Conclusion

The reviewed phone makers – Volla, Fairphone, Shift and Punkt – focus on producing deGoogled phones with a deGoogled OS preinstalled. It’s great to see the trend of going Google-free growing, and it’s a strong push-back against Google’s strategy of killing Android freedom and of making it impossible to install any app from any app store on Android.

That’s not a very useful conclusion

if you can use your banking app on it or not.

If not, change the bank (and tell them why). This is the sustainable way.

If you have one of these phones be great to hear some personal experiences.

As an American, this is mostly a nonstarter, but right now, the only alternative that really intrigues me is the Jolla Phone (which I invariably have to look up to make sure I'm not getting it mixed up with Volla), because it's the only one that isn't just running a custom Android ROM. We need a true, viable alternative to Android and iOS and, to me, a de-googled ROM is only a half measure. Furthermore, the alternative needs to be free and open source, and community-driven.

Makes me wish I'd gone into software development 25 years ago because now I can only wish I could be the change I want to see in the world.

Where DeAndroided phones? Gib linux.

Interesting that they don't cover puri.sm5 or NitroPhone, the latter having been built around GrapheneOS which the Tuta article implies is still a ways off for degoogled phones. This is actually a Pixel9a that has been modified to degoogle it, and seems like the most security-focused consumer phone I've looked at so far.

https://shop.nitrokey.com/shop/nitrophone-5a-807

Useful article in any event, thanks.

Hopefully within 2026 we can start to refer to phones as 'Android/Google Phones', 'iPhones' and 'FOSS Phones' - No longer referring to them as 'DeGoogled'.

But I am 100% understanding why we use the term now, it came from a Reddit sub. I think (and hope) if we start using the alternative term - FOSS Phones or Open Source or Sailfish/Jolla or whatever else they are.. that people will start looking at that option quicker.

DeGoogled sounds to many like it is a bit of work to get rid of google (Buying a google phone and having to remove it). At one stage that was true, custom roms etc.

But I am hoping at this stage anyone buying any of these phones will already know why they are choosing them over other brands.

It's also useful to have a look at this great resource: https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm

Shame on tuta for the headline. Sure, they’re European companies, but according to the article everything except the Volla phone is made in China.

Per the article, the Volla phone starts manufacturing in Taiwan (which I 100% support) and then finishes in Germany so that’s the only one of these that I’d actually consider.

Price is the biggest issue for me. Those phones cost over 600 euros while you can get Pixel 9a for 400, probably less if there's a deal (I got 8a a year ago for 250). 650 euros for a mid-range phone is a lot. 200-400 euros more just not to buy a Pixel... I will think about it.

Got the volla quintus on Black Friday. Have been fucking around with the dual boot going back and forth between Ubuntu and their Volla OS since then. It’s fun and works for me.

Are any of those available in the US?

Arg, it's so frustrating. Punkt isn't a smartphone. The rest are just shipping with Android OS so we're still in the US walled garden. I REALLY wish the EU would put proper investment into Jolla. Mandate banking apps work on an EU specific phone provider, give people a real alternative.

I can't expect the average person to take on the pain of moving to Sailfish in the hope enough demand means banks would naturally move to an EU alternative. But do please move to Jolla/Sailfish!

Just want to say, I'm very happy with my Shiftphone 8.1, which is running e/os L (no Google). I use Micro G for payments with Curve Pay and use Magic Earth instead of Maps. It is amazing how long the battery lasts without Big Tech constantly looking over my shoulder.