đź“… 09 Dec 2021
Over the past 10 years I have used a flip-phone during three different periods. It’s funny because occasionally I’ll read an article saying something along the lines of, “flip-phones are making a comeback!”, or, “flip-phones are cool again!”. I can assure you that neither one of those statements are true. Even when I tried with all of my might to not even get a mobile phone people thought I was weird.
Unfortunately, we live in such a connected world now. While I certainly push back against it, I also never want to just disappear and not talk to anyone. That’s not healthy for me or the people I love.
So, as I sat pondering yet another drop back down to the flip-phone world, I thought of an interesting solution: have a flip-phone as my “daily driver” but have a wifi-only smartphone for group messaging, pictures, etc. I wouldn’t have to carry my smartphone all of the time either. Just when I felt like it.
Some people might think this is a cumbersome solution. But for me it also represented an opportunity to explore de-googling and a move away from big tech, something I am increasingly passionate about and pursuing in nearly every area of my life.
While I have yet to acquire a flip-phone, I knew that the de-googling of a smartphone would probably be the hardest part.
But guess what? It wasn’t that bad!
I purchased a pixel 3 for < $200 and after a few hours, I had it up and running LineageOS. Literally, I did this the night before a vacation and it took < 2 hours.
It was a really fun project to mess around with over vacation. I got f-droid installed and got a handful of apps. App selection is really crucial for me. People talk a lot about gapps (I didn’t know what that was - it’s really just a handful of google apps that you can install similar to how you install LineageOS) but I really don’t think I have a need for them.
I have a handful of secure messaging apps (signal, element, etc.), a note taking app, newpipe, antennapod and a pdf reader. Beyond that, I don’t want anything else. I’m not even sure I want newpipe but it’s nice for listening to music sometimes.
Probably the number one thing people would use their smartphones for if they were lost and dying would be maps. But I’m old enough to remember pre-smartphone navigation and have done it frequently since having a smartphone. It’s not that hard and just takes a little more trip planning. And guess what? Rather than scroll through your socials you can spend that time figuring out your trip and boom, you’re still at net zero time wasted :)
LineageOS is clean and refreshing and I know that I am in control of my device. While I would have loved to “de-apple” my current smartphone, that appears to be next to impossible (at least for a newbie like me).
I’m excited for this journey and honestly am really excited to have a flip-phone back! Hopefully I’ll have an update on that in the new year.
Day 75: #100DaysToOffload
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