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Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

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Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#171

Post by dandandandan2 »

tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #76

The challenge isn't buying it, the challenge is being able to do phone things with it. Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone. Most things will work but it takes one critical service that doesn't have a viable workaround, and you're forced to buy (and possibly carry) a "mainstream" phone just for that. Banking, government, authentication, postal service and public transit apps are just some of t…

> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone

Hyperbole doesn’t help. I’m a 44 year old former software engineer now with a modest social media following (100k per platform). I don’t have a phone.

I’ve never had a smart phone, last dumb phone gone in 2015.

I have to hassle my bank to let me use email instead of SMS for 2FA, and I hand jot notes for driving directions sometimes.

Otherwise, I’m immensely happy not to have one.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#172

Post by stavros »

chias wrote: post #131
troyvit wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 3. Half of restaurants in my area do not have non-QR code menus, they just don't. Not knocking this list, the shit is real. But I just had a lovely imaginary conversation with a server asking them what they would recommend and then trying something brand new.

I've had this conversation for real. The server's recommendation was that I scan the QR code. That was my last time going to that restaurant.

That's happened to me a lot, to get a 503 service unavailable from a restaurant server.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#173

Post by bookofjoe »

The_President wrote: post #36
_old_dude_ wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and let's not forget Stephen Elop's 'Burning Platform' Memo https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-TEB-2031

Paywalled for me

https://sriramk.com/memos/elop-burning-platforms.pdf

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#174

Post by medvidek »

gib444 wrote: post #143
epolanski wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. 1. My bank doesn't allow to go in person without an in-app taken appointment. 2. My nephew can't play football in his team, because the team has an app to book/signal your availability. No other way. 3. Half of restaurants in my area do not have non-QR code menus, they just don't. 4. McDonald's will make me pay the scam pricing you get without the app. 5. My doctor gives documentation only and exclusively in di…

> 1. My bank doesn't allow to go in person without an in-app taken appointment. What about other banks? > 3. Half of restaurants in my area do not have non-QR code menus, they just don't. That's crazy. I don't think I even saw 50% during COVID. Must be barely 5% of places that are QR only in the UK. > 4. McDonald's will make me pay the scam pricing you get without the app. Isn't it a scam even with the app pricing? T…

I flew with RyanAir several times after they introduced a "mandatory" app boarding pass, never had problems with check-in agents just printing the boarding pass for free (after doing the web check-in). Had to pretend my phone died once, in all other cases they just printed the pass no questions asked.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#175

Post by protimewaster »

Towaway69 wrote: post #59
skc wrote: post #24

Many years later and I'm still bitter that the tech press laughed Windows Phone out of the room straight to its demise. Yes it had very little developer support but at some point things were looking up. It was just the butt of too many jokes from influential people. A third ecosystem right now would have been amazing

> A third ecosystem right now would have been amazing Initially read this ending on … amazon Please Universe, don’t give us the Amazon Phone as alternative.

I imagine it'll be a while before Amazon wants to build another phone, after what a spectacular failure the Fire Phone was.

I'm guessing they'll try again at some point, though.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#176

Post by jolmg »

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #165
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #76

The challenge isn't buying it, the challenge is being able to do phone things with it. Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone. Most things will work but it takes one critical service that doesn't have a viable workaround, and you're forced to buy (and possibly carry) a "mainstream" phone just for that. Banking, government, authentication, postal service and public transit apps are just some of t…

"As an individual, it feels like my options are to either submit or try to live a hermit's life, bringing endless suffering and exclusion to myself." Classic "all-or-nothing", "black and white" HN comment No middle ground. Two extremes and nothing in between In the real world, few people think this way Not only that, but it's common today to have more than one computer There is no shortage of HN comments that keep cl…

This probably depends on location, but generally, you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app for 2FA. That's the status quo among banks.

Whether it may be possible to convince a bank to give you a hardware token instead if they even still make them is not an assured thing.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#177

Post by slumberlust »

dandandandan2 wrote: post #171
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #76

The challenge isn't buying it, the challenge is being able to do phone things with it. Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone. Most things will work but it takes one critical service that doesn't have a viable workaround, and you're forced to buy (and possibly carry) a "mainstream" phone just for that. Banking, government, authentication, postal service and public transit apps are just some of t…

> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone Hyperbole doesn’t help. I’m a 44 year old former software engineer now with a modest social media following (100k per platform). I don’t have a phone. I’ve never had a smart phone, last dumb phone gone in 2015. I have to hassle my bank to let me use email instead of SMS for 2FA, and I hand jot notes for driving directions sometimes. Otherwise, I’m immense…

How could it be hyperbole when you give two examples of the increasing pain?

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#178

Post by fph »

abraham wrote: post #49
johnsea wrote: post #14

This article fails to mention GrapheneOS. The article starts with Murena, Punkt, Volla which are all based on Android. If you do this, then imho you must mention GrapheneOS, the by far better option (updates, privacy, security, organisation). Google Pixel with GrapheneOS is the best non-Google phone... ;-)

GrapheneOS doesn't fit the criteria of the list. https://grapheneos.org/faq#preinstalled-devices

You can buy phones with Graphene preinstalled: https://shop.nitrokey.com/shop , https://zextons.co.uk/categories/DeGoogled-Phones , if you really want.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#179

Post by j_bum »

slumberlust wrote: post #177
dandandandan2 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nowadays, you can no longer exist in society without a phone Hyperbole doesn’t help. I’m a 44 year old former software engineer now with a modest social media following (100k per platform). I don’t have a phone. I’ve never had a smart phone, last dumb phone gone in 2015. I have to hassle my bank to let me use email instead of SMS for 2FA, and I hand jot notes for driving directions sometimes. Otherwise, I’m immense…

How could it be hyperbole when you give two examples of the increasing pain?

GP said “can no longer exist”.

Listing a few challenges of a phoneless life doesn’t negate the point that one can still exist without a phone, even in 2026.

Re: Where to buy a non-Apple, non-Google smartphone

#180

Post by usr1106 »

amunozo wrote: post #153
svl wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This might be country specific? Specifically dependent on laws in the fields of consumer-protection and keeping things universally accessible. I don't own a smartphone. I have never owned a smartphone. There are inconveniences, and big organizations definitely try to push you toward the way of doing things which has the lowest costs for them - but there are no actual blockers. There is always a path involving actual…

To be honest, I never tried, but I see for example the removal of more and more procedures in person. In Spain where I'm from or Switzerland where I live it can be still manageable, but in the Nordic countries for example everything is digital and even cash is barely existent. A lot of payments are made by phone apps only.

I am from Nordic country. I did not use any cash, had no wallet for several years. It's not needed. After the US government acting like it does I mostly stopped using cards. Like with phone OSes a US-controlled duopoly.

Cash does not to need to be used anywere, but cards can be avoided for weeks until I need to use it again. Most can be handled by cash or bank transfer without problems.

For phones I have not any Google Android or iOS until a year ago. Nowdays I have a Google work phone, but it's always in flight mode except when a pay my lunch subsidized by employer. I type this comment on my Sailfish device and I use a degoogled Android. Can cause minor inconvenienance occasionally, but rarely enough to turn on my work phone.

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