added on the OS level not on what is added on top of android but with an entirely FOSS android fork then you’re primarily separated from google
if i was so worried about privacy i wouldnt probably be a techie
what do you exactly mean by more robust?
Honestly my only problem I still have with this is the iOS-knockoff UI. It really cheapens the experience a lot imo, they should just have used the stock Android UI and built off of that one instead. This knockoff UI is not just really inconsistent, it also makes the system look like a cheap Chinaphone. It's also not like stock is impossible to use for anyone who's not a techy and who used custom roms for years.
Yeah, fortunately you can install any launcher!
Yeah you can still use any launcher you want. You're not restricted, unlike ios.
Assuming it's open source (don't know for sure), you should be able to replace the assets with AOSP assets. If you wanted to get real fancy I'm sure you could figure out how the custom UI works and remove it. Once ur done just build and flash.
- someone who has never built or modified android
All phones are china phones 😂
@@happygofishing It does look like a chinese thing sure, but I think it's to make it simple for non power users who'll buy a murena phone. You know, not all ios lookalikes are some chinese bootleg thing. It's more appealing to beginners or tech illiterates to have a more simplified ui. For instance, my mom's phone looks similasr to the murena ui.
/e/ may works on pixel phones which are really good.
Pixel phones can also run GrapheneOS and CalyxOS which are other degoogled roms but with very good security. I think you should try them.
There are just about 10x better than /e/ yes
Not directly related to the video, but one thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is how a properly supported gnu linux phone with modern-ish hardware could replace my computer for every task (except AAA gaming). For example, the hardware capabilities of my 2020 s20 fe are more than enough for my needs (ssh, python and R programming, browsing the web, editing documents, media consumption etc), but it is very lacking in the software side of things, though it's technically possible to use all of those even with android. I know this isn't the case for everyone, but i bet it is for most people, since most just browse the web and edit documents...
Good video btw
This is extremely tempting! It fixes a lot of the limitations that have kept me from switching to CalyxOS or GrapheneOS (including the requirement of owning a Pixel phone to install both Calyx and Graphene).
I wish there were roms for galaxy a12, seems like it was an unfortunate choice
what keeps you from switching
I got a pixel specifically because of the modding capabilities, it's been great (proton AOSP rooted btw)
@@JamesQHolden probably needing to have an unlocked phone with decent community support.
You don't need a pixel with Calyx any more, it's starting to support a few more devices
Great review of e/os and what the options here are. Great video, love your work!
I have just flashed /e/ os onto a Xperia Z2 and so far I really like it! Thanks for the video!
I have Fairphone 4 and it was the Fair Trade certification and ability to buy parts online to make repairs that sold it for me. I consider myself a tech nerd too, I run my own cloud open source infrastructure and do other cool stuff that would be considered nerdy. I think changing your phone regularly is not about being a tech nerd, most people i know who does that - don´t even know what is an operating system.
I am honestly not a fan of /e/ OS, but I see why people like the simplicity of it and the ease of use. Personally I think lineage micro-g, iodé os and divest are more privacy suited. Lineage Micro G does include a full suite of aurora apps out of the box, iodé has the firewall app and divest just goes all foss even removing vendor blobs and drm (safetynet wont work obv).
Other notable privacy focused roms are Calyx OS, Copperhead OS and Graphene OS, but I dont know that much about those.
As for a small phone supported by /e/ OS, there is the Zenfone 8, which has the Qualcom Snapdragon 888, 5G and a 5.9' 120hz OLED screen, which is the smallest you can get in the high end range...
I hope you can get a glimpse on all of them and become a flashoholic, just as I am. :D
no a fan ? have yo found anything better ? for real ?
I don't understand how Lineage can be considered more privacy suited when /e/ OS is basically Lineage but with all Google services removed. Also I think that because /e/ OS is build around Murena cloud it effectively finally provides a simple realistic solution to be able to de-Google your phone without compromise. Can you explain to me why I'm wrong and why you think other options are more privacy suited?
@@theauthenticsteve Lineage doesnt ship with google services either, but nearly everyone installs gapps in addition to the rom. /e/ OS just adds in replacements for apps you would have to install yourself (and an iOS launcher). As I said, I dont see a significant difference to lineage micro g (not lineage os itself) from a privacy perspective.
