Android without Google is now 100% usable

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 20:05:45 +0000

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Murena, /e/ OS Project: https://murena.com/

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00:00 Intro
01:07 Sponsor: Secure and monitor your internet connection
02:02 What is /e/ OS?
04:17 What's new in /e/ OS 1.0?
06:28 App Support
08:32 Default apps and cohesiveness
10:01 FairPhone 4 Quick Look
13:36 Install /e/ OS on your smartphone
15:03 Will I move back to /e/ OS?
16:30 Sponsor: Get a 100% Linux compatible device from Tuxedo
17:32 If I was a rich man, lalalalala

They replace the default apps with their own, all based on open source applications, and the launcher with their own iOS like version, but they also remove the connectivity check that calls home to Google, as well as the time servers, they let you change the DNS servers, they remove the Google Play Services and replaced them with Micro G.

They offer users what they call Murena cloud, Murena being the global brand that regroups the OS, the services, and the smartphones they sell.

The Murena team was nice enough to send me a FairPhone 4 as a review unit, running /e/ OS 1.0.

The launcher is still a grid of apps, very iOS like, without an app drawer. Advanced privacy is a feature that lets you hide your IP address, provide a fake location, and denies all trackers. It will show you a graph of all blocked trackers, and you can manage these per app.

Instead of the Google Play Store, you get the App Lounge. It allows you to login anonymously, or using a Google Account, to let you buy paid apps.

I downloaded a bunch of apps, including my banking app, Twitter, Firefox, Youtube, Game Pass, Freeletics, or Youtube music, and they all worked flawlessly, as you'd expect.

The App Lounge still retains its privacy ratings, giving a score out of 10 for each app, powered by Exodus Privacy.

In terms of internals, /e/ OS is still based on Lineage 18.1, so it's on Android 11, but it does have all the latest security patches, and gets updated regularly.

I'm less excited about the FairPhone 4. While is absolutely love the mission behind this phone, it doesn't feel like a device that suits my needs.

First, it's pretty heavy, at 228 grams. But it doesn't have high refresh rate, and after using a phone and a tablet, and a PC screen that run at least at 100hz, the return to 60hz is brutal

It uses a snapdragon 750G with 5G support, it has 6 to 8GB of RAM depending on the storage, either 128GB or 256GB. The battery is 3900 mAh, and definitely lasts the whole day without any problems.

The cameras are pretty good, with dual 48MP on the back at F1.6 and F2.2 aperture, so you get a wide angle, and the selfie camera is 25MP at F2.2, with a small notch.

The phone itself comes in grey, green, or speckled green, I got the gray variant, and you can add a charger and cable optionally, if you don't already have them.

The price is pretty high too for these specs, at 579€, but that's the price you pay for a sustainable phone with a huge warranty and repairability. You also get a fingerprint reader

What if you don't want a fairphone but you like /e/ OS? Well, you can do that as well, after all I used it on a galaxy S8+ before.

They have 3 ways to get /e/ OS. First, you have their online store, where they offer a variety of devices, including the Fairphone 3 and 4, Galaxy S nines and S nines +.

Second, you can use their Easy Installer. Third, if your device isn't supported by the easy installer, you can just flash /e/ OS on a LOT of phones.