Don't use smartphones at all, they're only bad for you and you don't need them. Do anything you can to either get away from them or start moving away from them.
This is just letting them win. And if you think the forced pushing for control over what we can do with our computers will simply leave Linux alone, I don’t know what to tell you.
And they're far from pocketable. My Legion Go is in its case in my backpack when I'm on the go.
Honestly netbooks and ultra portable mini notebooks of yore were more portable and useful for a general on the go portable PC. The gaming handhelds are better from a gaming perspective with their far more powerful graphics power and built in controller grips but the general computing experience is pretty crap.
If only fashion could redefine what pocketable means.
It is very hard to beat a modern smartphone as a wearable device, but it can't be the end of evolution for wearable compute.
But these handheld gaming consoles are huge. They're pretty thick since they have larger cooling systems. They have moulded grips that make these bulbous protrusions on the sides. They have joysticks that stick out and catch on things. Meanwhile they're much more fragile than most mass market phones out there.
The steam deck is great, but it’s not build for those things.
And there is no reason to cede ground on entire form factors. This behaviour will not stop at phones (or tablets, or smartwatches).
Anyway, there are also other Linux devices others have pointed out in the phone form factor like the pine phone, and tablet/notebooks from e.g. GPD. So the form factor is there, but you might need to look at things that are advertised as small computers with touch screens (because that's what they are). So "handheld PC", "pocket computer", etc.
Even if you do that, it won't work in many cases because even in the government agencies, there are some that have gone app-only mode.
I would walk out.
You can't access it via browser? Maybe there's a few fintechs that are app-only (think robinhood, at least initially) but it's not like all banks only offer access via smartphones.
>public transport
???
Even if you do own such a device, they don't need to know that.
Or they don't and tell you to use a different bank.
Their website is very limited and for account recovery only.
My main banks, Fidelity and a local credit union, both offer websites that let me do anything I want with my money from a website. No spyware apps needed.
I would navigate to downloadmoreram.com. I would NOT download moreram.exe and run it. Would you? Fuck no!
Seriously, take a step back and consider why they're pushing the app so much. Why do businesses do things? Money. Its all very simple, we just have to be honest with ourselves.
Banks may offer a physical device but that's another device you have to being with you, and it's not supported by all services anyway.
While not required the same way as water or air is required, it's super limiting and inconvenient to live in Sweden and not have access to the BankID app (either on Android or iOS).
Landlord would rather leave shops empty than rent it at lower price. In order to combat rental restaurants cut cost by having QR Code ordering system.
The uses of QR Code, whether it is for payment or information makes Smartphone mandatory in those places.
Spending Money online with VISA or master now requires Mobile App log in for Authentication. Government Digital Log in System now also default to Apps.
I may be missing a few things, and there will be many more things to come that moves to Mobile Apps only direction.
The latest neobank might require an app, but I'd be surprised if you couldn't find any bank in your country that allows you to spend money without using mobile apps.
Ask if you can order/pay without using the QR code. I'd be surprised if venues didn't have a paper menu as backup.
For newer restaurants, I really wouldn't bet on this being a thing. Or if they do, it's the ones they had before they updated their menus to QR codes, and thus might not be accurate any more.
It's like being blind and asking for the braille menu. Sure, they should have one, but don't bet on them having one.
And even if you know what you want and can pay in cash, even if they're legally bound to take your money at that point, you're working against the current and on some level being a (principled) ass to the staff serving you, who probably had no say in the system they're now having to deal with. It wouldn't even surprise me if some of these places have gone no-cash to the point of not having any place to put your cash after you've paid.
The actual solution is probably 'go somewhere else', but we all how that might go.