General Smartphone Discussion Thread - What phones to recommend and which ones to avoid?

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Thiletonomics said:
I don't see Xiaomi doing that yet, but people have said that their phones are shitty ass fuck, as expected with Chinese-made products.
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I used Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 about 7 years ago and was happy with it with two exceptions. The mic was a cheap piece of shit. It sounded like everything was recorded in 64kbps. The other thing was the battery, which at some point I couldn't charge to 100%. I opened the phone and there was a small hole burnt in it 💀

I hate how changing a battery in a new phone is such a chore these days. I know those fuckers do it intentionally.
 
Sneed Lurker said:
Phone manufacturers would rather you buy their new phones every couple years when the battery dies than you being able to replace your battery yourself for super cheap.
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Yeah, that's what I mean. Imagine running low on battery when you're away from home and just replacing it with a charged one in under 20 seconds. What a preposterous idea!
 
HalHalliday said:
CalyxOS releases are paused. Find out more in our letter to the community. A letter to the CalyxOS community
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My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

They did a great job of burying the most important piece of info: If you're running CalyxOS right now, whatever Neo-CalyxOS shit they release months later will require a wipe and reinstallation to use. This is because the "pause" is while they sign new build keys and existing versions won't trust these keys.

What an absolute disaster. Hopefully more will come out soon on exactly why this is happening. I really don't want to touch GrapheneOS but I also really don't want to go back to stock either :(
 
HalHalliday said:
Wait, why the new keys?
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That's the million dollar question. I hoped you guys might know some more. The founder and a lead dev left around the same time. Their updated statement said it's just a protocol with new leadership. Something very not good went down.
 
What good is it to have all these fancy-pants security practices if you just drop them the minute things get difficult? Doesn't that show it was just a LARP the whole time?
See also: most people who purport to use warrant canaries.
 
What a bunch of cocksuckers to just stealthily update the previous article instead of making a new one.

For you convenience:
CalyxOS - A letter to the CalyxOS community
Update: August 5 2025

We appreciate your valid concerns and questions around the security and safety of CalyxOS.

First, we want to assure you that we have no reason to believe the security of CalyxOS and its signing keys have been compromised.

As you know, we announced a recent leadership transition. When senior personnel have access to signing keys and leave a team, it is security best practice to update signing keys and conduct audits. So in accordance with that, we are using this transition period to update our security protocols, including updating the signing keys and taking other steps to further protect our users.

In the past, security audits have been conducted for parts of CalyxOS, such as the Seedvault project, but not for the entire project. As more and more people across the globe started using this tool, we intend to conduct a broader security audit and publish the reports for the public to review.

As mentioned in our community letter below, we estimate that this audit and the implementation of new security protocols and signing keys will take four to six months, but we will endeavor to complete this process as soon as possible. However, for the time being, current CalyxOS users will not be able to receive further security software updates until our new security protocols are in place.

Without security updates, we can only be honest that this does not guarantee the level of security we strive for, especially when global threats to privacy and human rights are at a critical moment. That is why in the meantime we have posted the recommendation that people who are running CalyxOS should uninstall the OS and follow our community channels for updates, including when the latest version of CalyxOS becomes available again.

In case you wish to migrate to another custom ROM in the meantime, we’ve now published updated guides on how to back up and restore your device using Seedvault and how to restore your device to stock.

We also understand that many community members have expressed interest in having an installation option/images for CalyxOS available again. Due to the overwhelming feedback from our community, we’ve decided to make the images publicly available once more. Please be aware that this decision is not a recommendation to migrate to CalyxOS now.

Please note that, just as current users will not receive further software updates without reinstalling CalyxOS when future updates are released, any device installing CalyxOS in the near future will also need to reinstall it. We want to ensure that all users are well informed before deciding to install CalyxOS at this time.

Again, we are very sorry for this development and we thank you for giving us—the project and more importantly the team—tremendous trust and support. We are doing our very best on our end, and are committed to keeping CalyxOS secure and this decision is a result of that commitment.

