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Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

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Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#71

Post by jcul »

ShamelessGenius wrote: post #61

I bought Pixel 7a and flashed GrapheneOS and running it without a single Google app. My experience has been pretty good so far.

Does the camera work as well as with the stock OS?

I've used custom ROMs for years, but never used Graphene.

My current phone is a Xiaomi Mi9T. With a custom ROM, to properly make use of the camera you need to flash a magisk module. Otherwise you are stuck with the stock android camera app which doesn't perform nearly as well.

This phone is on its last legs, the screen was smashed so I had to replace it with a cheaper LCD, which has affected battery life and sometimes is unresponsive.

Thinking about getting a used Pixel 6 and giving Graphene a go.

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#72

Post by berkes »

lxn wrote: post #54
jillesvangurp wrote: post #19

The short answer is no. There is the Google Pixel. But it has limited updates and proprietary software for things like the camera. That camera is really nice though and it's as close as the Android experience Google intended to ship because this basically is Google's version of Android. I have the Pixel 6 and it's fine. Nokia stays close to that but ships their own camera app. It too has limited updates that run out…

I agree with everything you said about Fairphone, but their software support is decent when it comes for security updates (major Android versions upgrades are not guaranteed). They offer 5 years which is way better than average. Their track record is also good I would say. Fairphone 2 started with Android 5 and it currently offered Android 10 upgrade. https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/997918043739...

I've been exclusively on Fairphones since Fairphone 1.

Recently switched from FairphoneOS (the stripped, bloatfree, google-free Android) back to stock Android¹

Its updates are fast, steady and consistently good (and improving). The FP1 is ten years old, and still works (though android there is EOL and old, and spare parts no longer available), my FP2 and an FP3 work fine, I can still get parts and Android isn't too old. The hardware is slow, and old, though (e.g. no 5G, power hungry BT, puny camera by current standards). The FP4 is top notch. Spare parts are cheap (e.g. Replaceable battery only €29, new screen only €80), android 12 good enough. But it does have stuff like Google Meet or TV that I would like to remove but cannot.

¹I'm diabetic. Monitoring and Pump control is moving from dedicated electronics to native apps. And they often require Google Android, cannot or will not run on degoogled android. Same for banking and payment apps.

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#73

Post by ajsnigrutin »

wiseowise wrote: post #64
Zambyte wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What service do they provide you?

Cloud sync that works across all of my devices in a centralized manner. Zero bloatware, adware OS that works out of the box and doesn’t change every year. Consistent experience across devices. iOS, specifically, all of what I listed there and really nice, fluent system compared to Androids that have frame drops even on top end devices.

Can you actually block in-app ads in iOS? Like the way adaway does it, by modify /etc/hosts and thus removing 95% of the annoyances in apps?

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#74

Post by leon_theremin »

cookiengineer wrote: post #68
leon_theremin wrote: post #66

[flagged]

> BadBIOS Do you know a legit reverse engineered PoC of it? or a legit dump of the firmware? I mean, it's theoretically possible. I don't doubt that since vault7 malware leaks, but is there an actual copy of something like this available? If anyone knew about it, I'd assume the 1vyrain people definitely would.

It is not implemented on firmware, but as a silicon trojan. It doesn't use sound, but EMF.

It won't be exposed in full easily though as criminals with access to it currently work to prevent anyone from doing so.

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#76

Post by BLKNSLVR »

rpgbr wrote: post #60

Get a second hand phone with great LineageOS and give it a shot. It’s phenomenal how better a, let’s say, Motorola phone gets when you replace pre-installed Android with Google-free LineageOS one.

It seriously feels like the hardware has been upgraded.

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#77

Post by throw0101a »

Zambyte wrote: post #58
wiseowise wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple can do it because they lock you into their walled garden where they can double and triple dip on getting your money. Funny way to spell “provide quality service compared to competitors”.

What service do they provide you?

> What service do they provide you?

Security updates for 5-7 years.

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#79

Post by jmrm »

everybodyknows wrote: post #8

Google started a program back in 2014 to encourage other hardware vendors to build just such things. It is alas, now on hospice care, with death imminent: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_One

I had the Mi A1 since its release until a couple months (fall in a water bucket and broke), and it was a perfect phone at that time:

Pure Android experience with no bloatware, 2 full days of battery with moderate usage, a decent screen, fast, confortable to use, and also was cheap.

Nowadays most Android phones have plenty of bloat and lack some specifications unless you spend some money. It's sad how a cheap phone that were usable was €150 to €200 and now the bracket is between €300 and €350.

Re: Ask HN: Stock Android phone free of bloatware?

#80

Post by susanthenerd »

jcul wrote: post #71
ShamelessGenius wrote: post #61

I bought Pixel 7a and flashed GrapheneOS and running it without a single Google app. My experience has been pretty good so far.

Does the camera work as well as with the stock OS? I've used custom ROMs for years, but never used Graphene. My current phone is a Xiaomi Mi9T. With a custom ROM, to properly make use of the camera you need to flash a magisk module. Otherwise you are stuck with the stock android camera app which doesn't perform nearly as well. This phone is on its last legs, the screen was smashed so I had to replace it with a cheape…

Graphene OS has its own camera app that is not that good, but people have run the google camera app on it without issues
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