21
votes
Looking for a phone that doesn't follow recent trends
I am generally dissatisfied with my phone options today. I want a phone that meets these requirements:
- microSD card slot
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- Unlockable bootloader without having to ask the manufacturer (i.e.
fastboot oem unlock) - Either LineageOS support or Android 8+
- Screen smaller than 6" (preferably smaller than 5.5")
I'd also prefer not to have a notch but it's not a dealbreaker. I don't really care much about having the thinnest phone, or the biggest screen, etc. I'd much prefer having more control over my device and the way I use it.
Does such a phone exist, or do I have my standards too high? I haven't seen a phone like this that came out 2017 or later.
The Xiaomi Mi A1 fits all those criteria I believe. It runs stock android (via the Android One program), it's unlockable via the developer settings menu. It's 5.5" (no notch, 1080p screen), and has a headphone jack + MicroSD (or dual sim if you want it) slot. LineageOS 16.0 was recently released for it (it's unofficial though).
It has the SD 625, which is a great budget chip, and 4 GB of ram. It's really cheap, only costing around 200 dollars. But I don't think there's a version that's compatible with all US LTE bands, so if you want to have 4G/LTE in the US, you'll have to check with your provider and see if they have the required bands, otherwise you'll have to use 3G (which isn't actually that bad, but depends on your location). Uses USB C type C, so you'll have to update your cables.
Also has an IR blaster if that's your kind of thing.
3G's not just about speed, but availability too. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all said they plan to phase out 3G during or before 2020, so you only have 3G support for another two years at most.
Worth mentioning that Xiaomi devices are high quality, in case the stereotype of Chinese electronics being bad bothers you
I have a different stereotype of Chinese electronics: they're made by Chinese companies which are required by law to assist the Chinese government obtain any data it feels necessary. And, sometimes the Chinese government works directly on the hardware to include bonus features you didn't request.
[citation needed]
The general consensus seems to be that the Bloomberg report is implausible on a technical level and one of the named sources in the article has accused Bloomberg of misrepresenting what he told them. Now that doesn't mean the hack didn't happen, since Bloomberg could have just messed up the details and it also doesn't mean the Chinese government is innocent nor does it absolve them of their other recent spying attempts (e.g. internet traffic rerouting) but I would take the Bloomberg report with healthy dose of salt until we see how things shake out.
Citations, which may address your concerns:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/14/17011246/huawei-phones-safe-us-intelligence-chief-feature
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-04-12/china-is-nationalizing-its-tech-sector
The second link is just an oppinion piece. And in regards to the first one, I have been extremely skeptical of the claims of the US government. They seem to be more motivated by politics than actual security. Note there have been no actual claims of any specific security breach. As far as I have heard, the only spyware scandle on Chinese phones ended up being caused by an American company adding it to the firmware.
Let me ask your opinion, do you believe Snowden’s info on the NSA getting into US companies’ systems? If so, why wouldn’t the CCP do the same thing where ever they can?
There is a huge difference between these two stories. The difference is that one has real evidence. The US government doesn't only fight wars with bombs and guns, they also fight them with economic and diplomatic leverage. That is what we are seeing right now. If this propaganda campaign were actually true, the US government shouldn't have a problem with releasing some evidence. The fact that they haven't is a huge red flag.
Neither of those links have any evidence whatsoever that "Chinese companies are required by law to assist the Chinese government obtain any data it feels necessary". I am not denying that the Chinese government spies... every government does... but AFAIK the claim made by Algernon is completely unsubstantiated.
Fair enough, does this go any further? I do realize that this is referring to domestic users, but it seems to set a precedent.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-tech-giants-have-a-second-job-helping-the-government-see-everything-1512056284
Not really, since once again it fails to provide any evidence of what Algernon claimed and implied... that Chinese electronics cannot be trusted by anyone because the Chinese government can force, by law, manufacturers to compromise the devices for the sake of surreptitious data collection. But I do appreciate you linking so many interesting articles even if they don't necessarily back up what Algernon claimed.
I did say it was a stereotype! Stereotypes don't have to be based in fact - they're notoriously fictional, such as the stereotype that all gay men are effeminate, or the stereotype that all Asians are good at maths, or the stereotype that all women are bad at reading maps.
However... seeing as you asked... ;)
The Chinese National Intelligence Law of 2017 empowers China's national intelligence agencies to request citizens and organisations to assist them in their work.
It is surprisingly difficult to find a copy of this law as promulgated (and I don't read Chinese), so I can only provide English-language sources which quote the law. There's a draft, but the final law went "into effect [...] without giving details of what was in the law or how its contents had changed since a draft was circulated".
This blog provides the best summary of the relevant articles of the final law:
This news story also quotes a few articles from the law.
