In practice, what would be the implications of a unlocked bootloader be if only I have access to the device?
The main concern with bootloader is physical access, as you realize. The chief reason to use it for myself is if my phone happens to get stolen. Not very likely, true, but I canāt guarantee that the thief either doesnāt have the knowledge to exploit that or doesnāt know someone that could.
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@Buddha
When does /e/ gets updates? Weekly, monthly?
Iām using CalxOS atm and the only Play Store purchases I downloaded onto this were Nova Launcher/Prime and the Black Sweet icon pack I purchased a couple of weeks ago.
Beyond that itās free software, mainly off F-Droid, but with Accubattery and Discord from the Play/Aurora store.
Using the Greatness CamStellar mod as my camera app atm, and it works great.
Battery usage is about 4.6% per hour of Screen on Time (and 0.3% per hour with the screen off), which is excellent. Less than half of the 9.3% per hour on a stock Android rom.
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An interesting question is who uses what kind of phone. It depends on your budget, your individual preferences, what your environment uses, etc. I myself used Nokia phones for a long time and then switched to Android phones, but I also tried the iPhone a few years ago. Each has its advantages and disadvantages s.
Hereās a thing, Sony has something called open devices.
https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/supported-devices-and-functionality/
You can install the latest Android AOSP on them. LineageOS is also compatible. All sanctioned by Sony, as in they officially provide the tools to unlock the bootloader.
Iāve come upon this after I read this post here and checked the XA2 more closely.
Now Iām considering buying a used Xperia XA2 for myself too.
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Read all the thread, just to be sure I didnāt miss anything.
So, after watching this video, many could reconsider their choices.
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Another option! Never heard about Sailfish OS until you posted Wolfgangs video. Thanks for the recommendation I will check it out. Itās incredible finding out about all the choices you can make. Always thought it was either IPhone or Android.
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I already bought an XA2, and if every thing I want/need is ticked, will buy another one.
But Iāll buy also a PinePhone. Nerdy stuff.
I just ordered mine used for 70 EURO, should arrive in a few days. I plan to use it with /e/ and see if I can use my banking apps on it. If that fails Iāll fall back to LineageOS. Iām currently using an iPhone and probably wonāt switch away from it, as Iām using it to test the sites Iām building. But itāll be nice to be able to tinker with other OS and see how far alternatives have come and if they are every-day-use ready.
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I was running Cyanogenmod until it went under, and I loved it. The security concepts were great, and everything was working fine. The installation (back then using Windows) with a 1-click-installer was painless.
Nowadays, the installation has gotten a lot more complicated (at least the last time I checked). Since then I am lamenting that thereās no way to actually just buy a freaking LineageOS smartphone with Lineage already installed. Let me just pay 200ā¬ over street price for the phone, you do the installation and setup, done. Strange that nobody offers that service.
And so, I am left with Stock Android, to be snooped upon.
If you could consider /e/, there are a few preloaded (both new and refurbished) models that can be bought here.
Already looking into that, happy that I found that suggestion in this thread. Might be my next phone.
Cheers.
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I see you need to pay a license (costs 50 EURO) for the SalifishOS X to have Android apps support. Also Sailfish OS is not open source. This might not be a better choice than Android, after allā¦
Also there is this statement on their website (https://shop.jolla.com/):
Availability
Sailfish X is currently available in the countries of the European Union, Norway and Switzerland (āAuthorized Countriesā) and the use of our website and services to purchase Sailfish X outside of the Authorized Countries is prohibited.
I am aware of all the above. However, that XA2 is compatible with a lot more mobile OSs
So, no biggie trying something different. I can switch to Lineage or /e/.
Not fully open source? What, Google Androidās is? Can we see Googleās code and make changes to it. Can one easily remove Firebase and all the spyware?
Itās the lesser evil choice here. Letās hope that in the near future we will have better, plentiful choices.
well Lineage and /e/ are much closer to open source as they are built on AOSP (which, yes is Android Open Source Project, released by Google). Lineage is as Mint in that they provide some blobs for user comfort, but the OS itself is OSS. /e/ is as open source as it gets.
Mind you I have no experience with any of them. But this thread and the one I linked above, from which I cited your post peaked my interest and I started doing some research.
Iāll give Sailfish free edition a try first. I am genuinely curious.
And Iāll decide my next step after my own personal experience with it.
In the long run, Graphene OS could also be a alternative, but prices for Pixel devices arenāt so cheap.
For more app support, I think CalyxOS hits a nice middle ground offering the users the option of enabling microG. If I am not wrong, when it comes to security it is on the par with Graphene.
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Haha, good one. A man has to say always that is pennyless, no point in bragging about wealth.
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Calyx definitely does not have as much security hardening as Graphene. They implement some graphene tweaks, but certainly not all.
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