4 ms·

There are far more Android phones which support AOSP-derived distributions. Have a look at the support list for e.g. LineageOS [1], it shows 27 brands with 195

There are far more Android phones which support AOSP-derived distributions. Have a look at the support list for e.g. LineageOS [1], it shows 27 brands with 195 models in total. [1] https://download.lineageos.org/ https://download.lineageos.org/

NotPractical 5y ago
Most of these devices don't "support" LineageOS though; rather, LineageOS supports them. As in, they are not designed to support custom OSes, but people make it work anyway through bootloader unlock exploits and other weird hacks, which may introduce security issues. Using hacks to install a custom open-source OS might be better than sticking with the proprietary one it came with, but ideally your device would natively support custom OSes.
- hagbard_c 5y ago
  This is not true for many, if not most of the devices on that list. You may have to jump through some hoops to unlock the bootloader but once that is done installing alternative distributions is no more difficult than installing a vendor distribution. Have a look at the installation instructions (click on a model and follow the 'Installation instructions' link in the header) to see how things are done for that model.
  - NotPractical 5y ago
    That may be true, but most of the devices on that list are either old or not devices people actually want to use. Apple, Samsung, Lenovo (Motorola), and LG combined make up 94% of the market share in the US, while others make up only 6% [1]. Of these, only Motorola seems to allow bootloader unlocking. Samsung locks bootloaders on all US smartphones (though international versions reportedly aren't locked) and uses proprietary "download mode" instead of fastboot mode. [1] https://www.counterpointresearch.com/us-market-smartphone-share/ https://www.counterpointresearch.com/us-market-smartphone-sh...
    - hagbard_c 5y ago
      Going down the list: - Apple: next... - Samsung: supports unlocking the bootloader (enable developer options, enable OEM unlock, boot into download mode and follow the on-screen instructions for "Unlock Bootloader") - LG: supports unlocking the bootloader (see http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader....) - Lenovo: supports unlocking the bootloader (see https://www.zui.com/iunlock https://www.zui.com/iunlock) - Motorola: supports unlocking the bootloader (see http://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a http://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bo...) In other words, all devices in your list support unlocking the bootloader. I've used devices from many different manufacturers from around 2010 onwards, none of them run vendor distributions. It used to be difficult to install new distributions but this has not been the case for more recent devices. I'm in Europe but often source devices from elsewhere since they are not 'officially' sold here.
      - NotPractical 5y ago
        > Samsung As I said, bootloader unlocking is not supported on any modern US Samsung phone with a Snapdragon SoC. [1] It is at least """nice""" that they allow unlocking the international models though. (Perhaps the EU legally requires this?) > LG The site you linked says this: > we offer a method to unlock the bootloader on some of our devices Looking at the list, we see that many LG phones are excluded for some reason. Also, LG doesn't sell phones anymore. [3] > Lenovo/Motorola That's nice, but unlocking the bootloader requires visiting this website, entering your serial number, and voiding your warranty, which means most people won't do it. Unlocking your Pixel phone's bootloader does not void the warranty, and all you have to do is enable "OEM unlocking" in developer options, rather than visit some website that tries its hardest to convince you that bootloader unlocking is scary and you shouldn't do it. [1] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/3902961/#post-78960111 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/3902961/#post-78960111 (Spoiler alert: no, the US model S10 is not unlockable. [2]) [2] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/4085447/#post-82345735 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/4085447/#post-82345735 [3] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/after-a-decade-of-failure-lg-officially-quits-the-smartphone-market/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/after-a-decade-of-fa...
- causi 5y ago
  Yes. Depending on what features are important to you, choosing an android phone can be quite difficult, especially if you're on a whitelisted-only carrier like Verizon and AT&T that only activate certain models and completely rule out major brands like Xiaomi.

NotPractical 5y ago

Most of these devices don't "support" LineageOS though; rather, LineageOS supports them. As in, they are not designed to support custom OSes, but people make it work anyway through bootloader unlock exploits and other weird hacks, which may introduce security issues. Using hacks to install a custom open-source OS might be better than sticking with the proprietary one it came with, but ideally your device would natively support custom OSes.

hagbard_c 5y ago
This is not true for many, if not most of the devices on that list. You may have to jump through some hoops to unlock the bootloader but once that is done installing alternative distributions is no more difficult than installing a vendor distribution. Have a look at the installation instructions (click on a model and follow the 'Installation instructions' link in the header) to see how things are done for that model.
- NotPractical 5y ago
  That may be true, but most of the devices on that list are either old or not devices people actually want to use. Apple, Samsung, Lenovo (Motorola), and LG combined make up 94% of the market share in the US, while others make up only 6% [1]. Of these, only Motorola seems to allow bootloader unlocking. Samsung locks bootloaders on all US smartphones (though international versions reportedly aren't locked) and uses proprietary "download mode" instead of fastboot mode. [1] https://www.counterpointresearch.com/us-market-smartphone-share/ https://www.counterpointresearch.com/us-market-smartphone-sh...
  - hagbard_c 5y ago
    Going down the list: - Apple: next... - Samsung: supports unlocking the bootloader (enable developer options, enable OEM unlock, boot into download mode and follow the on-screen instructions for "Unlock Bootloader") - LG: supports unlocking the bootloader (see http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader.dev http://developer.lge.com/resource/mobile/RetrieveBootloader....) - Lenovo: supports unlocking the bootloader (see https://www.zui.com/iunlock https://www.zui.com/iunlock) - Motorola: supports unlocking the bootloader (see http://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a http://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bo...) In other words, all devices in your list support unlocking the bootloader. I've used devices from many different manufacturers from around 2010 onwards, none of them run vendor distributions. It used to be difficult to install new distributions but this has not been the case for more recent devices. I'm in Europe but often source devices from elsewhere since they are not 'officially' sold here.
    - NotPractical 5y ago
      > Samsung As I said, bootloader unlocking is not supported on any modern US Samsung phone with a Snapdragon SoC. [1] It is at least """nice""" that they allow unlocking the international models though. (Perhaps the EU legally requires this?) > LG The site you linked says this: > we offer a method to unlock the bootloader on some of our devices Looking at the list, we see that many LG phones are excluded for some reason. Also, LG doesn't sell phones anymore. [3] > Lenovo/Motorola That's nice, but unlocking the bootloader requires visiting this website, entering your serial number, and voiding your warranty, which means most people won't do it. Unlocking your Pixel phone's bootloader does not void the warranty, and all you have to do is enable "OEM unlocking" in developer options, rather than visit some website that tries its hardest to convince you that bootloader unlocking is scary and you shouldn't do it. [1] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/3902961/#post-78960111 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/3902961/#post-78960111 (Spoiler alert: no, the US model S10 is not unlockable. [2]) [2] https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/4085447/#post-82345735 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/4085447/#post-82345735 [3] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/after-a-decade-of-failure-lg-officially-quits-the-smartphone-market/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/after-a-decade-of-fa...
causi 5y ago
Yes. Depending on what features are important to you, choosing an android phone can be quite difficult, especially if you're on a whitelisted-only carrier like Verizon and AT&T that only activate certain models and completely rule out major brands like Xiaomi.