02-03-2026, 03:18 AM
(02-02-2026, 02:42 PM)Zebulon Walton Wrote: So where does that leave us as far as choices in pure Linux-based phones, not based on libhybris, should the Pinephone become non-functional due to 4G service being phased out or other reasons? I did some online searching and found the Volla phone and Fairphone, but those appear to be made for the European market and it's not clear whether or not they use libhybris. (I'm in the U.S.)
due to advertising, i may omit companies or products.
i don't think situtation is that bad. alternatives vary, but there are some.
- laptop or desktop with linux distribution, most stuff is good idea to do with linux distribution anyway. how to provide internet is a small problem.
- mobile router, most mobile routers have closed hardware and software, but usually they don't have big tech issues with it. this is for mostly laptops.
- basic technical phone, it is not easy-to-use phone and it is not based on android or other complicated o.s.. there starts to be some models which have volte.
basic technical phones for u.s. market is difficult to find, but there is some. some call it dumb phones. just check all the catches, and especially carrier compatibility. in european markets, i have started to see some models. even in europe, some basic phones are based on android.
4g is going to continue for many years, because 5g is developed partially dependent on 4g.
ungoogled android is one temporary solution. some people may require some crucial apps like banking apps, which may require "google play services" or other similar dependencies. for such, grapheneos may be one option, it isolates gooish components and may be installed without root access. unfortunately, graphenos requires that gooish hardware. android devices could be used without sim card, it is good idea for some crucial apps.
both u.s. and europe start to have laptop and desktop manufactures, which do not ship with that intolerable closed enshittifed system, which heavily pushes online account.
in europe, there is two upcoming manufactures, which develop linux distribution phones or devices. when that happens is a mystery, and how usable they are.
