I only moments ago dropped my Pixel Fold into a freshly cleaned stainless steel bowl of water.
This phone is not waterproof.
It is now resting in a bowl of brown rice. My wife commented she hadn’t seen a rice bath pulled out for a phone since the dumb phone era.
I rather liked some aspects of my Fold.
I’ve also come to loathe what these devices have largely become.
What is the phrase? It’s only once you’ve lost the thing that you know how much you really were ready to buy a new one for thousands of dollars that could suck you in deeper to its engaging algorithms… 😌
I was curious to record my journey with different phones, my reasoning / requirements around getting a new phone, and whether I want to have a smart phone at all.
At the end of the day, I think the amount it robs me of my attention, interrupts my activities and thought processes, and sells my attention to any willing buyer leads me to feel like these devices are actually very hostile.
I’m not sure what I’ll do. If my phone is broken, I may just take a break and see how it feels. Can I navigate in my city okay? Does my wife get worried while I’m away? Do I feel better without one?
I’m almost hoping my fold is broken just so I can pursue this self experimentation.
My Phone Saga
I have tried quite a few different phones over the last five-ish years.
I purchased the original PinePhone (pine64) when it launched, even got the keyboard case. It was barely usable as a linux computer, let alone a phone. I wanted it to work so badly I persisted despite my wife’s pleas to have a way to be contacted consistently. I relented after a month or so.
Then a Pixel 4. It was fine. I ran CalyxOS on it at first and then GrapheneOS (homepage) I think. Both custom flavors of Android that have a privacy focus, spoofing or sandboxing required Google services to respect your data just a bit more.
I jumped back in the mobile linux pool for another month about a year ago with a OnePlus 6T. It was much more usable, phone calls worked fairly well (provided you weren’t doing any bluetooth tomfoolery), and once I compiled a custom VoLTE package I was even able to make calls on 4G networks! (Oh yeah, I’m remembering, if I wanted to receive calls, I had to be sure to set my phone to 2G networks only, so having the VoLTE setup was super convenient. Data was a “only turn on when using” sort of thing). I also tried a flip phone for a minute. I ended up purchasing a TCL Flip 2 (product page). Incredible how cheap it was, and it worked surprisingly well! I put some custom software on it, unfortunately I didn’t document the process, but managed to install a custom cursor tool to set a button to toggle controlling a cursor on its 2.5" screen. This made using some of the apps much easier / possible than using the simple ^ v <- -> controls. It got me detoxed off my phone and showed me just how much time I can spend on it. Then, I switched back, telling myself I could handle the raw power of these internet-connected, eye-catching attention bricks.
Back to my Pixel. Until I dropped it and it wouldn’t keep a charge. The phone would only power on while plugged in, essentially unusable as a mobile device.
I then got my favorite phone to date, the Pixel Fold! Second hand from a chap in my area for $400. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
Other than the weight, (and the fingerprint scanner stopped working suddenly last week…) I had no complaints! And it was so fun to use!
I put GrapheneOS on it right away. I have loved reading blogs on the dual internal screens. It has been fun to be able to watch videos on the front screen and just open it slightly, the phone acts as its own stand! Same with pictures. Also, opening two apps side by side on the inside screens comes in handy. I did some mobile software development with my split keyboard plugged in, it worked extremely well! I used Termux and, most recently, the native Linux Terminal app which shipped with Android 16.
But alas, the Fold took a splash and now I’m worried it won’t survive.
I was listening to a session in the Waking Up app and it kept playing underwater audio after I fished it out, so I may be over dramatic… but I know people have talked about dust getting into the internal screens and rendering them useless. I don’t have a lot of faith that water would be more gentle.
Do I Need a Phone?
I considered many times over the last year how nice it would be to my brain to cut smartphones out entirely.
I think it would make some things extremely difficult in my life.
Or would it…? Let me write down what I typically do on my phone everyday.
I have a good sense as I’ve been tracking my screen time fairly consistently the last few weeks. I was really proud for having multiple days in a row under 2 hours, some barely over 1! I still had some days hit 3 or 4, but those always has a huge spike in the Signal app, so I think it was just video calls with friends and family. I consider this an excellent use of my phone.
Phone Requirements
My most used apps (from memory) are:
- Browser
- Signal
- Anthropic app
- Waking Up
- Ground News
- NewPipe (YouTube client, when a channel I follow posts a video) Then at this point its like >10 minutes in various utility apps, work, calculator, etc.
Honestly, none of these things require an android/smart phone, except Waking Up.
I think my phone is really just an insane distraction that I’ve been convinced I need and want in my life.
Its so apparent when watching other people how locked in they seem on their devices. I wonder how guilty I am of the same thing.
Phones I would consider
It doesn’t make sense to me to purchase any other phones at this point.
If you cannot easily repair a phone, it is not worth purchasing.
I think buying some Google, Samsung, or Apple device is communicating to these companies that us consumers do not want or need basic re-use as things wear.
Can you imagine buying a car with the reassuring guarantee from the sales rep that you get to buy a new one once its oil needs to be changed? Okay, that’s extreme, how about new spark plugs, or tires. It is crazy that we consistently purchase these devices that they manufacture as essentially, disposable.
Fairphone seems like a really legit company from Europe, and I like their mission. Much like Framework, I would like to spend my dollars toward businesses that respect humans and the world they share with us.