I’m using a Pixel 6 Pro right now, and I’m looking around to see if there are any good phones. However, I have heard that there are ads in the newer flagship phones (Samsung, Xiaomi). I am willing to spend around USD$750 on a new phone, but I just don’t want any crazy ads or preinstalled apps like Facebook. Are there phones that don’t suck nowadays? I can buy a phone that is sold in the US, Canada, or EU.
(I don’t want to go through menus to disable ads (Xiaomi), and I’m currently looking at phones other than the Pixel lineup to see if there’s a better option for me)
(I also don’t want to mess around with custom bootloaders/systems, I rely on Google services way too much)
EDIT: If it wasn’t clear enough, I am not looking for things like GrapheneOS or LineageOS or others, I am looking for a phone and judging based on the stock system on it.
Q: what’s a nice phone to buy? I don’t want to go through menus
A: flash graphene os
Cmon lemmy
Or Lineage, or DivestOS (a fork of Lineage).
Sounds pretty sweet to me… got a dialer with built in call recording.
I can install a 3rd party app store without moving to the EU and waiting 4 more years.
You can Dee-Google it by hacking the matrix with some ASOPs and pay $7 a month for a proton mail account while crying into your open office.
Run some McAafs
feey antivirus for that hit of early 90’s nostalgia, or Norton if you’re really old and miss the 80’s ;-)Firefox with a real uBlock plugin would be pretty sweet? Do they have that working yet?
I’m thinking pay-as-you-go burner but… oh right, android smart phone… I’m old and forgot what I was doing for a second.
I really can’t tell if this is a joke or not (I’m not mad), but don’t third-party app stores have almost all of the features as of the Play Store? F-Droid has the ability to automatically update apps silently, I think.
It’s both, I think we should all have the ability to easily record a phone call on the hardware we pay for.
But I feel like both platforms need to do better with security. Apple pretends their shit doesn’t stink and google says play at your own risk… and Israel says I’ll do that for a dollar 🤑
Try librewolf for browsing it’s a privacy oriented fork of firefox and I have ublock on it also I suggest nextdns for ad and tracker blocking on your whole phone and even router
I’ll give it a look. I generally just use Firefox and uBlock when I have a choice.
I’m running Techtinium right now for DNS privacy, any killer features in NextDNS that made you pick it?
Sorry, as I was corrected in another comment, I meant Mull not Librewolf. Librewolf is on my PC and Mull on android. I also use an iPhone in which case I have the Orion browser from Kagi…
I think techtinium is a self hosted solution if I’m not mistaken? Not really heard much of it so if it fits your needs then great. I like nextdns because I don’t want to self host my private dns and it is easy to setup and monitor for all my devices and provides a lot of lists to easily choose what I want to block on what devices. For example I have a different profile for my kids with parental control. Medium for the wife so that her internet browsing isnt distupted and strict tracker blocking for myself because I don’t mind things not working.
Oh okay, that’s pretty cool. I don’t think Techtinium can do per-device settings at all, and (obviously) only works on my home WiFi. And the bulk of the DNS requests are just passed to cloudflare, so it’s better than using my ISP, but only by a bit.
I love librewolf too but there is no mobile version. And don’t say mull because that refresh rate makes it unusable.
Oh yes I’m sorry I meant mull! Didn’t realise there was a refresh rate issue until you said it. Is there any alternative you recommend?
I would use mull if they only increased that refresh rate. But as it is now, I use Firefox on mobile in the strictest tracking protection mode and UBO.
So it turns out you can fix the refresh rate if you disable resist fingerprinting. However, mull advises you not to do that, and not knowing much about it I learnt online the following details and now I prefer a lower refresh rate to disabling it -
“Resist Fingerprinting” is a privacy feature that can be found in various web browsers, including Mull Browser, which is a fork of Firefox focused on privacy. This feature aims to make users less identifiable and trackable across websites by minimizing the amount of information browsers reveal about users and their devices.
Web fingerprinting involves collecting details about a user’s browser and device, such as screen resolution, operating system, installed fonts, and browser extensions, to create a unique identifier for tracking purposes. Each piece of information might seem benign on its own, but collectively, they can create a detailed profile that can uniquely identify a user, even in the absence of cookies or traditional tracking methods.