Especially Divest is more privacy suited than others, since they apply their own security patches and remove precompiled proprietary stuff such as drm and some vendor blobs.
Hope I could clarify a bit.👍
@@NeoFutur7 depends on what you call better, more convinient for beginners? No. More privacy oriented? Yes. As I said especially Divest goes a little further when it comes to removing proprietary stuff.
none of these make wallet work, so im out.
A few months back I switched from my iPhone 12 to a Pixel 2 with e OS. From day one I didn't look back. It has been an awesome experience and I'm really glad to see they are continually making it easier to get a phone with e OS.
Some feedback I have, I wish they would use gesture controls by default, it took me a while to figure out how to switch to that. I think three button controls are pretty antiquated at this point, but that's just my perspective. I also think they should just call it Murena OS, I like how e is kind of cheeky but I think they would be better off with a name that isn't a Google reference, and Murena is a much more pronounceable and searchable name as well.
I really want to switch from iPhone myself. How is the battery life compared between your iPhone and the pixel? I also really need WhatsApp for work, does it function well?
@@spenderhunchback5430 battery life on the Pixel 2 with e OS is very good, considering the battery is five years old. It still lasts me until the evening every day. I'm not doing much power-hungry activities on my phone though so take that into account. WhatsApp works just fine for me.
What is the Google reference in "e"?
@@NawidN It's an upside down "G" 😛
Thank you for those videos! Always neat and to the point!
all props aside, I find it hilarious that like you said, the developers of something as complex as an OS for phones didn't realize their naming makes it so hard to find on the internet.
Maybe that is the point, even the OS project can't be tracked online, but on the other hand... it is kinda shooting its own foot to be able to grow
Agree, I think they should consider renaming to Murena OS!
I guarantee you that Google & others have full-time employees whose job it is just to track the project.
With the exception of using UA-cam, I literally have NO need for Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook/Meta or any other crap. I use a degoogled phone to text, email, call, IT managing and occasionally web browse. I have a total of 7 apps on my phone and not a single one came from GooglePlayStore.
I just got a new phone and want to unplug from the matrix
The problem with /e/ OS is that its just LineageOS (they've even been accused of stealing code from lineage without attribution) with your data being sent to a Nextcloud server on top. You're just trusting the /e/ foundation over Google vs using something like grapheneOS which doesn't send away all your data. Also, apps on graphene also work fine too
Im am not a expert, so watching lots of yt and reading comments. I am deciding between /e/os, calyx an graphene. How do you know /e/ is sending data? and graphene and calyx dont? Greetings
Is this only when using nextcloud? because i dont intend to use any cloud service at all.
Thank you for the review. Looks like the rom is coming along nicely.
This is my next phone (unless my current phone lasts until FairPhone 5 comes out).
Thank you so much! I love your videos. I will put this on my S8.
I've got the Moto g pure running Android 11.
I love the idea of de Googleing my phone. This video was supper informative. Thank you for posting it.
10:58 I absolutely agree. Bring back them small flagship smartphones! Plus, what's with the full-hd+ resolutions? Seems like a dumb excuse to increase the amount of RAM, which further impacts battery life!
When I was a kid I had a super off brand tablet that ran Android 4.x but it had no Google Play Store or any other Google Services and the only way to get apps was to download APK files and that was actually how I figured out what APK files are. The Tablet was white and had a sunken in screen like it had borders that kind of blocked you from breaking the screen if you dropped it.
I just ordered a murena teracube 2e! I can't wait until it arrives 😊
I was just on the site looking at that but it's out of stock. Do you like it??
Perfect combo for the worst case scenario!
thank you for making this video :) thank you for keeping this discussion going
I have a Lenovo Yoga 7i 16gb i7 that dual boots win11 and Ubuntu :)... Do you have a video going over your setup? What phone do you use every day? 😊
Wow, I'll have to try e/os. And maybe fairphone too. Thanks a lot for the reviews!
The Asus Zenfone 8 is my daily driver, a small phone with a high refreshrate oled, basically the smallest new android phone one can get these days. And it is on the supported list of murea / /e/OS. Sounds like it would be perfect for you.
