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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

#271

Post by pbgcp2026 »

jjav wrote: post #253
jolmg wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> you cannot log in to your bank account on your laptop/computer without using your phone's banking app Where is this? I have lots of bank accounts, probably more than most people. Three local credit unions, Fidelity, Schwab, Chase, BofA, Citibank, Barclays, two local area banks, and two international banks. Plus a few lesser known ones for 401k/IRA accounts. I have never installed any bank phone app. I do all my ban…

galvin@ is right. I +1'd that. Regarding banks ... try HSBC. (I know, "I can always use another bank". Thanks. I happen to be Premier only at HSBC ...)

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

#272

Post by pbgcp2026 »

bdangubic wrote: post #160
dheera wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Browser is great until it tells you that you need to use a mobile device. This happens all the time on multiple KYC platforms in the US. My laptop is an equally mobile device, they just don't recognize that.

you have an example where you are forced to use a mobile device? genuinely interested cause while I have a smartphone I don’t have hardly any “apps” on it (on my iphone all the “apps” are on the first “page” (without grouping). I do not like the idea of losing a phone and potentially someone getting access to my entire digital life (my phone password is 6 zeros) and I genuinely do not use phone for anything important

HMRC in the UK / multiple Government Portals. Have you been to India (Air tickets)? Or China (Wechat/Alipay QR codes or you go hungry)? And see my example above regarding US woman at Hilton in Rome.

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

#274

Post by microtonal »

y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #120
contubernio wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Banking basically has to be done via phone now.

I keep seeing this, but I've never signed into a single one of my banks, mortgage companies, stock brokers, or credit card companies on my phone. The phone might be used to get a code for 2FA via text, but that's the extent of it. Everything is done on my PC through a dedicated browser specifically for financial purposes. This applies to Chase, Fidelity, Schwab, Wells Fargo, Marcus, Morgan Stanley, Amex, and more. So…

I think the disconnect comes from the European vs the US perspective. In Europe, banks in many countries require smartphone apps for 2FA (unless you still have one of the old authenticators that you can hold on until the battery dies). One of the reasons is that PSD2 requires two-factor authentication:

https://www.betaalvereniging.nl/en/knowledge-base/digital-id...

My guess is that given that banks are liable in many cases of account compromise where the user did not do anything wrong, they generally don't use SMS or e-mail auth because it is relatively easy to compromise (e.g. no or bad encryption, downgrade attacks, etc). Also, doing 2FA through a smartphone app is much cheaper for them than keeping a fleet of authenticators running.

Luckily, it looks like PSD3 is going to require access without a smartphone too:

Require payment services providers to ensure that all users can benefit from methods to perform SCA which are adapted to their needs and situations and, in particular, that those methods do not depend on one single technology, device or mechanism, for instance on the possession of a smartphone.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/el/qanda_...

So things are looking up in that respect.

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

#275

Post by victorbjorklund »

tardedmeme wrote: post #239
aembleton wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you go on holiday, do you have to find an Internet café to print off your boarding pass for the flight home? Or do you select destinations covered by airlines that allow you to get a boarding pass more than 48 hours in advance?

Which airline requires you to print your own boarding pass and won't let you on the plane without a phone? Now I haven't flown in years but last time I did, the normal procedure was to show up at the airport either with your printed ticket or just your reference code and ID, and either use a kiosk or talk to a person to get your boarding pass, and also to check in your bags.

Ryanair or Wizz air. You can have them print it for you in the airport but they charge 55 euros for it.

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

#276

Post by izacus »

jasonvorhe wrote: post #207
izacus wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and that's utter nonsense. Noone is really stepping up to develop Android beyond repackaging it. If Google decides to remove a feature, GrapheneOS and other forks will end up without it too. If they stop publishing security patches, the forks end up insecure too. It's just like all the Chrome "forks" when ManifestV2 died. None of them survived for more than a few versions until maintainers lost interest. Callin…

Isn't Brave still shipping it?

No, you can't install any 3rd party ManifestV2 extensions in Brave. Neither are they shipping any changes to the browser engine that Google doesn't maintain.

E.g. they tried to implement dark mode website conversion and decided it's too hard to do anything that Google themselves don't do.

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

#277

Post by iamnothere »

pbgcp2026 wrote: post #260
iamnothere wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you have given up without a fight and deserve whatever you get.

epolanski@ is, unfortunately , right. You may try to "walk away" if you are not interested in the end result. If the fact of walking away for you is more important / feels better than actually doing what you came for. (And don't get me started on how girls look at you when you start fishing for petty change in your pockets - that seriously limits your dating pool LOL)

As someone with a long term partner who shares my use of cash, at least for some things, you don’t want to date people who look down on you for your choice of payment. Red flag. Waste of time.

Have some self respect. Don’t date people who aren’t mostly aligned with your values.

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

#278

Post by azangru »

Insimwytim wrote: post #150
tgsovlerkhgsel wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't solve for services that by definition need to be accessed on the go, e.g. public transit, parcel pickup, luggage lockers, rental bikes, restaurant menus, paying for parking, etc. (some of these may not mandate phones in your area yet or may allow mobile web alternatives, these are just examples where I've seen strong pushes towards apps or at leas in many places).

> restaurant menus Well, that's easy to deal with - don't go the restaurants that openly disrespect you. Out of all the examples you have presented everything had worked somehow without phones not so long ago. Maybe, with the exception of online public transit status streaming. And public transit still works without it.

> everything had worked somehow without phones not so long ago

This is called change :-) Slowly boiling the frogs.

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

#279

Post by frm88 »

microtonal wrote: post #274
y-c-o-m-b wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep seeing this, but I've never signed into a single one of my banks, mortgage companies, stock brokers, or credit card companies on my phone. The phone might be used to get a code for 2FA via text, but that's the extent of it. Everything is done on my PC through a dedicated browser specifically for financial purposes. This applies to Chase, Fidelity, Schwab, Wells Fargo, Marcus, Morgan Stanley, Amex, and more. So…

I think the disconnect comes from the European vs the US perspective. In Europe, banks in many countries require smartphone apps for 2FA (unless you still have one of the old authenticators that you can hold on until the battery dies). One of the reasons is that PSD2 requires two-factor authentication: https://www.betaalvereniging.nl/en/knowledge-base/digital-id... My guess is that given that banks are liable in many…

TIL about PSD3. Thank you.

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

#280

Post by comandillos »

ALLTaken wrote: post #81

Sounds very much like HarmonyOS. I was just in a Huawei Store and I think from a UI/UX perspective, despite being quite new, it's incredibly slick and leaps ahead in great design and integration within the HarmonyOS ecosystem. Even saw it being used as Laptop OS and Mobile, the convergence is quite applaudable. The kindest was that the store's staff advised against buying the device as it's quite painful to use it wi…

My daily driver is a HarmonyOS NEXT device these days.

I had to find a bunch of workarounds to have payments working (I ended vibe-coding my payments app in ArkTS, don't ask) and messaging apps, and well, I use it with almost 0 compromises on a daily basis. It feels like a breeze of fresh air to know there are other devices and platforms out there that, even if seen as the bad guys here in the western world, can be used as a way to escape the established monopolies.

Maybe I should go for Graphene as a safer option to free myself from GMS and Google/Apple in general, but that would require me buying a Pixel device from Google... which I don't like to be honest.

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