When “Resist Fingerprinting” is enabled, the browser attempts to reduce this uniqueness by:
- Providing websites with less detailed information or more generic information about the browser and the device.
- Limiting or altering the behavior of web APIs that can be used to gather unique information about the device or its user.
- Adjusting the content of HTTP headers to be less revealing or more uniform across users.
By doing so, Mull Browser and other browsers that offer this feature help protect users’ privacy and make it more difficult for advertisers, analytics companies, and other third parties to track users across the web without their consent. However, it’s important to note that while “Resist Fingerprinting” enhances privacy, it may also cause some websites to behave differently or break certain functionalities that rely on the information it restricts.
Thank you for your effort, but I honestly already knew all this. What I want to know is why one couldn’t simply report 60hz to fingerprinters while, in reality, maintaining the highest possible rate in the browser.
I don’t want to turn off resist fingerprinting but that refresh rate ruins the browser for me.
Samsung completely blocking the ability to record calls in their US phones really annoys the shit out of me. Outside of rooting and installing a custom rom they just didn’t leave a way to do it.
Same with Apple AFIK, though I think it’s broadly true… I think the legal theory here is that if you make an illegal call regarding that the company has aided your crime and could be culpable… but I’m not a lawyer, I just play one on TV 😎
But it’s standard in other countries and legal in most states. It should just come with a warning on legality and give you the choice. It’s legal to buy a Ford that’s able to do 120 down a residential street, but Ford won’t get in trouble if I plaster a 10 year old when I do it.
Yeah… this is where the  “play one on TV” part comes in. This is the standard explanation for why they don’t support call recording, but it’s always felt like it was missing something to me 🤔
I wasn’t aware that it was standard functionality everywhere else… now I like my country even less! There have even been a handful of (usually paid) services that try to get around it; running the speakerphone and audio recorder simultaneously was my favorite, but there were subscription VoIP solutions with call recording, $80 Bluetooth answering device with onboard recording.
Either Samsung has a compelling legal reason, a clearly identified financial incentive, or they would just rather make more bloat nobody wants? Is it Google? Have they locked all US phones… can’t be because people import them occasionally.
IDK… I’d love to hear theories. 
I dunno what samsung has behind blocking it off, but in some countries like India it’s just a simple setting to turn on in the settings menu under phone calls. You just click it to turn on and record calls. The option is just removed for some countries like the US.
Weird. Got to be some financial motivation then. I’m going to research it more now that I know it’s a stock option in some markets… Thanks :-)
I live in Canada and screen recording a phone call with audio doesn’t work, and the option that seems to be in the phone app for India isn’t on my phone, even though Canada is a one-person call recording policy country.
So gay.
Why do you feel the need to change phones? Pixel 6 Pro should still be plenty good enough.
If its stock ROM bothers you, you’re in luck because Pixels are surprisingly hackable and it’s very easy these days.
See i.e.: https://grapheneos.org/
No need to worry about Google services, they work: https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-playYep, Pixel is the best phone to get the most Google free experience for those that seek it.
Depends on your usecase and your country of living. Why do I say so? I will name my 2 points:
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Lack of sd card. Yes I need my sd card, I don’t want to upload stuff online on a 400kbps connection or download on a 16mbps connection. It’s not a good experience.
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Not officially sold in my country, only available rarelly in resellers for 200+ euro more than normally.
Pixel has a Trusted Protection Module like computers with secure boot. No phone hardware in existence is documented at the hardware level. This is how planned obsolescence is created and why you have to buy a new phone every few years.
With a TPM chip it becomes possible to run signed and secured code on top of untrusted hardware and underlying software. Without this, your security is very limited in practice. Graphene OS is verifiably secure and only runs what you put on it.
The entire Android system is designed for people to use when they have no clue how to secure a device themselves and when they are far too incompetent to learn. The way this is done is to delegate a lot of permissions to app developers. This gives a lot of freedom to the apps you run. They can exploit the hell out of you within their little sandbox of vague permissions. Graphene does everything possible to limit what is happening in the background and the exploitations. It is default privacy.