/e/ is pretty nice, I gave a phone with it as present to my father back when it was still quite early in beta and he really like it. Now, with 1.0, pretty much any relevant issue got fixed and he was finally able to install the bank's application.
Even though I like fairphone's repairability it's just way out of my budget. I usually spend between 250 and 350€ and keep the phone for ~7 years.
"and keep the phone for ~7 years"
The Fairphone is designed for that, but /e/ have cheaper phones if you prefer
@@fred-youtube I know, but so far everything I've used lasted that much just as fine. Maybe I got lucky (or I'm Scrooge)
7 years isn't a bit too much for a phone ?
@@Crow-lz7et as long it does what I need it for there's no "too much", I'd rather spend my money elsewhere
@@telldo8016 Fair point, if it does what you need then it's good.
Thank goodness I've found your channel! The journey to extricate oneself from Google (and indeed Windows) is SO complicated... I have a Teracube from Murena on order and am seriously thinking of taking the Linux step - and am terrified... Ha ha
Now that the Teracube has arrived I'm less than impressed with the apps available: there are 3 radio apps, one doesnt work, one is encrusted in ads and the third reports back to Google... really???! And no banking that I could see... I shall have to dig deeper.............???
@@ecologicaladam7262 I’m surprise it is so crippled.
Oh yes, the perfect combo: teracube with its perfectly terrible hardware and /e/ that looks like a poorly rebranded LOS
Love to see someone else that thinks >6in phones are way too big, I was worried I was just a weirdo
I'm not sure your choice in phone size can be used as the sole determining factor in your weirdo/not weirdo status.
That's fine, I like small phones too. We can be weird together.
@@duckrutt >6 means he likes big phones, unless i missed the context
@@JamesQHolden i thinkt he commenters saying they thought they where weird for thinking 6+ inch phones are to big
Nice highlight, it may be that the Fairphone is my next go to device.
5 year warranty, well that is nice as I will have to import it regardless, but the alluring thing is the lack of glue and replaceable battery as well as easy access to the bootloader and less analness regarding the software.
I was expecting to make a sacrifice regarding the camera on the phone, but it is nice to see that isn't the case either, only sacrifice I will have to accept is the loss of my pen on Note 9 and the ease of scribbling notes on the screen with it.
But that pen isn't worth a dead expensive device because of the battery so there is that.
"6.3 inches is too big, FOR A PHONE"
Ok, that got me right there 🤣
4.5 is still average,, right? 🤔
@@DANTHETUBEMAN yes, I like phone with smaller screen like iphone 5 or 6 used to be
Tyvm for the vid, I am still waiting for my model to work OP9
Its 100% usable and will save you a ton of battery, RAM, and storage space. The amount of overhead and privilege Google occupies on devices is incredible.
I've been using huawei tablet for 2 months now ofc without GMS, i'm happy to say that everything still works fine, web based apps really helps
Very well pleased with eOS V1.0 running on a Galaxy S9 (still way too large... for a phone - haha!) Oh wow sounds like from your report they may have sorted out banking apps etc now(?) x
The accent colour and icon chooser are features of AOSP 11, so pretty much any 11 based ROM has it.
when I get my next phone in 5-10 years I will definitely make sure it is /e/os-compatible! Sadly a niche phone such as the SGM31 does not have really any support for custom roms.
Just a few weeks ago, I convinced my mum to buy herself the fairpone 4. I looked into /e/ a bit then. Now it seams to be quite a bit more realistic to actually use it
It's really, really cool
You should install it for her, it has a simpler UI and no spying, if you're not good with custom roms, you can wait for their easy installer to support the FP 4
it's shit
@@fred-youtubehonestly im just going to stick with google lol
"make smaller phones, you cowards!"
That's the best point ever!🤠
I wanted to try it, but due to my job I needed a rugged phone, maybe I will give it a try next time I will change
You can buy a case for the Fairphone
@Jack Halem well, my solution was to buy a large rugged phone 😅
It's a deal... Not the best solution due to the SOC I have, but I can't stand it 🤣
Still I can't believe in my dreams phone 🤣
Thank you for all this great information
I wish fairphone would sell where I live, whenever I see reviews on it the cons are first world problems =/
Just buy a decently spec/flagship killer second hand or a second hand google pixel. Fairphones are just bad value personally, especially with the fairphone 5 now which Linus tech tips have covered.