This law is quite ambiguous. As those analyses say, it's not clear who or what falls under its ambit - which means that it's possible to interpret this law as meaning all organisations operating in China are covered by it. However, quite a few western governments and security agencies are concerned about this:
"Six top U.S. intelligence chiefs told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday they would not advise Americans to use products or services from Chinese smartphone maker Huawei."
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service's analysis concludes that "The intelligence law highlights one important continuing trend within the state security legal structure put in place since 2014: everyone is responsible for state security." and "The law provides official sanction for the intelligence services to do things long observed in their activities: coopting officials in other government agencies; compelling cooperation from PRC citizens".
The Australian government has banned Chinese telecommunication companies Huawei and ZTE from participating in the construction of Australia's 5G network because "The Government considers that the involvement of vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law, may risk failure by the carrier to adequately protect a 5G network from unauthorised access or interference."
(It's this last news story about my government banning Huawei and ZTE from working on our telecommunications infrastructure which is how I found out about these concerns.)
As for the issue with the Supermicro servers, I'll have to concede that I don't have the technical expertise to analyse the hardware involved. I only know what I read.
Funny, I avoid American products because I don't want the CIA snooping around my stuff. Maybe it's a "pick your poison" situation
Same, I try to avoid both US and Chinese tech products.
Well, there's always the "neither" option. My current phone is a Japanese device (Sony Xperia X) running a Finnish operating system (Sailfish).
That seems like a near-perfect option, but I live in the US and as @Silbern points out, it may not be a good choice.
You mentioned you'd want a phone with Oreo running on it, if you're willing to install an unofficial ROM on your next device keep reading, otherwhise just rely on the other comments.
Others have given you some nice answers already, but since my phone has yet to let me down after 4 years of intense use I've decided to add my experience as well.
That's it with your requirements, I'll add some points myself; of course it is an older model, meaning it's got some flaws.
I realise this comment may sound like I'm a Samsung employee or something, but honestly after having used and abused this thing for 4 years I felt like it needed some well deserved praise.
That's it i guess, if you have any questions fire them up my way, I don't comment much but I'll keep an eye on this account.
Edit: links formatting
My requirements were very similar to yours, and I ended up going for a Moto G6. I've had it a few weeks and I'm very happy so far, although if I were to nitpick I would still prefer if it were a cm or two smaller. It's also remarkably cheap without feeling in any way compromised.
The only point we differ on is unlocking: I wanted stock Android for practical reasons, and Motorola's provided version is close enough for me. It does look as though it's unlockable, but with a code request from the manufacturer needed. Not sure if that's a deal-breaker for you.
It's nearing its 3rd anniversary but I still highly recommend the Fairphone 2.
It should meet all your requirements (don't know about the unlockable bootloader but there is a LineageOS image for it), is easily repairable and it's hardware is ethically source.
Doesn't it only work/ship to Europe?
Galaxy S8 or S9 with Exynos CPU should fit these all. S9 has stereo speakers.
You're not really looking for a phone that doesn't follow trends, you're looking for a phone that isn't cutting away the features you like. Having an up-to-date version of Android isn't a trend.
Samsung's S series has kept at your requirements. Though it looks even Samsung is about to chop the headphone jack. You could also look at the Nokia 6.1, it's (exactly) 5.5", has an SD card slot (u.t. 128GB), headphone jack, and it's running Android One (already on Pie), meaning you get updates pushed by Google, so you'll always be up to date. You'll even be able to test Android DP's if that's your kind of thing.
Isn't that the same thing for some of these features, though? A current trend in phone design is to exclude headphone jacks from phones. Another current trend is to exclude SD cards. Yet another trend is to have larger screen sizes. These are trends in phone design. To want a headphone jack or an SD card slot or a smaller sized phone is to go against those trends.
I don't really consider it a trend if the omission was of something that wasn't a "standard" feature to begin with. It was never necessarily a given that a phone would definitely have an SD card. The only real trend there is the removal of the headphone jack, and I guess larger screens.
Honestly I'm just being semantic. I didn't mean for that to be the main point of my comment, and explaining it further makes me like I'm just arguing to be argumentative.
Very little thought went into the title of this post. I couldn't come up with any good way to convey what I was talking about concisely and that is the closest I could come up with.
As someone else said, I generally have a similar opinion as you in terms of what I'm looking for and bought the unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy S8. You can unlock the bootloader to install custom ROMs or root if you're inclined to do that, and has all the features you requested. Plus, it's a damn good phone -- great battery life, gorgeous screen, yadda yadda yadda.
Doesn't have an official LineageOS unfortunately, although somebody ported an unofficial build. Also I'm sad that it won't get the new One UI, but what can you do :/