I do not purchase phones as hardware any more. I don’t care what is sold by any of the exploitation clowns. I shop for my ROM and buy a device that is well supported by that project. I’ve owned several Graphene OS devices and am happy with them. I had a Lineage device I liked too awhile back.
That’s all fine and dandy, but when it outright doesn’t have features you wan’t, and costs in most cases double your wage it just doesn’t pay off.
What does this have to do with what they said?
It is showing a different paradigm of thought. Valuing a few IO options to be exploited makes far less sense to some people. The OP is about “doesn’t force ads on me.” Hardware centric thought is a marketing leverage used to force ads on people. Buying for the ROM is the best way to protect your privacy and avoid the ads.
I had a Lineage device
Lineage OS is not a secure ROM, as a matter of fact the way it is hacked makes it a security nightmare, but you can breath new life to old devices and install adblockers that need root and set other features that allows you to avoid ads and Google, which is nice.
Fairphone is also quite hackable. Hard to get in the US, only distributor is Murena. In Europe they’re pretty easy to find from what I hear. Sd exists but you need to power cycle the phone to access it so maybe not your best bet. Still, if I need to transfer stuff quickly USBC is really fast.
Too bad I live in the tech shithole called croatia where fairphones are even rarer then pixel’s here.
I connect my Pixel 8 to my PC with a USB a to USB c cable. Plenty fast.
I bought it from google, off their website. On sale.
Thats nice, but google doesn’t sell them here like I said, we only have them on resellers sometimes. For example there is pixel 6 pro here sold for 600+ euro on a reseller, while there is no other pixel available rn in the country at all.
That’s true, but I was just talking about the best phone to get for a Google free experience. Stuff like pricing, specific features, or availability is another matter. Like it someone asks what is the best consumer available GPU VR gaming to get people would say 4090. Since unless they ask about price and availability they are just asking about hardware.
And this person already has a Pixel. So availability or price isn’t an issue for them.
Just because someone own’s something doesn’t mean they themself were able to afford it, or it was available to them. That argument doesn’t fly just like that.
Maybe they got it as a gift, on a giveaway, from a cousin who got a new one, …
It’s too simple to think that just because someone own’s something they got it themself, unless specified otherwise.
I live in Canada, and the Pixel non-pro phones seem to sell at a normal price for me (I still don’t want to overspend on a pro model) I’m also really in the Google ecosystem right now, so I can’t leave and install custom systems and disable Play Services. I’ve also never heard of the Pixel’s being out of stock here.
Well, for the use-case described (“most google free”), Pixel is it.
Now, if you wanna lay down some other requirements, then its a different use-case.
-
I have already said that I don’t want to deal with custom bootloaders/systems. I’m also just looking at phones (and by extension phone companies) to see whether I should stay with Google in the future, or switch to a different brand.
How about phones sold preinstalled with a custom rom?
Too old to know what a telemarketer is?
The nice lady who plugs the connections at the post office would give a telemarketer a stern talking-to and that’s that.
My friend’s parents still have the same landline they had when we were kids, and the phone is always off the hook now. They said it rings all day long with calls from telemarketers. Pretty lame that’s legal.
Too isolated to have used a modern phone that receives dozens of spam calls a day? They give telemarketers a run for their money.
I’m on a pixel 6a, I swapped out my DNS server to dns.adguard-dns.com and now I don’t get ads on any app or game I use, excluding YouTube (which I use very rarely).
I’ve got a 6a and I ended up rolling my own DoT server so that it would adblock, but also resolve to servers in my own country.
I also moved to GrapheneOS. The only Google stuff that broke was Google Wallet’s tap payment thing. Reportedly even Android Auto is supported now.
Oh - my kid just got a Motorola G84. It was a very cheap handset for 12GB RAM and no ads so far. Very close to stock Android too.
Is it really? The hold up for me switching to Graphene has definitely been android auto compatibility. That’s huge.
From what their website says it now works with android auto.
They recently added this functionality. https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/111665498981590978
Motorola seems to be a good choice for me, then.
