The /e/ OS operating system provides a user-friendly alternative to Android for people who want the Android experience without the reliance on Google and associated manufacturer-related applications and telemetry. Compared to LineageOS, /e/ provides a more unified experience out of the box, with a suitable suite of default open source applications and a system-based application store. Despite the fact that /e/ borrowed from various pre-existing open source projects to create its default applications, none looks out of place.
It’s a good choice for people looking to de-Google, but the rather lacklustre device support is a big problem, forcing you to buy a new device if you want to give this a go. That’s not really /e/’s fault, of course, but it’s an issue nonetheless.
I am interested in these alternatives, but given that E is a fork of lineageOS, which is obviously a fork of android/AOSP, I have to ask what’s different? The article does not make this clear. I would try it myself but I don’t have a supported phone. Is it fair to say it’s basically lineageos plus “ecloud” service?
The author specifically says he did not try microG, but IMHO lineageos without microG is an incomplete android. Many applications don’t work without google’s APIs since app developers have gotten accustomed to hard coding google dependencies into their applications.
/e/ has the goal to be as easy and as “normal” as possible with as little Google as possible.
From what I understand, LineageOS still has some ties to Google deep in the code. /e/ aims to remove all of those instances. Additionally, LineageOS does not come with any version of the Google Play Services. /e/ comes with microG built in and ready to use. They also provide services hosted by themselves (mail, calendar, documents…) to further allow people to get away from Google.
In other words, they try to give people the option of buying a phone that has no ties or minimal ties to Google while still giving the person all of the comforts they are used to. You know, allowing for a privacy oriented experience without feeling like a “nerd phone” or something.
I agree that there are more secure and more privacy oriented versions of Android, and I agree there are more user-friendly versions of Android. /e/ tries to find an acceptable balance that can be installed on an existing phone, or be purchased pre-installed on some phones.
I’ve had a great experience with it. I get monthly updates on my Google Pixel 4a. The /e/ app story used to be pretty bare, but I think they changed things recently to provide access to pretty much every app in the Google Play Store. The only app I’ve been interested in using that has failed to work with /e/ and microG is the Ebay app, but that’s a known issue, and I can still use Ebay in the web browser.
@Alfman The project is very similar to LOS+microg BUT the noprofit behind it offers free (1 GB) cloud services – based on NextCloud – too.
There aren’t many devices supported by the easy installer but there are dozens supported the OS itself: https://doc.e.foundation/devices
Hmm, the name of the project should discourage everyone who would consider it as a viable production ready alternative – because just searching about “e” (bugs, fixes, news) is very hard. Maybe someone can try “e-project”, “e-something” else but honestly… good luck..
I agree. I use /e/ on my phone and I haaaaate the name. XD
I have recently bought a device supported by CalyxOS but I am worried that all these degoogled OS-forks are useless as soon as Google is finished replacing the Linux parts of Android with Fuchsia. The mass will go over without noticing and AOSP will be a thing of the past, like new apps running on it.
iNotify,
That’s true, but I still have hopes that Fuchsia could actually have a much better driver model than android does today. Optimistically the operating system releases may no longer be tightly coupled to the drivers as they are with android. This flaw has been plaguing android and it’s forks including lineageos forever. We need a better model where indy projects can support the drivers of hundreds/thousands of phones out of the box without having to generate a custom OS release for every device.. A standardized driver model could be a godsend for Fuchsia forks.
Of course we don’t know what google will ultimately deliver, so we’ll have to take a wait and see approach. I have my fingers crossed that we can finally put the monolithic android driver troubles behind us. But there’s a real possibility Fuchsia may be infested with more google lock-in, which would be a major bummer.
Well, if this (https://fuchsia.googlesource.com/fuchsia/+/master/LICENSE) is their license, I’m not sure I could consider it as free or open source, so it remains to be seen if we can create a degoogled version.
iNotify
It looks like the 2 clause BSD license (ie freebsd).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD_licenses
The licenses does not prohibit modifications, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be problems with “DRM” and/or remote attestation that can (and typically does) break modified code.
Yeah, that’s a 2-Clause BSD license.
I use lineageos. Updates are smooth so far (Xperia XA2) and my old Xperia Z5 mini still gets updates almost ten years after launch.
TBH the one I’m more interested in is PostmarketOS. Higher entry barrier than Android? Sure. Less secure? Mostly, though depends on your threat model. Few apps? Yeah. But having an actual Linux distro that can run on “obsolete” Android phones well beyond their official EOL, for me that’s a huge deal.,