Wild, old founder and lead dev are gone, new keys, since the old leadership had access to the previous ones. They're redoing everything, whole project is frozen for 4 - 6 mo., no security updates. On top of that, they're straight up recommending users uninstall their OS. But because the community chimped out, they made the install images available yet again, just: "Don't install them!"

Don't know what to make of all this.
 
Flaming Dumpster said:
I really don't want to touch GrapheneOS but I also really don't want to go back to stock either :(
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Is there even something else? And LineageOS doesn't count.
Kosher Dill said:
What good is it to have all these fancy-pants security practices if you just drop them the minute things get difficult? Doesn't that show it was just a LARP the whole time?
See also: most people who purport to use warrant canaries.
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Aren't "all" the security practices just suggestions anyways? I mean, who really needs them? Surely not the: "CalyxOS is an Android mobile operating system that puts privacy and security into the hands of everyday users. Plus, proactive security recommendations and automatic updates take the guesswork out of keeping your personal data personal." OS.
seri0us said:
Is it possible to import the new keys in 6 months?
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From the letter to the community: "Please note that, just as current users will not receive further software updates without reinstalling CalyxOS when future updates are released, any device installing CalyxOS in the near future will also need to reinstall it. We want to ensure that all users are well informed before deciding to install CalyxOS at this time."
 
Sounds like the Calyx project has been captured by some entity, possibly a government agency or corporation, the way it hasn't blown up into autistic drama yet.
 
Double unfortunate. The Calyx Institute was one of the least-sketchy ways to get reliable unlimited data SIM cards.
 
Recently I went to a tech store to look at new phones, and I was extremely disappointed. All the latest Samsungs, Pixels, and iPhones do the same crap—they have no new features. They all have the same web browsers. The Androids have Google News, and the rest of most people's smartphone usage is the same garbage social media apps. How did smartphones ever take off? What's the appeal of using social media on a tiny screen all day instead of living in the real world? Smartphones can't even be used as good music devices anymore without an adapter because they lack headphone jacks. Every smartphone is truly terrible.

TLDR: Smartphones are bad. Prove me wrong.
 
Recently, I went to a home goods store to look at new dinner plates, and I was extremely disappointed. All the latest designs from various brands do the same thing—they have no unique features. They all hold food the same way. The patterns are repetitive, and most people’s dinner plates are used for the same mundane meals. How did dinner plates ever become so popular? What’s the appeal of eating off a flat surface all day instead of embracing a more creative dining experience? Dinner plates can’t even double as good serving trays anymore without extra accessories because they lack versatile designs. Every dinner plate is truly lackluster.
 
Bonzi Baptist said:
Recently I went to a tech store to look at new phones, and I was extremely disappointed. All the latest Samsungs, Pixels, and iPhones do the same crap—they have no new features. They all have the same web browsers. The Androids have Google News, and the rest of most people's smartphone usage is the same garbage social media apps. How did smartphones ever take off? What's the appeal of using social media on a tiny screen all day instead of living in the real world? Smartphones can't even be used as good music devices anymore without an adapter because they lack headphone jacks. Every smartphone is truly terrible.

TLDR: Smartphones are bad. Prove me wrong.
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I use my phone for map navigation, messaging/calls with family, listening to music, reading books and shitposting. What new features would improve my experience? I already have a working screen, a way to type text and programs to accomplish what I need. The gay bullshit they keep adding, if anything, detracts from my experience while making newer phones more expensive.

If you're OK with 4G, there are plenty of old chinkphones with a headphone jack.
 
if anything I would like a physical keyboard again. Does anyone make a slider keyboard case that turns a phone into a T-Mobile Sidekick?
 
Welp smartphones continue to be my nemesis. A week after replacing a OnePlus Nord N200 for a Pixel 6a, google pushes out their battery nerfing. I had no idea.

Anyone know if this battery concern is legit? Or a case of google using retards punching holes in batteries as an excuse to planned obsolescence a whole line of their phones?

Follow up. Anything I can do? Would nuking Android and installing Graphene fix this? Would installing Graphene fuck me in some other way?

Fuck me I hate these things.
 
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