I’m using a Motorola Edge 30 Pro that I got 18 months ago. I’m very impressed with it. It’s got flagship CPU performance, and long batter life. Good screen, decent camera, and NO ADs.
Just taking the YouTube app off my home screen and replacing it with a Firefox shortcut has done wonders for my sanity. It’s really disorienting now, when I follow a YouTube link that opens up the app. All of a sudden it’s all ads and shorts and sponsors.
ELI5 swapping the DNS? (I know what it is, but thought that wasn’t possible on the device.)
I believe you just add that to your network settings for private dns.
Go to settings - network & Internet - scroll down to see Private DNS and add a DNS of your choice like dns.adguard-dns.com.
Worked for me so far as I use pihole on WiFi at home but now not seeing adds on mobile data like I used to.
Update, this will override all DNS settings it seems. Just did a test at home and it now points to this DNS vs my pihole. If someone knows a better way, please lmk otherwise I’ll poke around more.
Tried that. We’ll see if it works!
Unfortunately, there isn’t one, since it’s working as intended, short of pointing the phone DNS and Pihole to the same servers.
You’re overriding the DNS of the phone to point to the new server, and it will prioritise that over asking the router for one, like it might otherwise do if there wasn’t one configured.
Got it, that makes sense. Just wasn’t sure if Android had an option to only update per radio/device/adapter like you can in Windows and Linux.
For now, I’ll just switch it when I’m on the go. Thank you!
You can also block ads on YouTube by using Firefox Mobile + uBO. Mobile browsers are good enough now that there’s no reason to have the app anymore.
Do you use the Stock operating system? If yes, I highly recommend you to check out GrapheneOS.
You should keep your phone and install GrapheneOS. It’s not hard, you just have to reboot your phone and press few clicks in your browser. You can install Google Play and every Google service should work (except Android Auto and you can’t use NFC with GPay).
Android Auto works by now. GPAY not so much sadly.
I got tired of gpay breaking on crdroid. I just ended up getting a credit card that works with Garmin pay for my watch instead.
Where I live some banks have their own contactless payments app which can be set as default in Settings. Sadly many banks only support Google/Apple Pay.
This. People with Google Pixels wanting to switch is something I dont get. You literally own the most secure phone on the planet, with the best OS.
I just want to see if other phones don’t suck nowadays, I’m not switching to a different brand just yet (I own too many Google things).
They do poorly. Securitywise (which also means update lifespan and ease of creating a custom OS with full support) Google Pixels are unbeaten.
Samsung actively prevents custom OS from using many security features.
Most other phones have nonexistent update spans.
Fairphone maybe, they are still worse softwarewise than Google.
Fairphone maybe, they are still worse softwarewise than Google.
They’re behind on software and security updates, as well as don’t have a secure element.
I have already said that I don’t want to deal with custom bootloaders/systems.
Fairphone 5 is still on my list but unfortunate it does not support QI charging.
I can definitely recommend getting a Fairphone. I quite happy with my Fairphone 4. Bloatware is limited to Google stuff and they even give instructions how to easily install a custom ROM (have not tried that yet though).
The specs are not great, but good enough for me. But the main advantage for me is that it does not break that easily. I drop my phone all the time. My Samsung phones and Pixel phone I have broken within the first few weeks. Usually I dropped it and the screen cracked, even with a protected case.
I have had this phone for a lot longer now (maybe years by now) and I dropped it like a 1000 times and it is still fine. The screen has not cracked, it still works. Only the side is a little chipped. I don’t even use a protective case. And even if it breaks, I can just buy the broken component from their website and easily replace myself using normal tools. So that is really nice.
Nice to read your experience with the fairphone. We’re looking at it as well. It’s expensive, but can at least be repaired when something breaks. I’m curious aboutt the custom roms though, as they are my main requirement, next to costs of max €100 per expected year of usability. (And as phone, it should be usable for a while)
I think they have instructions on the website on how to unlock the bootloader etc. There is also a lot on how they support open source with their own OS. I think that your warranty also remains valid after you unlock the bootloader and install another OS, as long as you revert to theirs when asking for support. I can sortof understand that, as it would not be feasible to support all sorts of custom ROMs.
