One of the biggest factors I take into consideration before  purchasing an Android phone is if it is supported by 3rd. party ROM’s.  Previously I’ve run devices without Google Apps after installing  LineageOS, which had significant speed and battery performance in  addition to privacy upgrades. Last week I installed /e/ OS on my Honor 5x after stumbling on it on Twitter. There’s a few aspects  of this really unique OS that I feel merit a test for anyone who has a  supported device.

The /e/ operating system isn’t just a custom ROM. They’ve developed  an integrated ecosystem of default apps to replace typical Google  services along with utilizing MicroG framework to help more apps work without access to Google Play Services.

This isn’t a full review of the OS, but my initial takeaways of what  might be the most interesting attempt at a non-Google Linux mobile OS  and something I think I’m going to stick with for the long run.

For show notes, tech notes and more check out obscurednarration.com. Shout at me on Twitter @domcorriveau, would love to hear your feedback on this topic and more.