A smartphone without Apple and Google: Fairphone test report with Android-based /e/OS

For a little while now, I have been using a so-called Fairphone with a Google-free operating system. No more data for Google, and still good functionality. Standard apps from third-party providers work too. A fingerprint sensor for unlocking comes on top. My test report.

The Fairphone is a kind of ecologically oriented smartphone. It is designed so that it can be opened easily and many repairs can be carried out in the intended way. It also does not come with its own power adapter. Instead, a conventional USB cable can be used. The charger can be ordered as well if needed, in case you don't already have a USB cable anyway.

For me, the ecological aspect of the Fairphone was not quite as important as data protection. All the better that this philosophy came along as well.

I bought my Fairphone with an Android operating system from which everything that is understood as "Google" has been removed. There is no Google app store, but a separate one. The included app store provides many apps, including the well-known ones such as Spotify or Signal. In addition, you can install the F-Droid app store if needed.

I bought the Murena Fairphone FP3 (Fairphone 3) in the eSolutions Shop. I don't even need to set a link here. Because anyone who wants the Fairphone does not belong to the generation of click-lazy and tap-lazy Google victims who need to get every online activity done in two seconds and would rather pay with data than invest one second more.

Anyone who enters the search term eSolutions Shop into a search engine of their choice will find the shop. The provider's motto is: "deGoogled phones and services". The "e" in the name probably comes from the e Foundation. Their headline reads: "We build desirable, open source,
privacy-enabled smartphone operating systems. We are /e/". (The last time I read the sentence "We are X", the slogan came from a hacker group).

The picture at the top of the article shows the product. The packaging is very nice and lovingly made. It consists of several sleeves that slide into one another. Here is one of them:

The package contains a few stickers and little tags from "e", which is an allusion to /e/OS. This is the operating system based on Android, but without Google apps.

The package also contains a small screwdriver, which can be used for repairs that will hopefully not be necessary. Unlike other smartphones, you don't have to throw the Fairphone away right away or have it repaired expensively if a standard part breaks. That is the promise, which I have not yet had to put to the test.

As the packaging shows, the motto is "Your data is YOUR data". Please compare that with Google's well-known motto "Don't be evil". Anyone who has to proclaim something that is self-evident for normal people has lost their marbles, in my view. It suggests megalomania and implies that one could do something evil at any time when one declares not wanting to do anything evil. Anyone who is not yet convinced that Google is evil should watch The Billion Dollar Code on Netflix (as you can see, I have nothing against American providers as such, but I do have something against global corporations that resell data to anyone and everyone). There, viewers learn that a Berlin company was partly responsible for the success of Google Earth but, it seems, unfortunately had its source code stolen.

In my opinion, the Fairphone is very robustly built. It looks high-quality and is no lightweight. I think the camera is very good. But I am not a camera tester. What I can say: even in very poor lighting conditions, brilliant photos are produced. That is my opinion. The camera was not why I bought it. Nice that it exceeds my personal expectations.

By the way, the Fairphone 4 (FP4) has been available for some time. I bought the FP3 because the FP4 was not yet available with the Google-free operating system. The FP3 is absolutely fast enough for me. I don't need a newer (better?) phone.

The FP3 has a fingerprint sensor on the back. With it, the smartphone can be unlocked directly by placing a finger on it. Fingerprint recognition works flawlessly.

The battery performs well. I did not pay close attention to how long the FP3 runs on a single charge. In any case, I don't have the feeling that the battery runs out quickly. The battery life is perfectly fine for me.

Screenshots can be taken with a simple two-button grip (power button plus the middle software button at the bottom of the screen). Here is a screenshot of the home screen.

You can see numerous apps, including some well-known ones. The look is only slightly different from a G*** phone. At the bottom of the screenshot, from left to right, are the icons for phone calls, SMS messages, browser and camera. If Der Spiegel adhered more closely to data protection rules, I would recommend the app shown in the screenshot outright.

Software functionality of the Fairphone

The Fairphone already offers quite a few standard functions preinstalled. The email program is set up quickly. Signal is installed quickly. Transferring a Signal account from another smartphone is also done quickly.

The Covid apps can be installed without any problems. I have CovPass, the Corona-Warn-App and the luca app on it, as well as the CovPass Check app. All of them run flawlessly. The barcode scanner works better than on my older Samsung Galaxy model, which I replaced with the Fairphone only because of the display and the data protection problems with Google.

Navigation software is also installed, so you can safely do without Google Maps. The Spiegel app is available in the app store, as are many other apps you know.

Things like a calculator are of course also available. It is simply a full-fledged smartphone and not a makeshift solution. Anyone who buys a Fairphone without Google gets a functional smartphone without Google. How nice is that?

As the holder of a dual SIM card on two smartphones (same phone number), I don't know whether it is due to the double SIM card or something else. In any case, I can send SMS. But they don't arrive on the FP3, but on my other phone with the same number. At least both phones ring at the same time. The path to the end device is thus becoming ever shorter.

What apparently does not work is voice input with text conversion (speech to text). Anyone who wants to install a Google service for this can get that too. I don't want to. Honestly, you don't really need such voice input, at least not in professional life. I type proper texts on the PC. Private messages can be short or replaced by a phone call. It worked in the past too, sometimes even without a phone at all. That is just my opinion. Anyone who absolutely needs voice input but does not want to use Google already has a problem, even without a Fairphone.

Alternatives

Essentially, the operating system determines the functionality of the smartphone. This operating system should support as many apps as possible. With /e/OS, that is quite a lot. However, there could be more.

Another operating system is Graphene. In principle, it is possible to set up your own smartphone yourself. However, that is more something for technically savvy people. That is why many prefer ready-made and preconfigured phones that are simply the way they are.

Anyone who maintains their smartphone themselves also has full control over it. Not only that root access is then available. But also that you know the engine room of your smartphone and can do some tuning if needed.

Conclusion

After one month of everyday use, I can draw a very positive conclusion.

Apart from a very few minor details, I don't miss anything. I don't need Google, even though I work a lot at the computer every day. Search engines like Ecosia or DuckDuckGo serve me very well, and I am certainly tracked less on the internet than by Google. Standard apps, including those from third-party providers, are available. After all, it is the Android operating system, just without Google apps.

By the way, I did not test whether the Fairphone sends data to third parties. I don't believe it does. Even if it did: as long as the data does not go to Google and other internet corporations, the probability is extremely high, in my view, that data protection has improved considerably compared to smartphones laden with Google. In any case, I do not suspect an advertising ID, such as Google and Apple impose on their customers, on the Fairphone with /e/OS.

I enjoy the Fairphone. I don't regret buying it.

Anyone who takes data protection seriously and wants to be credible should say goodbye to Google as far as possible. With the Fairphone from eSolutions, it is possible. I receive no money for this recommendation and no other benefits from the provider of the Fairphone.