09-09-2026, 03:58 AM
(09-07-2026, 02:19 PM)The Almighty Doer of Stuff Wrote: Hello! I am alarmed that several apps I rely on will possibly stop working in 2027 on Android, and I heard about PinePhone from Ecosia's AI chatbot. It says the newest model of PinePhone is the PinePhone2, which supports microSD cards which is important to me because I have a large music collection. But it couldn't find any info about whether PinePhone2 supports Cricket Wireless, which is important for me because I'm on a very tight budget. I'm honestly not even sure I can afford a PinePhone2, but I'm terrified of Google's new restrictions so I figure it's best to do research.
Also, do VLC Media Player and Brave Browser work with PinePhone2? I can switch to Firefox if I need to, I just found that Firefox was slow last time I tried to use it on my phone.
Also, I've been using Alarm Clock Xtreme from AVG for years, but I'm not sure it will be supported through 2027. I like that it lets me set daily and weekly alarms and appointment reminders with music from my collection. Are there alternatives to that app available for PinePhone2? It's OK if I have to use two separate apps, one for alarms and one for reminders. Really I should be using a calendar instead of one-off reminders but I don't like Google's calendar app.
Lastly, how is the battery life? Can I replace the battery on a PinePhone 2? I know most phones don't let you do that but I wonder if this more open alternative bucks that trend. That would be cool.
I'm sorry for asking so many questions in one thread. I don't really know if it's best to split it up or not. I'm kinda scared right now and I'm just looking for some hope in an increasingly scary world. FOSS software always made me happy.
@biketool probably said key points.
pine org does not formally have any plans for pinephone2. maybe ai hallucinated some vomit (how shocking !). pinephone pro production has been stopped, and pinephone regular's production is temporarily stopped. pp regular may come back to production, but gpu is heavily outdated. software probably supports both models for some time, maybe one year.
overpriced chips are key reason why pinephone models are currently halted. do not expect near term plans for pinephone pro or pinephone 2.
as a general advice:
- laptop with linux distribution.
- technical basic phone, (not android based).
- ungoogled android with f-droid.
my guess is, your best plan for short term is, ungoogled android with f-droid. https://f-droid.org/
alphabet inc's control is probably bad for those, who use stock android. which has google components in it. i don't think alphabet inc's bad policies affect ungoogled androids that much. f-droid probably survives, because most f-droid users probably uses ungoogled android already or they have disabled some key google components, like google play services and google play.