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Murena One is a privacy-focused Android phone without Google apps and services

The developers of the /e/OS operating system have been offering an Android-based operating system stripped of Google’s proprietary apps and services for five years. For the past few years you’ve even been able to buy phones that come with /e/OS pre-installed, first in Europe, and more recently in North America. But up until recently that […]

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Lilbits: /e/OS (de-Googled Android) turns five this year and NVIDIA unveils Hooper GPU architecture (for servers first).

It’s been more than four years since developer GaĂ«l Duval announced plans to develop a fork of Google’s Android operating system that would strip away Google apps and services to make a more privacy-centric mobile operating system. Since then, /e/OS has come a long way. You can even buy phones that come with the software […]

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Lilbits: Shuttle’s small workstation, HP’s gaming peripherals, Mele’s Quieter2 fanless mini PC

Small form-factor PC maker Shuttle is showing off a new small workstation-class computer during this week’s virtual Computex show. HP’s acquisition of gaming peripheral maker HyperX has been completed. A group of European companies trying to present ethical, sustainable, and open source options for smartphone users are banding together. And the folks behind the Linux-based […]

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Lilbits: Samsung’s new Galaxy laptops leaked, new Oculus Quest 2 tricks, and RCS is doomed (or at least stagnant)

Samsung has scheduled a “Galaxy Unpacked” event for later this month, promising that the “most powerful” Samsung Galaxy device is coming. While the Galaxy brand is probably most commonly associated with smartphones and tablets, all signs point to this being a laptop launch. And Evan Blass has spilled the beans on specs, photos, and details […]

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Open Source phone news roundup: FreeBSD, Google-free Android, and Ubuntu Touch

The next version of Ubuntu Touch is scheduled to launch on March 10, and the folks at UBPorts are looing for testers willing to check out the latest features, bug fixes, and more. The developers of the ExpidusOS smartphone Linux distribution that uses the Xfce desktop environment have outlined a roadmap for the next six […]

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Now you can buy smartphone with /e/ OS in the US and Canada (Android phones stripped of Google services)

The /e/ Foundation has been developing a custom version of Android that doesn’t include Google’s propriety apps and services for a few years, and in 2019 the team began selling refurbished phones with the de-Googled software pre-installed. At the time the phones were only available for purchase for customers in Europe. But now customers in […]

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Fairphone 3 is now available with either Android or the Google-free /e/ OS

The Fairphone 3 is a mid-range smartphone that stands out due to its easy-to-repair design that features components partially made from ethically-sourced materials. When the phone launched last summer it was only available with Android 9. But folks who prefer a Google-free experience now have another option. The /e/ foundation is selling the Fairphone 3 […]

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Google-free Android fork /e/ to get easy installer… and a new name

The /e/ Foundation has been on a mission for the last few years to deliver an open source, Android-based operating system that’s free of any proprietary Google software and services. But up until recently there have only been two ways to run /e/ on your smartphone — jump through a bunch of hoops that might […]

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/e/ is selling Google-free Android phones (in Europe)

It’s hard to develop a new smartphone operating system from scratch. But forking one is another story. So when developer GaĂ«l Duval wanted to create a smartphone operating system that emphasized privacy, he started with Android… and then stripped all the proprietary Google services he could. The result is a platform he calls /e/ which […]

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/e/ plans to sell refurbished smartphones with Google-free Android

Most phones that ship with Google’s Android operating system also come with a bunch of Google apps and services installed. But Android is open source software, so independent developers have been finding ways to de-Google Android for years. One of the more recent options comes from developer GaĂ«l Duval and the /e/ Foundation. The /e/ […]