These boutique phone companies have a huge issue of software updates. Unless it's open bootloader, and can run lineage OS I don't trust them at all.
this post was submitted on 16 May 2024
50 points (96.3% liked)
Android
17641 readers
327 users here now
The new home of /r/Android on Lemmy and the Fediverse!
Android news, reviews, tips, and discussions about rooting, tutorials, and apps.
πUniversal Link: !android@lemdro.id
π‘Content Philosophy:
Content which benefits the community (news, rumours, and discussions) is generally allowed and is valued over content which benefits only the individual (technical questions, help buying/selling, rants, self-promotion, etc.) which will be removed if it's in violation of the rules.
Support, technical, or app related questions belong in: !askandroid@lemdro.id
For fresh communities, lemmy apps, and instance updates: !lemdroid@lemdro.id
π¬Matrix Chat
π°Our communities below
Rules
-
Stay on topic: All posts should be related to the Android OS or ecosystem.
-
No support questions, recommendation requests, rants, or bug reports: Posts must benefit the community rather than the individual. Please post to !askandroid@lemdro.id.
-
Describe images/videos, no memes: Please include a text description when sharing images or videos. Post memes to !androidmemes@lemdro.id.
-
No self-promotion spam: Active community members can post their apps if they answer any questions in the comments. Please do not post links to your own website, YouTube, blog content, or communities.
-
No reposts or rehosted content: Share only the original source of an article, unless it's not available in English or requires logging in (like Twitter). Avoid reposting the same topic from other sources.
-
No editorializing titles: You can add the author or website's name if helpful, but keep article titles unchanged.
-
No piracy or unverified APKs: Do not share links or direct people to pirated content or unverified APKs, which may contain malicious code.
-
No unauthorized polls, bots, or giveaways: Do not create polls, use bots, or organize giveaways without first contacting mods for approval.
-
No offensive or low-effort content: Don't post offensive or unhelpful content. Keep it civil and friendly!
-
No affiliate links: Posting affiliate links is not allowed.
Quick Links
Our Communities
- !askandroid@lemdro.id
- !androidmemes@lemdro.id
- !techkit@lemdro.id
- !google@lemdro.id
- !nothing@lemdro.id
- !googlepixel@lemdro.id
- !xiaomi@lemdro.id
- !sony@lemdro.id
- !samsung@lemdro.id
- !galaxywatch@lemdro.id
- !oneplus@lemdro.id
- !motorola@lemdro.id
- !meta@lemdro.id
- !apple@lemdro.id
- !microsoft@lemdro.id
- !chatgpt@lemdro.id
- !bing@lemdro.id
- !reddit@lemdro.id
Lemmy App List
Chat and More
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
That's definitely a big issue with these. This one ships with Android 13, its very likely that it will never get an update or security patch after release.
From a security/privacy standpoint these are bad. I have not seen any custom ROMs for any of them, for the usual reasons, limited uptake, Mediatek processors, unreleased source code.
If none of that is important to you, then they seem to work pretty well. An old coworker had one, I used it briefly a few times. Battery life was great, seemed to get reception where other devices didn't, hers was waterproof, and survived many drops. It was great for site surveys in the back of Bourke.
I wouldn't use one, but if none of what I consider the downsides was an issue then its a phone with good specs (Android version notwithstanding) for very reasonable money.
THIS π.
Xiaomi has big issue with phone ownership, I think their new OS called HyperOS is step solely to make it as hard as possible to Unlock the bootloader..
Has anyone any experience of Ulefone stuff
Seems like it'd be good for clumsy fuckers like me, and useful on building sites too
Found malware in the voice recorder app on one out of the box (from Amazon while in Japan). So that was fun.
I have their power armor 18t, bought it cause it was the only rugged phone that had all the tmobile 4g and 5g antenna bands, as well as a headphone jack and sd card slot. It was a total risk as I'd never bought a Chinese phone before, but I think it may be the best phone I've ever had. (Only had Samsung and Sony phones before this)
I took it snorkeling in the ocean several times, came out completely unscathed.
My only complaint is that the thermal camera replaces a wideangle camera on the non-thermal version, which I would have realized if I'd read the specs closer.
It would probably be a gimmick for most people but I use the thermal for my job (electrical inspections) and it is as good as my other IR tools. I found it so handy I picked up another one for my field team.
I also bought an armor pad 2, and although I don't use it as much as I thought I would, it's still great on the occasions that I need it. Again, it comes in real handy on construction job sites, no need to baby it or worry about rain.
Hmm this is your only comment on the whole fediverse, and the guy below found malware on one of the installed apps
Guess I'll be giving this brand a big fuckin swerve π
I highly doubt phone companies would astroturf on lemmy though.
Fair enough, I moved to reddthat from lemmy.world recently, thus the lack of history. But it's good to be skeptical of things you read on the Internet, I understand where your head's at lol.
Yes! I had one, from 2016 till 2020. Ulefone vienna (not a rugged phone).
If you like modding like me, then it's probably not a good idea, as they usually have little community support and the mediatek chipset contributes to this even more.
Back then, I think it did probably had some kind of a malware, but with root I removed it (I could also do it with adb commands if I knew back then).
If you want a hardened phone and for some reason you cant find a proper case to protect your device, then such phones may be suitable, otherwise I'd look somewhere else.
and full of spyware embedded