This is what I've been waiting for! Both E OS and Fairphone! Also, és de Portugal ou Brazil?
De Francia :)
Your channel is just amazing dammit, you have inspired me in my open source journey!
Thanks ;)
Wow this is absolutely perfect once I change to a new phone. Heard only good things about the battery life and privacy.
Excellent Review!!! The only thing that I am now trying to figure out is, "How do I backup my sms/text messages on my android phone, then load the /e/OS, then reload my sms/text messages?". So far, I have not been able to find this anywhere. I work in rugged, outdoor environments and therefore need a phone with a rugged, water/dust/shock-proof case and I do not see anyone making a case for the /e/OS phone. So, until such a case is made, I think that my only option is to keep my Samsung Note 9 with it's case, and load /e/OS onto it.
There's an open source app called warden that does a lot of tracker features that Eos has built in , for anyone not using eos
Honestly, we as the public should be working together to make our own alternatives to Google, many of us already having software skills that can make compatible operating systems to this hardware, in the public can develop a joint community in making this, and that would mean that not only would our operating systems be more stable, but that they would be more advanced than Google's system, because the public are developing precisely the things consumers want rather than large corporations trying to milk the economy by only making micro changes and resetting devices to their full price points.
Pretty good review, but you left out a couple important things. What would you use for navigation and maps? Does Android Auto work, or is there a replacement for that? Might not be important to a few people, but pretty much everyone i know uses Google Maps or Waze.
i wish we were able to install linux on any android based phone. gnome mobile looks amazing
Maybe 2023 will be the year of the Linux phone 😛
@@walking_on_earth i wish :)
The only part that is a bummer regarding the FairPhone is that they don't sell it in the US. I wish I could get something like that.
11:35 to 11:46 I'm curious. Does that DIP aka drop visual part of the camera get in the way of watching movies on that phone?
Or does it blend away...evenly like it appeared to have at around the 11:45 mark.
It's hidden when playing movies :)
Finally an Android ROM worth considering besides Graphene OS, thank you for highlighting it!
As always writing a comment to support the channel
I don't know... I was one of the guys who switched to Google when they started and I heavily relay on their ecosystem in my personal life and my job since then... I've already switch to open source for most of my software and I'm planning to use linux, so my phone can wait... Also, I'm still gaining more than I'm loosing in their ecosystem (personally)... I'm not happy with how they bank on their monopoly but I still need a solid alternative to switch... But hey, more than willing to learn something new ;P
I had some issues with my Huawei phone without Google services.
1. UA-cam, Google maps, Google translate,etc only have limited features via web browser
2. Apps that rely on Google services to push for notification, eg. Microsoft Teams has very delayed notifications
3. Some apps that rely on Google locations won't work.
so how do you go about side loading this onto an oculus quest? Some people have managed to get android running in a vm on that hardware
I've been tempted to degoogle my phones in the past, but there are too many things I'd lose out on, not to mention the books and movies I've bought through them.
Hopefully one day we'll get a true competitor that highlights freedom and privacy.
In sweden everything works with a government authentication app and lineage alone made it unusable let alone /e/. Google, Microsoft and Apple have won. To get away from them is only a matter of how much convince you can let go
Microg works just fine with google apps, it doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach
Download those books and movies to your computer, then you can degoogle
There will be one to be aware of - EU supported rtos system but the privacy would be gone with the system..
@@fred-youtube that's the point. You always have to find an inconvenient work around
perfect timing ! was gonna get myself a fairphone 4 and wanted to flash a de-googlised OS on it
Pinephone 4 (not real) or Fairphone 4? 😅
@@Beryesa. lol i'm kinda dumb indeed
I have two concerns: phone security updates and exclusive apps (mainly 2FA apps for my job).
Loved the tutorial man this thing is legit 100% !! althogh i wish if theres a way you can do it on computer
Looks like Murena is selling refurbished Pixel 5 phones with /e/OS out of the box.
Would love to see you cover that -- seems like it checks all the boxes (small-ish, de-googled, 90Hz display).
Merci. J'utilise Lineage sur un de mes téléphones portables mais est très limité dans les applications. Je vais donc tester e OS.
