Is there an Android phone available that comes without any pre-installed bloatware, offers long-term support, and ensures access to the latest Android versions?
The Pixel is the closest.<p>The reason you don't see long term support on Android is because of Qualcomm. Qualcomm wants manufacturers to build on new chips, so they deprecate older chips and stop support. Most manufacturers don't want to hire kernel and hardware devs.<p>Samsung can pull off longer support because of Exynos and they have a lot of inhouse expertise to extend support on old Qualcomm chips.<p>It's all money. They don't want you keeping a phone for 5 years.<p>Apple can do it because they lock you into their walled garden where they can double and triple dip on getting your money.<p>They also build their own chips.
The short answer is no.<p>There is the Google Pixel. But it has limited updates and proprietary software for things like the camera. That camera is really nice though and it's as close as the Android experience Google intended to ship because this basically is Google's version of Android. I have the Pixel 6 and it's fine.<p>Nokia stays close to that but ships their own camera app. It too has limited updates that run out after a few years. Other than the camera software, it's basically "stock android". I'm not sure there even is a stock version for the camera at this point. There are plenty of alternative camera apps though. I always had a weak spot for open camera, which is nice. My previous phone was a Nokia 7 plus. The camera was not great but otherwise a fine phone.<p>The fairphone is probably the closest to what you want. But you are buying older hardware and at a premium. And fairphone OS is based on an older version of Android and also limited in time for updates. The updates run out at some point though they are pretty good at keeping the security patches going. Repairability is great though.<p>In short, long term support is hard to get. No-one seems to be willing/capable of doing that. At best you have phones that become unsupported at some point but at least allow you to install alternative firmware (without any promises or support).
Honestly, the Pixel phones are probably the best compromise between your requirements. While Samsung gets slightly longer support, the bloatware, IMO, is just too much (depends on your definition of bloatware though). Plus the Pixels are first for latest Android and are generally well-supported with third-party ROMs (Lineage, Graphene, AOSP, etc). So my suggestion is the Pixels, (the "a" series for a less expensive choice).
Motorola does a pretty good job. Their "bloatware" is mostly the Moto app, which provides really handy and reliable gestures like a double "chop" to toggle flashlight, twisting the phone a few times to enable the camera, three-finger screenshot trigger, etc.<p>Their phones are really solid but they do lag on OS updates, and their cameras are never good.
I always get a used phone (2-3 years old) that is officially supported by LineageOS. I've made good experiences with Motorola Moto G phones. A good alternative are Pixels or OnePlus. My current phone is a Motorola Moto G6 Plus, which was released in 2018, now running LineageOS 20 (Android 13) just fine.
Google started a program back in 2014 to encourage other hardware vendors to build just such things. It is alas, now on hospice care, with death imminent:<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_One" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_One</a>
I recently looked into this due to my old device breaking.<p>The best options are:<p>- Google Pixel<p>- Motorola<p>- Nokia<p>I ended up with a Google Pixel 7. The Motorola Edge 40 was a close contender, but I ended up axing it from the list due to the curved screen edge. My selection criteria were: cleanest Android possible; latest Android version; long-term support; wireless charging; decent IP rating.<p>My previous phones were a Moto G2 and Nokia 6.1, for comparison. The first one replaced due to the charging port dying and running out of storage, the second one having its screen destroyed by dropping it on a tile floor.
Your best bet is probably a Pixel with something like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS on it.<p>Android manufacturers suck in terms of long term support.<p>Samsung offers the longest support, but their phones are full of bloat. and they recently passed some ToC updates that prevent you from suing them which I find a super anti-consumer move.<p>If you can compromise on long term support and don’t care much about photos, the Asus Zenfone 10 is probably your best bet
At this time, I'd get a device on which I can install GrapheneOS:<p><a href="https://grapheneos.org/faq#recommended-devices" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://grapheneos.org/faq#recommended-devices</a><p>Note that the particular device unit (not model) must have an unlockable bootloader (so, probably not a unit that was solid by a carrier that disables this):<p><a href="https://grapheneos.org/install/web#enabling-oem-unlocking" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://grapheneos.org/install/web#enabling-oem-unlocking</a>
Get a second hand phone with great LineageOS and give it a shot. It’s phenomenal how better a, let’s say, Motorola phone gets when you replace pre-installed Android with Google-free LineageOS one.
