"the phone could ship with the Google Play Store and other Google Mobile Services"
Then why would someone want a dumbphone if you're going to load G services on to it?
Then why would someone want a dumbphone if you're going to load G services on to it?
One could do a "smart" phone that has a predefined set of apps. I could see the advantage of having practical apps but not have the stuff that (depending on who you are) sucks the life out of you. Having [say] porn or gambling wherever you go might not be a good idea for some people.
I only got a smartphone in 2017 when it became impossible to do my job without the latest drama announcements on whatsapp. A few years before I had to get a dumb phone because it was getting to weird for people to not be able to contact me.
I've been doomscrolling nonsense ever since. People (as they should) make fun of me for not starting a conversation the way I use to.
I recently found myself unable to order food without a payment app.
It would be hilarious to purchase a phone providing a list of url's and a list of apps and having to pay for each. Changing the list should be expensive and take at least a month.
E.g., a music service that doesn't exploit artists or users, an interoperable messaging and calling system, a GPS mapping system, a way to spend and check their finances, RSS, and some way of interacting with their friends and family.
An e-ink device with a decent battery life could potentially do a lot of these things, but their processors are seldom great, and most apps aren't made with e-ink in mind, so render like crap. Android has also become quite bloated.
Perhaps proper Linux is our only hope.
That's why I think there's a market for phones like this 'Minimal Phone' even though to a techie it's just another android gadget. People ask for this device all the time. By the time they find out the walled garden still sucks in monochrome, someone will already have made a profit.