Try CalyxOS, I've been using it for a few months with few problems. It's very stable and well supported (and a lot safer than e/os which doesn't have a locked bootloader).
if only the locked bootloader was the only reason for its poor security....
Perfect review thanks
DON'T FORGET THE GSI
you can use it even if your phone is NOT listed as supported, by using the GSI!
GSI (generic system image) works on all phones (with unlocked bootloaders of course), that shipped with android 8.0 or later, utilizing the a/b partitioning and stuff, since all the drivers are in the "system" image, independent of the OS, with a common API, the only problem is updating those drivers...but the OS itself can update anytime!
it's incredible step to allow more OSs, since even if you have a not-popular-with-modders phone, you can get a custom OS, without having to manually figure out where the drivers are and how to port them over, etc...
Pretty cool, looking into GSI I found out that UBPorts has their own definition of GSI. Man, I'm probably way in over my head, but it'd be cool to get ubuntu touch running on my old android phone.
I did this a few years ago, life was a pain back then.
I love this rom!!! I have been using it for more than a year without problems except for banks applications. Unfortunately this update did not solve the problem =(
Ah weird, my banking app works with the update now!
@@TheLinuxEXP Thanks for the reply. When opening the application, it gives an error: a security risk has been detected on the device (ua599) (R:5)
At the moment I prefer to continue using this rom and not use the bank application
@@proyectosledar You can go to settings and then MicroG where you can test to see if SafetyNet works. It could be possible that you still have your bootloader unlocked or have rooted your device. There are workarounds to hide root and an unlocked bootloader from SafetyNet.
I was thinking about getting graphene OS but I like the phone selection of /e/os a lot better. Is MicroG as secure as the sandboxed google play services that graphene uses? I basically just don't want google spying on my location all the time.
Hello , have you tried Calyx Os ? I think it’s the better for now , I hope you can make a review about it
Thank you very much !
cool, thanks for that! Interesting firmware, will try it on my Xiaomi next Wednesday, when Xiaomi will finally ALLOW me to unlock MY OWN freaking phone (random time from 72 to 1440 hours) that's insane... mine timer today was 7 days...
wonder if you would be able to do this on the PocketBook InkPad Color 3 E-Book Reader (eInk and some ppl say it runs on Linux)?
Thanks for the great content. I would love to see a review of the volla phone 22 on this channel.
Oh yeah this is just what I need ❤️
Surely you can still use some Google services by going through the browser? Same for Microsoft Live etc
Interestiing, if I can find a phone lying around that is semi-modern and compatible, might give this a shot. Am eager to ditch the google andriod shackles.
As a sidenote safetynet can pass in almost every ROM with universal safetynet fix by kdrag0n and magisk props (Both are magisk modules).
It looked like the phone was not registering your taps and swipes very well. Is that true?
Also if are willing i'm kinda curious about why your sponsor changed from slimbook to tuxedo. If you are able to (sometimes there's weird legal things with sponsors) could you tell me why.
Keep up the AMAZING work Nick! You Rock!
It's tough to tap when you have a huge camera between you and the phone, but the fairphone definitely isn't super reactive!
It was just time to switch sponsors, ni drama or anything :)
I wonder what you think of Razer Phone 2? 5.7" 120Hz Igzo with WQHD (2K) screen, excellent stereo speakers and decent Sony camera sensors. There is e/OS for that.
Hey Nick. If you want to try out /e/ OS on a phone that supports both stable release of this OS and has a high refresh screen, you might want to try out OnePlus Nord.
Hey Nick, here's some fresh news. Asus just announced its Zenfone 9. It looks exactly like something you (and me) were both waiting for. High-end specs, high-refresh 120hz screen and extremely compact size (by today standards). Given that /e/ OS supports pretty much every Zenfone so far, I guess it's just a matter of time before they catch up and start supporting newest Zenfone 9. So now all we have to do is wait.
I updated 2 phones to 1.0, and I'm quite happy. Still have 2-3 lying around that are compatible :)
Nice!