Google Pixel: what you’re wanting is exactly why it was made.<p>(Added bonus: you can shed even more bloat by installing Graphene OS, something that requires a Pixel at the moment.)
Pixel 7 and grapheneOS is phenomenal.<p>It's also trivial to install thanks to their web installer.<p>Best buy trip to working grapheneOS took under an hour.
We use Nokia and Motorola phones in our lab as they have the near stock Android experience. the bloatware can be quickly turned off.
Typically 2 years support is what I have seen.
I am not sure where you are located... I was on the Nothing Beta program and received a nothing 1 phone. I have been a longtime root-unjail-roll-your-own phone user. The Nothing is probably the most bloat-free in recent memory. Sure, the google apps (gmail, files, maps) are on it, and it comes with weather, but that seems to be it, and the rest you can easily uninstall without pain.
Fairphone is the closest. (Only available in Europe.)<p><a href="https://shop.fairphone.com/en" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://shop.fairphone.com/en</a><p>The negative is the really really awful camera.
I'm on the Pixel 7 Pro (had the 6 Pro previously). From my perspective, it's the Android experience intended by Google (it is their flagship phone after all). I'm very happy with it. But yes it does have some other Google servicey things you may or may not want.
A bit tangential: I was happy to learn about Android apps that can change the home screen, such as Lawnchair (thanks to whoever pointed that out to me, after I had posted an cranky comment that was understandably downvoted).<p>For example, it makes it easier to disable the search on the home screen, and many other tweaks. I also like being able to hide apps from the list of all apps, but they are still accessible using the search. It helps make the bloatware less visible (ex: I don't use the Youtube app, or most other pre-installed apps).<p>I use a Pixel 6 with very few features from Google, and happy with it. Long-term support is the only issue, although they do offer 5 years for security updates, which is better than previous Google models.
<i>Stock Android phone free of bloatware?</i><p>I've not seen any. There are growing collections of debloat scripts that use adb and do not require rooting the phone but it's hit and miss per model as to completeness and not breaking the OS startup. Some vendors lock down their bloat so that rooting is required and in my opinion those should get returned / refunded and the product reviews on sites such as Amazon should warn others rather than rooting the phone. I've returned a few. My uleFone had the least cruft on it and the least lockdown but still uses upwards of 4GB ram after my first pass so I still have a long way to go.
Discussions today on the new Asus Zenphone 10 say no bloatware (compared to Samsung at least)<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36528607">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36528607</a>
Gigaset.
+ Stock android afaik
+ 5 Year updates
+ Swappable battery and still IP68
- a bit older hardware and higher price<p>It's the only smartphone assembled in Germany so not sure if its available where you live.
murena sells phones with /e/OS preinstalled.<p>for my mother i installed /e/OS myself, but if she had to get a new phone while i am not around i'd point here to that website and tell her to get one of those.<p>/e/OS is free of bloat, yet easy to use.
OnePlus is pretty close to stock. Very fast, very good battery. It's the only Android I've loved before switching to iPhone.
I have a Samsung and a OnePlus 5T bought in the same period (around 5 years ago). The OnePlus still rocks 1 day battery with medium usage, while the Samsung is dead in a couple of hours.
Pixel 6a/7 (not 7a) for me. I had the Pixel 2 running Graphene OS for about 5 years and got the 6a a while back and put Graphene OS on it. You can get Gapps with Sandboxed Google Play Services, privacy, security and bloatfree experience. Because we have Google chips in these you also get 5 years of security updates (huge bonus!).<p>The 7a has poorer battery life than the 6a/7 so its a poorer choice for my personal use case but ymmv. Otherwise the 6a runs about 3 days for me (got 4 out of it initially but I use my phone very little) or 2 days when driving and needing more usage out of it.
Yes, it's called an iPhone. There are no options for Android unless you flash it with your own ROM. Your best bet is a Pixel running GrapheneOS if you're adamant you want to be on Android.
