Here's a problem I've been struggling with for a while: how to break my dependence on my Smartphone (specifically Android).
So far, so normal, everyone is addicted, but that's not my problem. My smartphone is mostly a tool, with some entertainment uses bolted on the side.
With the changes going on in the mobile ecosystem (enforced app signing, oncoming age verification, etc.), I don't think it's tenable to stay on Android.
1/?
The smartphone really has become a techno-socio-economic Gordian knot, that I can't see a way to unravel.
We've pushed everything into this one place (UNIX philosophy RIP) to the extent that it's impossible to even define all the use cases you have, let alone start replacing them.
And that's even before you get to the random system you might encounter demands immediate internet access or use of their app.
2/?
I don't think that Linux phones, or alternative Android ROMs solve the problems, because the hardware is invariably expensive, pushing out a large portion of the population (i.e. everyone who doesn't buy a flagship phone every 2 years).
That's even leaving aside the fact that most Linux phones still don't work for everyday use (no blame assigned here, this is just a fact).
3/?
I'm somewhat convinced that the solution lies in pushing as many tasks as possible over to a laptop/desktop. That leaves all of the mobile uses cases, where you don't have access to a computer.
Then there's those tasks that require some hardware, mostly mobile music/podcasts and photos/video for me and the need to have some form of cell phone for emergencies. Cost becomes a factor again.
4/?
And those mobile use cases are the real killer apps, the ones that sucked us in: basically email (or some equivalent notification/messaging tool) and maps.
Notifications/messaging should be all async anyway, I just need to decide how urgent things are.
Maps is a hard one. Having access to that when out an about is almost completely irreplaceable.
5/?
When I'm using public transport, I really prefer to use the native wayfinding of the system in question rather than have to stand about looking at my phone.
However, when driving to unfamiliar places it's admittedly really useful.
Also having access to all the PT info in real time is bonkers. We've forgotten how difficult it used to be to get around.
6/6 (possibly, for now).
I guess were there a working, reasonably priced ($300-400 NZD) Linux phone, that would probably fulfill my use cases.
However, it would need to be completely open and reflashable, down to being able to patch the source if necessary, because I will never verify my identity or my age with any computer that I own. I will simply make it lie on my behalf and good luck stopping me.
7/6 (!)
@rob if you don't need any android apps, or can at least give up on reliable push notifications from them, the Furi phone is probably the closest you can get.
I tried to daily drive one for a week. But I needed some notifications for work apps to be reliable.
@dark_stang Linux has always been something you could put on older, cheap (or even free) hardware and end up with a useful device. If all our phone offerings are going to be expensive, small-run devices, we are losing something.
@rob maybe eink screen? they suck at video and all that jazz.
Bigme has models on aliexpress
@rob yes, only a middle point. maybe less distractions. then maybe we would use phones for communication and reading webpages, not watching videos or playing games.
like you said, the world forces people to use all these apps.
@tootbrute The distractions aren't my problem. If my phone distracts me, it's probably for a good reason and from a system I've set up. If anything unwanted distracts me I mute it, unsubscribe or uninstall.
I guess my problem is probably more 'creeping techno-fascism' than anything else.
@rob @tootbrute Now you’ve gotten to the heart of the problem. It isn’t that phones are such good distractions, we can already train ourselves not to be distracted with some effort. The fact that all of the apps you use track everything you do and report back to their makers is the real issue.
I use a smart phone that isn’t top of the line, but is decent. I do the same thing where I only have a few apps that I use, and aggressively avoid things that will “suck me in”. Still, the apps I do use have some amount of tracking, and I haven’t really cut ties with the big app providers. I recently installed F-Droid and am starting to look at open source apps with my own services behind them (immich, for example). There might be some good solutions there, but I think it doesn’t yet cover everything I want. Maps is going to be a hard one I think.
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