Not long ago, I dropped my LineageOS primary phone on the floor, and the screen stopped working. The specific model I own is the LG G5 which is easy to take apart, with a removable battery. I bought a new replacement screen on Ebay, and that was cheap. I replaced the screen myself (unscrewing all the parts) with ease because the phone is not glued together. It is running LineageOS 18 = Android 11 without the spying Google proprietary bits. I really like the idea of the Fairphone 4, but I managed to achieve a similar result by my careful hardware choice. I'd advise any tech purchasers to consider repairability as well as protecting their privacy when choosing devices.
The IP spoofing, alternative app store, and tracker blocking features are nice to have, but how do they work in the background?
1. Using a unknown 3rd party service? 2. The same Google Play app just reskinned? 3. Routing traffic via unknown servers?
Do you have an episode about the Google alternatives you implied early in the episode?
Great channel!
Thanks!
I am legally blind does the fair phone or EOS come with accessibility just like Google has the accessibility suite pre-installed and you can even run it while setting up the phone at the beginning?
Had been looking into this for a while. Even set up an ecloud account as a test. Only things holding me back were potential buggy OS. If that's been solved I may well get the fair phone 4 with E OS. Though fairphone has amazing goals I still think I'd miss the usual flagship specs I'm used to. Suppose it depends on how much you value privacy (with e os) and sustainability (with fairphone)
The 1.0 version fixed bugs
@@fred-youtube pretty much every new version of every software ever fixes bugs
So the FP4 you got had the e os based on android 11? Mine is still based on 10. I guess I would need to flash my FP3 to get e os with the most recent android version.
Yeah that's the one they sent me! I think they now handle Android version upgrades, so maybe they don't have an Android 11 version for the FP3 yet?
@@TheLinuxEXP Yeah, I have to check that, thanks.
Edit: Both versions (Q and R) seem to be supported by the FP3. However, R only the dev version and Q the stable version. So it seems reasonable that they have not upgraded yet on the FP3, but I could try myself, if I wanted.
I need to give it a try on my old phone🤔
I've used it for the last couple of days, and it still has many problems. The App Lounge keeps crashing randomly, the mail client has no way to turn notifications off, the calculator lacks basic features like parenthesis, the launcher can't be configured at all and rearranging icons on it feels unintuitive and messy.
Zenfone 8 should be your device of choice from what you said. Small, amoled 120hz screen and is supported by e os
I'm de-googling too. good to see this
Very impressive!
What do they use for maps? Been trying to find anything that is private, yet at least remotely usable and so far, nothing came up.
Lineage still has far wider support, maybe a comparison video would be interesting?
Looks like they are using Magic Earth.
@@moxica93 thank you!
I love tinkering with android phones, and /e/OS is doing something that's absolutely amazing and needed in the market, however I don't really like the direction they're taking.
I sure hope someone ports the tracker settings to general AOSP, because then any rom with a vanilla build (No Google services or apps included) and microG with said tracker settings would make for a great (and more up to date in terms of the android base), if not the best, degoogled android experience.
I personally would love to see project elixir (a cool room you should definitely check out) in that config, although I do like my play services, although be it only for some apps and tasks.
What direction are they taking?
Isn't /e/OS open source? Couldn't someone use /e/OS as a base instead of LineageOS?
@@NawidN I did a little digging into the repos and I could not find the tracker manager. Which is understandable since that'd allow apps to possibly circumvent it altogether, but still a bummer
I might be wrong though, I'm not a programmer
Edit: I found it soon after writing this lmao
I checked out Project Elixir and I can't discern how well it compares to /e/OS in terms of privacy. For starters, it doesn't seem to be de-Googled.
@@NawidN It's not privacy focused, it's a pixel-like rom that I really like, I'd just like to be able to disable trackers on certain apps, and have a proper privacy center
Wow ! this is great !
Like others, I love everything about this except the ui. Definitely feels like a knockoff, and android has phenomenal ui design for the most part these days. Honestly really bummed it'd be so much work to get all these features with compelling ui styling
I'd really love to keep seeing reviews of alternative phone Roms on this channel, they're super helpful to my journey to remove google from my life just like you. I'm currently thinking LineageOS with micro g, and information on how the different private Roms compare in terms of de-googleing and privacy would be really awesome. Also excited to see a fairphone review, I really hope they release it in the USA at some point in the future
Can /e/ OS connect to the car with android auto or similar? It's very important for me.