If you are OK with spending a couple of hours, buy a Motorola phone that is supported by LineageOS[1] and install microg+ LineageOS(2) It can spoof Play services and so most Apps from Play store will work.<p>[1] <a href="https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#motorola" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#motorola</a><p>(2) <a href="https://download.lineage.microg.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://download.lineage.microg.org/</a>
I’m curious how do pixel phones and pixelbooks running ChromeOS compare with iPhone and MacBooks running macOS in terms of security?<p>I know in terms of privacy, Google is worse due to built in telemetry (and cloud based chromeos). If there is no security benefit either, then there doesn’t seem to be a major reason to prefer Google’s products over apple’s. Pixels aren’t much cheaper either (particularly considering the shorter support period).
I switched from Motorola to OnePlus after the former began shipping bloat ware by default. There's a little bloatware in OnePlus but it's not too bad.
Fairphone is great, but expensive for the hardware and not available everywhere.<p>A pixel with grapheneOS, calyxOS or /e/OS would be the next best thing.
I've been enjoying my Nothing Phone (1)a great deal. Very few pre-installed app - I believe just a reskinned version of the weather app; full Android experience and the updates have been very impressive so far.
Also, incredibly cost-effective.
I think nobody has mentioned the gaming phones like Infinix. I bought Infinix as a test device and was surprised with the affordable price and large storage. And importantly I haven't noticed any bloatware apps.
Pretty happy with my 3+ year old Nokia 5.4. It's been pretty good at getting OS and security updates. Came with Google apps and no Samsung-style apps.
Also going to say Pixel.<p>They come without really any bloat, but most models are also well supported by LineageOS, GrapheneOS or others if you wanted to get more privacy.
The 'Android One' line/programme. Phone has to be pretty stock, and commit to some number of years of updates and more of security updates in order to qualify.<p>Or of course a Pixel, though if you don't use all of Google's stuff you might consider they come with more 'pre-installed bloatware'. They'll also probably always be supported by Lineage, so you could install that when official updates dry up, or just from day one to avoid 'bloat'.
Everyone's talking about Pixels yet no one mentions how Pixels batteries are terrible and how 'their' Tensor G2 gets slaughtered by a $200 SD 7 device. Pixel is a big skip, camera clutches and NOTHING ELSE, software (ui/ux) looks and feels terrible.
For the asks you describe, the iPhone is the answer, except for the word “Android.”<p>No Android phone is going to give you the same level of long-term support. iPhones have zero bloatware and you can uninstall first party applications. You’ll get OS releases the day they come out regardless of your phone model.
So why do you need the latest android version and why long term support?<p>If you are a nobody, there isn't a need to pay for the "latest and greatest". Security updates are a meme and just a way to add more bloat. Don't download apk's from unknown sources, use an adblocker and that's 99% of all attack vectors closed.<p>That only leaves pre-installed bloatware, a legitimate issue that can be solved with a few steps. The phone doesn't matter but get something android 10 or higher, their selective permissions are nice but you can go as low as android 6 without too many issues. But you might have app compatibility problems.<p>During phone setup, don't immediately connect to the internet.<p>If you can uninstall the apps do that. Otherwise, force stop and clear data of every installed app that you don't think you will ever use. As long as the apps don't open or take up ram or cpu cycles then the phone is functionally 'bloat free'<p>Remove all of the permissions that don't make sense. Your calendar doesn't need access to your microphone or even contacts.<p>Turn off all settings that even hint at telemetry including locations.<p>Once this is done, you can connect to the internet. Download fdroid through the browser and look for a local VPN that is capable of blocking access to apps and has a decent permissions menu. Get that configured and then you are good to go. The local vpn will almost certainly break things the first time you use it. But you can just tweak it and as long as you aren't installing any new apps very often you won't have any problems. Stick with open source apps as much as you can.<p>And only update Apps when they break or if there is a feature you really want. Don't actually do anything important on your phone like banking but if you have a browser with adblock then that's fine but keep it minimal.<p>I like this method because it's phone agnostic. I don't have to settle for a pixel or another phone that I need to get root on. If this sounds like too much and you don't want to flash a new OS, then just get an iphone.