Thanks, looks like I need to start saving, my Nokia 6.1 with Lineage will probably need replacing withing a year or 2.
I needed a new phone last year just as the Fairphone 5 was launched so I went with that. Very, very happy with it. I really don’t miss wireless charging: the main reason I used it on my old phone was to extend the range of it’s ageing battery. Having a new battery removed that problem - full day of heavy use, no issues at all - plus it takes all of twenty second to replace the battery once it starts to age.
I’d get a falcons in a heartbeat if it was smaller. Don’t mind the thickness but I’m sick of large phones. I’m probably just going to get the jellystar
I might consider the Fairphone much more highly when the software is more polished and Qi is added. (I use a Framework laptop, so the Fairphone is really fitting for me)
GrapheneOS yo. You even already have a pixel for it lol
I have already said that I don’t want to deal with custom bootloaders/systems.
I don’t see any ads on a non-rooted Samsung.
If you’re seeing ads, its because you’re using apps that deliver ads.
Google services still work on Graphene, Lineage and DivestOS. With Graphene they run in a sandbox, with DivestOS they run in a user context.
I’ve done all of them. My google stuff works fine.
Or the phone’s been infected with adware.
I don’t see any ads on a non-rooted Samsung.
If you’re seeing ads, its because you’re using apps that deliver ads.Wow, that’s interesting, I’ve actually been avoiding Samsung, because I’d heard there were sooo many ads even on top models.
I can see you have a decent amount of upvotes, so I guess that means it’s probably true.But does no ads include not nagging about Samsung services? AFAIK Samsung has many Google equivalent services they advertise.
I bought the Zenfone 10 for those reasons and I’m pretty happy with it. I’m not going to buy a Samsung again.
The Zenfone looks really nice. I’m going to have to skip it though, because it’s just too small. (Hopefully they make a 6" screen version)
Google Pixel with GrapheneOS.
If you are actually, really, honestly low on money, you may get something with DivestOS or LineageOS.
GrapheneOS is the gold standard, every Google certified Android is full of tracking and will show ads in places
Is this a US thing? I’ve never seen any ads within Android itself, or any Google app.
No me neither. But if you use ISP DNS, Google Chrome, Youtube, Google blablabla you might see ads.
This is not the biggest problem though, as all apps will gather data in you to improve those ads, no matter if you block them or not.
This. The only google service which doesn’t work is google pay, and you can literally just put an NFC card in your phone case if it’s that important to you
Even android auto is supported.
I have already said that I don’t want to deal with custom bootloaders/systems. I know that stock phone systems are full of tracking, but I just want to know which ones have the least tracking that are not from Google.
Get an iPhone or a dumb phone.
Androids purpose is to generate ad revenue for Google. Everything else is there to server that goal. To get away from that you have to degoogle the phone. Phones using android without Google services are likely even worse for ads like fire os.
GrapheneOS really isnt comparable to LineageOS. The install literally is
- In the phone unlock the bootloader (just requires internet access if not already available) and enable usb debugging
- Plug in device using a reliable usb 3.0 cable
- Windows: install drivers, Linux: setup adb group stuff
- Open chromium, go to grapheneos.org/install/web
- Click a few buttons, on the phone press a few buttons to accept things
- Click another button
- Start your phone, set some preferences, install apps
Have a look at Veronica Explains’ video, i recommend to use F-Droid Basic though. Thats it, it just works.
And you can revert back to stock Android without a problem too, why not give it a try? This “I am looking for stock android without ads” is pretty half baked, stock android is a tracking platform, everywhere. No fairphone (or Murena with their insecure “private” OS) or ANY other brand will give you a reasonably private phone, all are basically a tracking instrument.
We really need a googerteller Android App. Stock Android sends everything to Google
Where’d you hear about flagship Samsung phones having ads?
As far as I know, the only Samsung models that feature ads tend to be the lower end series that get sold in markets like India.
Their ads are mostly self promotion and bloatware apps. In my device I had to turn off notifications for most of the pre installed apps.
