I used to have the same problem with my Android phones crapping out at the 2 year mark. That was with Motorola and Samsung phones, and an LG got my wife. I know there are lots of people who have had good fortune with those brands of phones, but that wasn’t the case for me.
I ended up getting a 1st gen Pixel, and that sucker lasted for over 5 years. I’m now on a Pixel 4a, and about two years in and everything is going well. I’m not sure if it’s just Google phones in general, or if the quality of Android phones in general is improving. But either way it’s encouraging. In my experience (and the experience of several other people I know), Google makes damn good phones. It’s a shame they are a shitty company in other (i.e. ethical) areas.
While I’m super glad it works for you (honest I am, that’s literally the point of tech, to do what you need) I’d never buy a pixel. At least not without the full intent of de-googling it… and that’s exactly the problem with android right now. Android is largely a spyware platform for Google. Apple is not better, to be clear. Both options suck and we have no real 3rd party alternatives. Which we should have. Instead we have none, globally.
The hardware might be there (and frankly I’ve heard really good things about pixel hardware; lots of people buy them to flash other OS on) but the software is literally designed to spy on you so… I’m super not into it.
I’m thinking about buying a fairphone and putting idk… lineage or graphene on it… been a while since I bought a device for the sole purpose of putting different OS on, but maybe it’s time.
If Linux phones were viable daily drivers I’d be using one of those. Fuck all this proprietary bullshit. But even that is difficult because Linux is many things but “all encompassing “ is not one of them, and never will be.
Try Fairphone 4 or 5 of Google Pixel with iodé on it. Ive used it for almost 3 years. Really stable and no trouble with banking apps. Only apps that rely soley on playstore services you cant use.
+1 for iodéOS. It’s a good OS, based on LineageOS and with a built-in ad/tracker blocker.
Additionally, if you get a FairPhone or a Pixel you have a bunch of other ROMs to choose from, like basic LineageOS, CakyxOS, DivestOS, and only on Pixel GrapheneOS.
I’m totally with you on the need for a good third alternative. I prefer Android to iOS from a usability perspective (I used to have an iPhone for work, and that UX was incredibly counter-intuitive to me). But I’m well aware of the shortcomings of Android (including the spying aspect).
A solid Linux-based mobile phone OS that had sufficient carrier support for it to be usable for less tech-savvy users would be amazing. Maybe some day…
Absolutely worst thing I’ve ever done to myself intentionally (and that list is looooooooong).
I really liked messing around with android, it was basically why I got into Linux… spent years messing about with android so Ubuntu felt so similar. It was an easy transition for me. (Other distros, even Debian based, have not been so welcoming, and I don’t want to go back to Ubuntu, but it felt… right… so I probably will… unless someone tells me about a similar ui for anything else ;) )
I do hope Linux gains at least enough support as an OS for mobile that one can make it work… I mean windows had a phone (possibly several shitty phones run on windows…?) and that wasn’t a big deal but Linux…? clutches pearls certainly not!
I used to have the same problem with my Android phones crapping out at the 2 year mark. That was with Motorola and Samsung phones, and an LG got my wife. I know there are lots of people who have had good fortune with those brands of phones, but that wasn’t the case for me.
I ended up getting a 1st gen Pixel, and that sucker lasted for over 5 years. I’m now on a Pixel 4a, and about two years in and everything is going well. I’m not sure if it’s just Google phones in general, or if the quality of Android phones in general is improving. But either way it’s encouraging. In my experience (and the experience of several other people I know), Google makes damn good phones. It’s a shame they are a shitty company in other (i.e. ethical) areas.
While I’m super glad it works for you (honest I am, that’s literally the point of tech, to do what you need) I’d never buy a pixel. At least not without the full intent of de-googling it… and that’s exactly the problem with android right now. Android is largely a spyware platform for Google. Apple is not better, to be clear. Both options suck and we have no real 3rd party alternatives. Which we should have. Instead we have none, globally.
The hardware might be there (and frankly I’ve heard really good things about pixel hardware; lots of people buy them to flash other OS on) but the software is literally designed to spy on you so… I’m super not into it.
I’m thinking about buying a fairphone and putting idk… lineage or graphene on it… been a while since I bought a device for the sole purpose of putting different OS on, but maybe it’s time.
If Linux phones were viable daily drivers I’d be using one of those. Fuck all this proprietary bullshit. But even that is difficult because Linux is many things but “all encompassing “ is not one of them, and never will be.
Try Fairphone 4 or 5 of Google Pixel with iodé on it. Ive used it for almost 3 years. Really stable and no trouble with banking apps. Only apps that rely soley on playstore services you cant use.
+1 for iodéOS. It’s a good OS, based on LineageOS and with a built-in ad/tracker blocker.
Additionally, if you get a FairPhone or a Pixel you have a bunch of other ROMs to choose from, like basic LineageOS, CakyxOS, DivestOS, and only on Pixel GrapheneOS.
I’m totally with you on the need for a good third alternative. I prefer Android to iOS from a usability perspective (I used to have an iPhone for work, and that UX was incredibly counter-intuitive to me). But I’m well aware of the shortcomings of Android (including the spying aspect).
A solid Linux-based mobile phone OS that had sufficient carrier support for it to be usable for less tech-savvy users would be amazing. Maybe some day…
iOS is the worst.
Absolutely worst thing I’ve ever done to myself intentionally (and that list is looooooooong).
I really liked messing around with android, it was basically why I got into Linux… spent years messing about with android so Ubuntu felt so similar. It was an easy transition for me. (Other distros, even Debian based, have not been so welcoming, and I don’t want to go back to Ubuntu, but it felt… right… so I probably will… unless someone tells me about a similar ui for anything else ;) )
I do hope Linux gains at least enough support as an OS for mobile that one can make it work… I mean windows had a phone (possibly several shitty phones run on windows…?) and that wasn’t a big deal but Linux…? clutches pearls certainly not!
Pixel with Graphene is fully degoogled, and smooth.
I’ve used Lineage and DivestOS on phones as old as 2018 (flagships) and they’re fast. Smooth. People think I’m using a new phone.
Google services are bad for phone performance, so any degoogled device will be smoother with longer battery life.
Keep in mind that the first Pixel lets you uplod a infinite number of high quality Photos and Videos to Google Photos, if you use that service.