I love the PinePhone. It is an amazing project, and I'm definitely considering buying one. However, it does not solve my main problem. For most scenarios I still need a "normal" smartphone with either iOS or Android. Apps like WhatsApp and banking apps are unfortunately needed for a large part of my daily life. At risk of either socially isolating myself or bringing major inconveniences without having them. All unavailable outside of the walled gardens.

I really want the PinePhone to be a solution here, but unfortunately I know it isn't.

>Apps like WhatsApp and banking apps are unfortunately needed for a large part of my daily life

That is the opposite of what they want. Do you think whatsapp and a banking app will allow installations that let them track users less? With banking I can sort of understand it, they have to protect the lowest denominator (reused password, no 2fa), so barring different installation methods that are used for "anonymous" purposes I can sort of understand the reasoning behind. but something like whatsapp where the main commodity is your data? Hardly their priority.

The (not cost effective) solution is to carry both.

Shut off the 'normal' smart phone when you don't need it (for banking or what have you).

Use the web version of Whatsapp (https://web.whatsapp.com/) if you must use it. You could even consider having a WhatsApp specific phone if you have an older model that you've upgraded from that contains no other data.

That was my solution anyway.

Check out Beeper (beeperhq.com). They have an all-in-one service that'll get you Whatsapp without hilariously dubious security promises from Facebook.

Basically what they do is build and maintain a bunch of Matrix bridges for you. Whatsapp, Imessage, Telegram, Facebook, Slack, Twitter, Skype...

It appears the Beeper service by default runs on the beeper servers, with a subscription fee, yet I see there is a solution one can run locally https://github.com/spantaleev/matrix-docker-ansible-deploy

Does anyone have experience running the open version on their machine? (self-hosted)

I do similar. Just use my previous Android (eg Pixel2) with the apps on it and my current phone (Pixel3) is trimmed (disable what you can, no apps but Firefox). I leave the 2 in a known safe location.

Not a 100% solution but is dead simple and better than 0%

In your scenario what do you even use the 3 for? Just web browsing?

Web, Phone, SMS. Email is via web-interface.

And I've actually got three apps: Firefox, Mattermost and Wireguard

Carrying a cheap/old/second-hand small android phone can be cost effective. Plus, it works as a backup for phone if the PinePhone runs out of battery.

Also, PinePhone can run anbox - slowly.

Any first hand experience with Anbox on Pinephone?

That is the solution I am considering at the moment as well. Its not the prettiest, but it will likely work as a stopgap measure.

You can also use one device to hotspot another thus providing data without the added risks that come with having another mystery binary blob.

You'll need a external battery pack though for longer days away from home.

A way to mitigate this is to just accept having multiple devices. This doesn't solve issues like unaccountable microphones, but does give you at least one device that you do control and the no-nonsense software benefits that brings.

I'm at the point in my life where I don't really need proprietary apps on the go, so my "full take" device is a tablet that mostly stays home.

Maybe a good solution would be to have an android emulator/sandbox running on the PinePhone?

Its called Anbox.

Is it good?

It is slow to start, but it works OK. Comes installed by default on Manjaro Phosh. you can install android apps via .apk files with adb.

What features of the banking apps do you require?

My bank’s app is essentially a wrapper around their mobile site. I can’t think of any specific features it has that require it to be an app, both technically, and in their implementation.

Check deposit may be the only feature not available in the mobile site. It’s certainly not a technical requirement that they can’t implement that though.

Probably the most noticable feature of banking apps that I've noticed is real-time payment authorization.

Sometimes when making a card payment online (not necessarily on the phone), my phone shows a notification from the app asking me to confirm the transaction.

Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. Several of my credit cards have that same feature and it never shows up until I leave the US and don’t have connectivity and get locked out of my card.

Well, you want an open computer right? How can you trust closed source apps like WhatsApp and Wells Fargo?

The PinePhone is definitely more open and trustworthy, but it also feels pretty useless for the time being. Its Allwinner A64 processor is antiquated, about like a lower-end Android phone from half a decade ago and with only 2–3GB of RAM, but the Phosh software stack isn’t optimized well for these limitations and the device moves at a crawl. Just opening the screen to turn the wifi on or off takes over five seconds. (Yes, there is also UBports, but that is based on 2014-era Ubuntu-specific software that even Ubuntu moved away from, and the whole thing feels like it is bitrotting now.)

I also worry that there isn’t enough of a development community behind the PinePhone to bring it to a basic level of polish. Instead of being the resurrection of the Nokia N900 as a hackable Linux phone, the PinePhone might actually be a repeat of the ill-fated Openmoko Freerunner.

> lower-end Android phone from half a decade ago and with only 2–3GB of RAM

For $150 it's quite a good deal. Plus, the software stacks are quickly improving, especially Mobian.

So far we're struggling with some really basic issues with our recent Pine Phone- including severe echo on calls, slow ui etc. Its a WIP and will undoubedly improve over time, but its definitely not a turnkey daily-driver type of experience.

Where? Everywhere I've seen is preorder or out of stock. I'm sure it's a great device but the supply chain just isn't there if my phone dies today.

Also consider Purism's Librem 5