Need help/recomendations for next phone

1

Hello,

Well, seems like my good old S4 Mini is dying :confused:
I will have to consider buying a new one soon, and I would want a middle-low end device (as in price range) that I can easily connect to my Trisquel laptop and install a custom rom (Lineage or something similar). Idea is to run free softwareas much as possible considering also the price range.
So yeah, it has been a long time since I bought a phone or even looked for one, soā€¦ any help welcome :slight_smile:

Thanks!

2

take a look at the ā€œmodern devicesā€ here Device Support imho

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3

If you intend to keep your phone for an extended time like you have for the S4 mini, then the Fairphone and Shiftphone models are what I would suggest since they are designed to be repairable if needed.

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4

Well of course use the lineageos device wiki if youā€™re gonna use LOS and filter by brands not on this list

5

Thanks for the inputs so far.

So, just to be clearā€¦ merely connecting a USB cable and running heimdall or something similar in GNU/Linux is no longer enough to get the job done? I remember installing TWRP in some Samsung devices was easy and from there on it was always possible to install any custom rom. Now I read about unlocking issues and what notā€¦

Confused =S

6

So, following those lists I found the OnePlus to be officially supported by LineageOS, seems to be ok on the unlock list, and the price range (for the 6 and 6T) is acceptable. Kinda crazy a smartphone from 2018 is still being sold! :open_mouth:

Anyway, anyone has experience with these and can say if itā€™s a simple/clear process to get Lineage in there? Thanks!

7

Thanks! I actually like Calyx a lot, but donā€™t know how easy is it to actually install that. I even thought about buying a pre-installed phone with LOS or Calyx or /e butā€¦ either canā€™t find it in Europe, or they are so expensive! :open_mouth:

8

Get a Pixel 8 or newer: Google Pixel | endoflife.date

9

Thatā€™s rather elitist cā€™mon, price and availability varies. Although i agreeā€¦

Ignore performance, ignore wide distro support (even runs Linux), avoid them as the battery is long goneā€¦

10

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, Pixel are nice but too expensive.

@Licaon_Kter I didnā€™t even know it could run GNU/Linux, I was only thinking of that because of the fact in LineageWiki it seems the entire process is done with fastboot and adb. I have noticed that for some extra money I can get a ONEPLUS 9RT which seems to be slightly more modern and have a better battery. Of course also has more memory and storage. Think this will work better? Also, can these batteries in the future be replaced (in a technical shop of course, not at home)??

11

I for one would go for a device that is

  • produced under fair conditions,
  • built from fair materials as far as possible at all,
  • designed and built modular and self-repairable.

So far only Fairphone (NL) and Shiftphone (D) come to my mind. Both foster and support the development of Custom-ROM to a large extent.

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12

Refurbished Pixel 7 are available starting from ~200 EUR with in as good as new condition.

Pixel 3a has the additional big advantage, that you can run mainline linux with postmarketos (e.g. if it is end of life for you, you could run a mainline kernel and use it as an embedded linux device e.g. as LTE router or just experiment with a pure linux phone)