A pre-installed app is not an ad, though.
Plus pretty much of of them can easily be disabled.
What if the pre installed app is netflix, hulu and bunch of useless things i do not use? Its not a bloatware for you but for me it is. Yes, i can disabled but not all of them. Some just outright disable the disable button. Bunch of services running in the background. Samsung is notorious for this kind of behaviour.
I received a budget galaxy tab from a lucky draw. Shit is disgusting with how many useless stuff in there. Planned to give it to my mother but i cant stomach how laggy it is with android 13. It is not a good experience at all. I had to use adb to remove all of them.
I’m still pissed my Google TV has a Netflix button and I pay for and use Netflix… and that shit is “integrated” so deeply it still loads up in the background even… anyway.
Do people really rationalize this crap away?
Can’t you remove Netflix on CCwGTv? The Play Store let me, and it doesn’t seem to reinstall.
No idea what a CCeGTv… oh, no, this is an NVSwGTv ;-) But that’s a super solid point! I was actually paying for it up until they got greedy, just objected to the button. But now that I can uninstall it there’s a 95% chance it won’t be able to launch in the background.
Now I just need to sharpie over the logo, and my mind will be at peace 🤤
Try using Button Mapper to remap the button if you want to, worth a try!
I have a flagship Galaxy device and there was nowhere near that many. As I mentioned before, the budget Samsung devices are much worse than the flagships when it comes to bloatware.
In any case, the subject at hand is not bloatware (which is undeniably bad - no argument from me) but ads. Not the same thing.
Of course you have a samsung device. No surprise there. So by that logic, if i buy a low tier device i should just accept whatever shit samsung install on my device? Having a bad user experience doesnt matter because fuck me right? Good to know.
Oh. It is an ad though. Just by having an app pre installed inside my device. Guess what? The app can send notification and that notification is what? Ads.
Splitting those hairs! Weather™ app telling me there’s a story about the weather in Apple News™ isn’t technically an ad either, but really it is. Nobody should have to disable this kind of bullshit… it shouldn’t happen in the first place and it serves no purpose other than to annoy people.
It’s unacceptable to spend thousands of dollars on something that serves you marketing content.
On my note 8 a few years back I would get push notifications advertising from Samsung
I’ve got a GS22U and I’ve never seen an ad.
You can disable all the bloateware on any phone using an universal adb/fastboot debloater script on xda.
Does not need root access.
My recommendation is FairPhone. Check specs before buying. It’s only a mid range CPU.
The mentioned debloater script is found here:
https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater#how-to-use-itThis is the list of apps the debloater script uses:
https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater/blob/main/resources/assets/uad_lists.json
I’ve read that the FairPhone comes with a standard, vanilla Android OS on it, no bloatware. I cannot say if it’s true, but you could have a look at the FairPhone forums and see what people think of the OS.
I know you don’t want to tinkle with the bootloader et al., but if you’re willing to try a different OS without the hassle: it is posible to buy a FairPhone with /e/OS or iodéOS preinstalled.
As the owner of a Fairphone, this is indeed my experience. The only non-standard app is the Fairphone app, which is easily ignored or might even be useful.
I’ve read that the FairPhone comes with a standard, vanilla Android OS on it, no bloatware.
So does the Pixel.
This isn’t true, the OS on pixel phones has pixel exclusives, which are not part of AOSP. It’s certainly closer, but not strictly AOSP.
Such as?
I’m currently using a Moto Edge 30 Ultra it’s basically completely AOSP Android the only stuff that’s pre-installed are the Moto Apps that are actually useful for the phone which also don’t have any ads and the phone has way better performance than all my stupid Samsung Exynos phones. So Motorola would be very good for what you’re looking for. If you don’t want to go with Motorola though I would recommend Sony or Fairphone.
Depends what you mean by an “ad” but going by the usual definition no phones have ads except cheap chinese ones and some phones in amazon’s program.
I would consider an ad to be an ad like on Youtube, and also things like popups to download an app when connecting a device, or deals from the same phone company as a notification. I don’t care if the “ad” is from the same company as the phone, I still think of it as an ad.
