/e/ Operating System Review

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We were finally able to test the operating system /e/ installing it temporarily on an old one Oneplus 3T. For this reason we decided to make a small one /e/ operating system review. Let's start by saying that it is already difficult to pronounce or talk about this mobile phone because the name (provisional) /And/ It certainly doesn't help anyone. Lately they have decided to call their smartphones Murena, but it seems that the operating system will continue to be called /And/ or /e/OS.

If you're wondering about what the hell are we talking about we will try to accommodate you immediately. The /e/ operating system is a Fork (things?) Of LineageOS, one Android alternative.
In reality LineageOS is a operating system completely based on Android from which all the so-called is removed Bloatware, he understood all Google apps. Basically those of /e/ they started from LineageOS and they made an incredible one mix of privacy and security after having it too totally degoogled.

Why then should we care /e/ if LineageOS already exists?
The LineageOS problem is that you must be able to install it yourself on your smartphone even risking breaking it forever. This is where the idea for /e/ comes from.
In fact, their operating system can also be installed independently (as we did) but they can also be installed buy smartphones with their operating system already pre-installed! In our opinion, this changes everything because /e/, at least on paper, is one de-Googled smartphone that anyone can buy.

/e/ Operating System Review

So we decided to test it because We like the idea very much. Let's skip the whole installation part (if you're interested you can find it here) and let's pretend we just bought this Oneplus 3T with the operating system /e/ inside.
The first impression is nothing short of positive. The cell phone, despite being released more than 4 years ago, is very fast. It consumes little battery and the pre-installed apps are impressive. This was absolutely not the case with the stock version installed, on the contrary, It had already been showing signs of aging for some time.

During installation you are asked, not mandatory but recommended (a bit like with Google) a account /e/. It is nothing more than a Nextcloud account with 1GB cloud which also includes a email address with 5GB @e.email domain. Also interesting because the e.email domain is really nice.

Magic Earth instead of Google Maps

We note that instead of Google Maps the excellent one is pre-installed Magic Earth (It's also one of ours alternatives to Google Maps favorite). As a calendar there is a Fork Of Etar Calendar and so on. There is also their "App Store" which however we did not particularly appreciate. It's a mix between F-Droid and Apkpure applications. The latter, in addition to not being safe for the 100%, are also poorly updated. We immediately left this store and downloaded Aurora Store for applications not present on F-Droid. /e/ smartphones do not contain Aurora Store pre-installed because, in fact, Aurora Store goes against Google's terms of use. It is therefore not totally legal and there is also the risk that it will close any day now.

Another option that we really liked is called Privacy Guard. It comes directly from LineageOS and it is an application that allows you to check carefully everything that the apps installed on your mobile phone do. You will therefore be able to block any type of permission and you will even be able to control if and how many times an app has attempted to access our data or our sensors.

However, it is during daily use of the smartphone that some sore points emerge. The most famous applications such as Telegram, Whatsapp or also Instagram they didn't give us any problems. Others, however, such as the one for Reolink cameras, worked but it didn't send notifications. Still other applications, those that most depend on Google Play Services, they didn't work at all and kept closing with errors. For example, this joke was made by both the application MEGA that the application ENJOY, to rent cars in car sharing. Please note: we do not know whether as of today (September 29, 2021) these applications have started working again or not. We are told that MEGA should now (May 5, 2022) work. Ours is more of an example of what happened to us and what could happen to you too with other applications.

In short, we often hear it said that "just say goodbye to Google", in reality there are hundreds of applications, fundamental for some, that they do not go without the original Google Play Services. If for some we have an alternative such as not using anymore MEGA but a other drive maybe also available on F-Droid, for other apps like that of SHARE NOW (or that of your bank) there are no alternatives at all.

If you want to do the big jump, therefore, always try to do a test first to see if all the apps you need will also work without Google services.

Unfortunately we realize that /And/ probably he is not guilty but in daily use not everyone can do without certain apps. Furthermore, we have only tried a small number of applications, there are certainly dozens that cannot be used. We had taken it for granted that Google applications wouldn't work (but anyway we know many alternatives), we hadn't taken into account that some apps they are heavily dependent on Google services.

Conclusions

Our advice is therefore to evaluate your choice carefully before purchasing a smartphone /e/. If you only use applications Open source taken from F-Droid then you won't have any kind of problem, in fact it will really be right for you! It is a truly and totally de-Googled mobile phone and for this reason it can cause problems with some apps. If instead you have a mix of applications Open source And owners then you should test it first perhaps on an old mobile phone like we did. Or ask in theirs Telegram group or in their forum if the applications you need will work without problems.

Let's hope this /e/ operating system review you liked it and if you have some questions to ask us you can find us everywhere.

If you are interested in more information about /e/ you can visit their site e.foundation.

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