Technology

So my roommate has informed me that Android and Motorola donate to Republicans more than Democrats whereas Apple does not, claiming this as a reason that the iPhone is better than an Android phone.

So I'm not sure from where your roommate is getting their information, but according to Open Secrets, Alphabet, Inc. (parent company of Google) donated $27M to Democrats during the 2020 cycle, compared to $1.4M to Republicans. The 2022 cycle is shaping up to be the same. I haven't been able to find much information on Motorola Mobility or its parent company Lenovo.

e-waste is unethical, try keeping your phone if you can. keep an eye out for LineageOS and see if they end up making a port for your device. if your plan is to de-google your life, stock android can also do that just fine for you. iirc, there are no google services on stock android.

i stand by my comments about fairphone. there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. if you are dead-set on a new device, look into getting a used/refurbished pixel phone and installing GrapheneOS. you won't find a more private/secure phone mobile system, it's vouched for by Edward fuckin Snowden. try get one of the newer models (6 or 7 series) because you'll get longer software support life.

the fairphone still isn't a bad option if you want the hardware to be as ethical as you can realistically manage, fairphone uses several fairtrade gold sourced parts, has open schematics and is almost fully repairable. just bear in mind that it is not designed to last on the software side and fairphone's priority is straying towards profit; it's the 'lesser of two evils' in my mind, i guess.

Your friend is... Misguided at best. And, no phone on the market outside of the Fairphone, or any Linux based phone is really going to be privacy capable.

If your already on the Internet, I'd stop caring about privacy other than enough so your actual important data isn't stolen. Beyond that, nobody on the internet has a private life anymore.

It's part of the reason I'm going Apple soon, at least Apple hasn't had any major privacy data leaks/breaches to where my data is at risk. Other companies have in the Android space.

My favourite smartphone was a Blackberry Bold. Now I'm stuck with whichever is the lesser of the two evils.

The post you noted is a decent resource.

The best phone is usually the one you already have. I have used that guide in the past but now just stick to the degoogling of my devices using adb directly.

There are so many things to consider when you go down the rabbit hole... Is the company ethical? How can you balance security, privacy, and usability in a way that doesn't cause too much friction?

At least with Motorola it isn't loaded with too much bloatware and the price isn't astronomical.

I am very satisfied with my Fairphone 3. I still get monthly security updates. I can easily unlock the bootloader and install any alternative ROM I desire. I can repair any broken part without having to unglue something. But it also seems to be the most robust phone I have used in years. There's a reason a used Fairphone is as expensive as a new one.

If you really want to go all-in on privacy a Pinephone or Librem 5 would be options but they have their own bag of problems. They are better suited for tinkering.

And regarding the comment on firmware updates of the parts themselves, that is a general computing problem that seems to be the worst with single board computers like smartphones. The solution would be parts with support for open firmware but they are almost impossible to find. I think Fairphone is going a good middle ground. I don't expect there to be any phone where this is better.

If who a company donates to bugs you, buy used or refurbished. It's good for the environment. If it's an unlocked phone, flash lineageos, and they can't mine your data.

End of the story: you're not going to find an ethical phone company. It's too competitive a field for ethics to get in the way.

Like the comment you linked to, I only know people who have installed GrapheneOS onto a Pixel phone, and they've been pretty happy with that. It would be great to see a flagship phone that isn't greenwashed, but for now I also settle for buying used phones exclusively. Usually one model behind or at least 6 months post-release, which has worked really well for me with the Pixel line, at least in my area. When I'm done with them I give them to family or resell them, trying to stretch out the e-waste cost as much as possible.

I’ve not heard that one before! What an odd reason for choosing an iPhone!

I didn't know this, I'm not from US. Why companies donate money to politics parties?

Honestly, if a fairphone had competitive hardware specs I'd get one as my next phone. I just can't go back to a 60hz screen and mediocre cameras.

wow!