Ask HN: What would be a good Android alternative?
My Nexus 6p is not supported by Google anymore. I am thinking of flashing the phone with LineageOS, but what other alternatives would be better?
The downside is pretty limited hardware choice. Basically, Pixel (and Nexus for legacy releases). Plus some Sony Xperia (if you can cope with a few non-critical hardware glitches).
The upside is very good security, and not being tracked. F-Droid is, for me, a surprisingly nice ecosystem. Firefox, Termux, Conversations, Signal, OsmAnd, Haven, etc. I don't need much else.
Your needs might be different, but you can always install MicroG and sideload things from Google Play if you ever require propietary applications.
LineageOS is nice, but I don't like excessive hackiness and lack of focus in security. I understand it's partly something given by their goal of supporting a much more broad set of devices.
Thankfully, Project Treble gives the possibility of device-independent ROMs. So things might change soon. For the time being, most devices have glitches, as Treble's HAL has not been well implemented and tested by manufacturers [1].
Other alternatives, aside from iOS, lack tons of functionality. I wish Sailfish/Mer became a serious contender. Their predecessor, Maemo/Meego, as seen in the Nokia 770-N9 saga was amazing.
[1] https://github.com/phhusson/treble_experimentations/wiki
There is also sailfish, which is meant for Enterprise and can support Android apps.
Https://sailfishos.org