THIS is why I'm LEAVING ANDROID

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#android #samsung #googlepixel

00:00 Intro
00:29 Sponsor: Save 10% on your website or domain name with Squarespace
01:49 Hardware: too many bad choices
04:41 Why NOT Samsung Phones?
06:30 Why NOT Google Pixels?
08:14 Software Issues: nothing fits
11:18 Alternative ROMS?
13:35 What to use, then?
15:27 Parting Thoughts
15:55 Sponsor: Get a device that runs Linux perfectly
16:49 Support the channel

My preferences are: relatively small phone, very close to 6 inches, a high refresh rate display, 90hz or more, a capable camera array, preferably with a video portrait mode, and, the hardest one, I don't want a phone sold by a chinese company.

Let's start with the size. Current phones are just way too big. If I can't reach the top left corner with my thumb without shifting my grip, it's too big. Period.

I used Samsung phones for a long while. I started on the Galaxy S8, then I had an S9+, an S10e, then an S21. I ran the default Samsung ROM on some of these, and I find Samsung phones great. I even miss the curved edges screen.

My problem with Samsung is more in terms of reliability. All phones I owned from them had the exact same issue: after about a year, they stop recognizing my SIM card. This happened to EVERY Samsung phone I ever owned, so I'm done with them.

So that leaves Google, the Pixels are highly rated by people who use them.

But first, and it's subjective, I find them horrendous to look at. Plus, they're very unreliable. The first gen had severe performance degradation, the second one had a bad OLED screen that burned in way too quickly, and an easy to break USB C connector. The third pixels were plagued by software issues. The fourth pixels had a bad screen again, and a very insecure face unlock mechanism.

The fifth pixels seemed to have huge manufacturing issues with the screen separating from the main body, and almost right after launch as well.

The 6th one has issues with the fingerprint sensor not working well, the assistant could ghost dial random contacts, there was a screen flicker issue, so basically no quality control on that phone.

And as per the pixel 7, it looks like the camera glass is spontaneously cracking.

I'm sure I could look hard and long enough and find something that I'd enjoy, but Android is just messy. Samsung's brand of Android, called oneUI was pretty good, with a great design flair, easy to use with one hand, with major controls at the bottom of the screen, good gesture navigation, and looks wise, it was pretty good.

BUT it's riddled with ads in a lot of the default applications, and it's a mess of applications you can't remove. It's bloatware central.

If you go with Vanilla Android from Google, then you get something that is way more trimmed down, with only Google apps and services, but the design is horrible, in my opinion.

Which leads us to alternate ROMS. Graphene OS works on Pixels, and as I explained, no way I'm buying one, not with that track record.

Then there's Lineage, or /e/, my favorite one, which goes even further than Lineage in terms of removing Google crap, and has a very nice simple aesthetic that I find super pleasing.

/e/ is what I would use, if I could find a phone I like to use it on. My Galaxy S21 is in a drawer, and I'd love to use that with /e/. But I can't, because they don't support it.

[jean-pierrea]

My hate for Apple is bigger than any android flaws.

[johnnychcr]

Can't wait for the "Why I'm returning to android" video....

[SlaggyGaggy]

A linux preacher buys one of the most locked down consumer smartphone on the planet. lmao.

[abaneyone]

I'm looking forward to Linux phones getting up to standard.

[Magikarp-mmse]

Asus Zenfone 9 might be the way to go! As a bonus, battery life is surprisingly great for it's size

[edinfific]

Curved edges may look cool and be helpful sometimes, but MOST of the time they introduce more problems like accidental touch of the controls and much easier cracking of the glass when the phone falls on its side.

[motoryzen]

NOOOO...you were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the crapple not join them!!

[balazsh]

The reason I don't like curved edges, is because you either defeat its purpose by using a case, or just don't protect your phone at all. And once a curved screen breaks, it costs a lot of money to replace

[bland]

Aren't all Apple phones "designed in California made in China" so that's not what you want.

[ugh.idontwanna]

High refresh rate compact camera phones is pretty much Sony's entire thing. They are also usually waterproof and have headphone jacks (even though Apple said it was impossible).
I haven't play around with it myself, but they do have an Open Devices program that might be worth looking in to if you want to degoogle.

[ericswpark]

I'm sure you've probably tried it, but just in case others here are also experiencing the same issue where the SIM card would stop getting recognized by the phone, try getting a new SIM card. SIM cards can go bad and I've had several cards exhibit weird behavior like mobile data not working, phone calls getting dropped, or losing signal while other phones/SIMs had reception.

[surajkpanigrahi]

"that's way too big (for a phone)"
glad he clarified

[nezunskyfire]

My biggest issue with any new phone, is that they're built to break, not to mention most stop receiving support after just a few years.

[nikluz]

I hope a new competitor enters the arena in the near future. RISCV hardware is growing this year.

[meshuggah]

There's no way in hell using an iphone is worth getting rid of android.

[FunnyHacks]

5:18 To answer your question about curved edge displays: One reason is that they make matte screen protectors really hard to do. Many screen protector manufacturers exclude that portion of the display, giving you an inconsistent experience, which makes gestures harder.

[korpiusleitinusk]

This video makes no sense. He runs a channel called The Linux Experiment, complaints about Android not beeing good enough and private enough, yet switches to a more locked down OS with less privacy which he doe'snt even like to use, and which runs a iOS.

[AlexRubio]

WTF what a disgrace. Right to repair!
Horrible, just pure pathetic bro..

[gregbirger]

You have an interesting set of requirements! You already mention this abundantly in your video so I won't try to convince you otherwise, but I'm almost 2 months in to using GrapheneOS on a pixel 6a (for $299!), and it is by far the best experience I've had using a cellphone, ever. The degree of control & security far outweigh all other considerations for me personally. Hope the hardware holds up!

[chaosfenix]

I am with you on this. I hate how cluttered android is and I refuse to go with apple based off different corporate philosophies. I would love to use a linux phone in principle but man they need to send out a phone with hardware from this decade. Seriously all of the linux phones out there use like a quad core cortex a53 on 28nm, both of which are at least a decade old. A raspberry pi is more powerful and just as efficient. I almost wish raspberry pi would come out with a phone using the chips they already have, the camera they already have, and update things like the display and such.