Can dumbphones revive Europe’s mobile industry? (thenextweb.com)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I post this knowing the article naively hopeful but it's also food for thought. With the recent drama where Google stopped publishing device-specific AOSP code - thus making maintaining custom ROMs more difficult - what will more tech-knowledgeable people do if Android is enshittified further?

Will "phone ludditism" - switching to dumbphone with a simple OS like Mocor RTOS, S30+, ThreadX etc. be the answer for some of them? They're deGoogled out of the factory. I switched to a dumbphone as my main phone, but I still keep an Android smartphone at home for online banking. I also take the smartphone with me if I know I'll need a hotspot or a map. I use the smartphone like a PDA, or a terminal to the Android ecosystem.

It's also questionable whether "Europe is leading in the dumbphone sector". Sure we have HMD, Doro, Crosscall, Gigaset (sold to South Koreans), MaxKom or myPhone but there are so many other potentially bigger companies like TCL or Itel. One thing is for sure - in the dumbphone sector and considering how simple those devices are, Europe at least stands a fighting chance. Whether somebody will become a dumbphone martyr in order to exist in this Europe-friendly sector is another thing.

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago

Not for me, although peak-phone would be one that could be repaired and upgraded (like a Framework laptop), uses a privacy-first OS, has hardware (especially the camera) that doesn't suck, and has modern specs.

I'm not interest in going back to having a dumb phone, a GPS, a camera, an MP3 player, a portable gaming system, tablet for entertainment, etc...

Smartphones replace so many things, they just need to stop being enshittified.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I have similar thoughts and really hope the Liberux Nexx gets sustainable production and doesn't die off like so many other promissing kickstarters and indiegogos.

Right now the Librem 5 would be the closest of things actually produced but its starting to be outdated already in specs (starting to suck) and no way to upgrade. Its also US based which would make it a nonstarter for many reading in this here.

Fairphone is cool but the mobile non-Android Linux ports are still a bit behind. The specs aren't really flagship level either, but I wouldn't say the 5's "suck" yet even if they're midrange. I haven't played with /e/os but it could be a neat combo since they have the partnership.

What are you targeting of things that are being built today?

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

How about Volla phone? It’s a German company and at least what I have heard support dual boot and multiple nongoogled os’s.

Volla

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Also see Fairphone 6 leaked specs, and the phone itself releasing in 2 days. Fairphone 5 is fully supported by Ubuntu Touch no? Or do you mean that Ubuntu Touch as an ecosystem is in general "behind" Android?

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

I'm glad to be wrong.

I hadn't tracked that Ubuntu Touch had bumped up the Fairphone 4s and 5s to advanced support, that's really cool, glad to see how far that's improved (it had been awhile since Iast checked). PMOS still lists the 4 and 5 as community & test levels not main level, still listing only partial support for camera and phone calls. That being said, looks like they're further along too than I thought too.

I hadn't heard of the fp6 leaks either, those are definitely better stats, thanks for the heads up!

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

What are you targeting of things that are being built today?

I'm not sure I understand the question.

After years of holding onto my old phone, I recently gave in and purchased a new one from OnePlus.

It's not my ideal phone, but it offered a good value, and I plan to keep it for many years.

I don't like the AI implementation (most AI features are cloid based), and it's still very much full of Google. But, you can uninstall pretty much everything, and the hardware is excellent (including battery life).

Not being able to easily repair it is a bummer.

I might have gone with a Fairphone, if it were available in Canada. I've never used one, so I don't really know.

this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2025

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