Need a New Phone

[OlderThanDirt]

Which apps are the ones that you really need? That'll help us to give you a recommendation.

Note that Samsung phones, recommended by some in this thread, use Android, which is Google.

Apps that I really need include:

• Unifi Network
• Unifi Protect
• Synology Surveillance Station
• Virtual Keypad (alarm)
• SimpliSafe
• Samsung SmartThings
• Venstar (thermostats)
• Tesla (powerwall)
• SolarEdge
• Sonos
• Rachio

There are a few others, but they are not as important. These are all available in IOS and Android. It is my understanding that some phones come without all the Google Android bloatware, and the post below seems to indicate that that can be removed as well.

The one thing I liked when I had an Android phone years ago was the ability to load apps outside of what is available from Google's store. I was able to load apps for dive planning and decompression curves, as well as gas mixing.

Get a pixel 3 or 4, reflash (to remove all google stuff) and use GrapheneOS. There are places that will do that for you noagendaphone.com is one.

Interesting. This could be an option as well.

[Mr. Blue]

Samsung is the way to go.

[Cowboy T]

Samsung is the way to go.

Only if you don't use Android on it. Android is Google, and we know how Google is now....

The only way to do Samsung is to use one that is compatible with Replicant. Replicant is Android without the Google crap.

[Cowboy T]

Apps that I really need include:

• Unifi Network
• Unifi Protect
• Synology Surveillance Station
• Virtual Keypad (alarm)
• SimpliSafe
• Samsung SmartThings
• Venstar (thermostats)
• Tesla (powerwall)
• SolarEdge
• Sonos
• Rachio

There are a few others, but they are not as important. These are all available in IOS and Android. It is my understanding that some phones come without all the Google Android bloatware, and the post below seems to indicate that that can be removed as well.

The one thing I liked when I had an Android phone years ago was the ability to load apps outside of what is available from Google's store. I was able to load apps for dive planning and decompression curves, as well as gas mixing.

This is a textbook example of the "Microsoft problem", a.k.a. the "network effect". The Tesla app alone tells me that you have a Tesla automobile and thus need to be able to communicate with the car and the charger. You really do need to run that app. Same for the SolarEdge; that tells me you probably have solar panels for your home and need to manage that system.

I would suggest the lesser of the evils and go with either a Replicant-based phone (Android without the Google tethering crap), or an Android phone with as little crap preloaded onto it as possible. That must therefore exclude Samsung; they preload all sorts of @#%& onto their Android phones.

[five.five-six]

[DGoodale]

If you don't want Android or Apple then go Pine.

https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/

ETA: https://linuxsmartphones.com/

[five.five-six]

2G?

2G does not work anymore, all the hardware has been dragged out to the parking lot where it was sold for scrap. About 2 years ago.

[OlderThanDirt]

This is a textbook example of the "Microsoft problem", a.k.a. the "network effect". The Tesla app alone tells me that you have a Tesla automobile and thus need to be able to communicate with the car and the charger. You really do need to run that app. Same for the SolarEdge; that tells me you probably have solar panels for your home and need to manage that system.

I would suggest the lesser of the evils and go with either a Replicant-based phone (Android without the Google tethering crap), or an Android phone with as little crap preloaded onto it as possible. That must therefore exclude Samsung; they preload all sorts of @#%& onto their Android phones.

[Mr. Blue]

Only if you don't use Android on it. Android is Google, and we know how Google is now....

The only way to do Samsung is to use one that is compatible with Replicant. Replicant is Android without the Google crap.

[iron330]

Google Pixel 5 or 4A. No bloat. I have no idea why I ever bought Samsung phones. No more, that's a cinch.

[Cowboy T]

You're not far off, actually. My previous phone ran an open-source GNU/Linux distro as well. It finally bought the farm after six years of fairly heavy use; it did well. Hopefully Purism's effort will be a good one. In the meantime, I'm actually rather enjoying not being tethered to the world by a cell phone.

[whutsup40]

Still puttin' along, after all these years!

Gotta have those guy's

[Mr. Blue]

Do you all remember the days of call waiting being a big feature? How about cordless house phones and answering machines.

[OlderThanDirt]

Growing up we had a single rotary dial phone mounted on the wall in the kitchen. The only good side was there was no such thing as a telemarketer.