haha i love that quote
Following up on this, would it be a good idea to prioritise a build for GSI, since it would enable a lot of phones in 1 go…? Or does it bring problems of its own?
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Hi @TheMajorTom @Rik most of the points you raised are being considered. I shall share a summary of what was discussed , proposed and being planned by the end of the week. Stay tuned.
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Thanks Manoj. Re GSI for project Treble phones, does anyone have any experience with developing GSI builds generally for these phones and flashing them? Does it work well, does it indeed greatly decrease the amount of work needed to develop a build for one of the treble supported phones?
Re most sold phones :
From https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/28/21157386/iphone-best-selling-phone-worldwide-xr-11-samsung-a-series-counterpoint-research
And
From https://www.statista.com/statistics/258597/global-apple-and-samsung-smartphone-shipments-by-model/
I also support all the raised points concerning the devices and the further developments.
It would be much better to focus on a well defined set of devices (low, medium, high range), keep them up to date (general updates/bugfixes and of course the important security updates) and running smoothly like e.g. @Rik pointed out.
It’s all about user experience. You’ll probably get more users which stay because they’re statisfied, promote /e/ and that may also bring you more people who contribute to the project.
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oh and @Manoj , for the discussions, please also include a really small phone! e.g. between 4 and 4.8 inch (ideally 4.3 or 4.5). many of us want one!!
Galaxy s5 mini would be good (4.5") HD screen, good quality, etc…
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/e/ must support the specially sold products for a long time. These are the Samsung Galaxy S7, 8, 9 and now also the Fairphone 3.
The devices must always be up to date with the latest security standards. Privacy can ONLY be ensured on a secured device. And /e/ sells their product with the promise of privacy. Apart from that, the devices hardware must also be perfectly supported by /e/. If that works, then something else from the 92 devices can be tackled.
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yes, I agree, but good to add a few others in my opinion:
- phones previously sold by /e/ (as suggested by you @Fairphoner)
- GSI for treble phones
- most-sold devices in Europe
- a really small device
I’m curious what the decision will be @Manoj!
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All : Sharing the points and some of the possible solutions that got discussed this week by the /e/ team on the subject of Device support, upgrade and porting
Device Porting
- On the PinePhone porting, we may have to port it directly to Android 10 / LOS 17.1 This is because we found that there are issues in porting it to Pie.
- This may also require the porting of the /e/ Source code to Android 10 or LOS 17.1
- This may also require the porting of the /e/ Source code to Android 10 or LOS 17.1
- Porting more newly released devices to /e/ ROM
Handling the Supported device list
As you may be aware we have 93 devices on our supported list as of today. While having such a long list of devices sounds good on paper there is a need to understand that the quality of service provided is more important that just quantity of devices serviced.
With this in mind - we will be coming out with a list of devices that we will support.
For now lets classify the devices that will be in the list as
- A : Devices already on Pie - no change here they will continue getting support
- B : Devices to be upgraded - where upgrade is required from Oreo / Nougat to Pie
- C : Device to be dropped - devices with 0 download by users in the last couple of months or serious build issues. This will be determined by taking stock from Gitlab.
The decision to drop some devices is also based on the facts that their Vendors have stopped
supporting them. Which means:- No vendor patches
- If currently on nougat then no security patches . Backporting of security patches is not a
long term solution - No support for hardware parts in case of any damage
- Some have partition size issues which prevents building a ROM with the full compliment of /e/ apps . This also prevents us at the moment from building ROM’s for them as part of the dev builds.
That being said the source code for all devices will be available on the Gitlab and interested users can still download and build unofficial ROM’s for their devices.
Solutions being discussed / planned / implemented
-
We are trying to check if instead of regular builds we can have a GSI for such devices. Users can get the /e/ experience and use their old devices while they last.
-
Adding SE Linux enforcing, Device encryption and Bootloader locking as a part of the OS installation experience. Activity of integrating this has been taken up separately for time with a dedicated developer.
-
We will be having a few more rounds of discussion in the next week, before we finalize what would be the course of action to take. This will be updated to all users on this thread.
We welcome your feedback on these points. We will take them into considerations before we finalize our plans.
Hope to arrive at a decision and share the future device support, upgrade and porting plan of action by the end of next week on this thread.
21 Likes
To B:
All devices with /e/ OS Nougat/ Oreo that are still supported by LOS 16.0 or even LOS 17.1 are suitable candidates for a /e/ migration.
LineageOS build target list
LineageOS build target list
<build_type> <period ("N"ightly, "W"eekly, "M"onthly)>
Nightly lineage-17.1
beryllium userdebug lineage-17.1 N
cheryl userdebug lineage-17.1 N
chiron userdebug lineage-17.1 N
discovery userdebug lineage-17.1 N
enchilada userdebug lineage-17.1 N
fajita userdebug lineage-17.1 N
gts4lvwifi userdebug lineage-17.1 N
guacamole userdebug lineage-17.1 N
h830 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
h850 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
h910 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
h918 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
h990 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
I01WD userdebug lineage-17.1 N
jactivelte userdebug lineage-17.1 N
jflteatt userdebug lineage-17.1 N
jfltespr userdebug lineage-17.1 N
jfltevzw userdebug lineage-17.1 N
jfltexx userdebug lineage-17.1 N
jfvelte userdebug lineage-17.1 N
ls997 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
pioneer userdebug lineage-17.1 N
polaris userdebug lineage-17.1 N
rs988 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
sagit userdebug lineage-17.1 N
us996 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
vs995 userdebug lineage-17.1 N
z2_plus userdebug lineage-17.1 N
Weekly lineage-16.0
a3xelte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
a5xelte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
a5y17lte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
a7y17lte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
Amber userdebug lineage-16.0 W
bacon userdebug lineage-16.0 W
bardock userdebug lineage-16.0 W
bardockpro userdebug lineage-16.0 W
berkeley userdebug lineage-16.0 W
capricorn userdebug lineage-16.0 W
charlotte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
cheeseburger userdebug lineage-16.0 W
crackling userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d800 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d801 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d802 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d803 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d850 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d851 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d852 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
d855 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
dipper userdebug lineage-16.0 W
dumpling userdebug lineage-16.0 W
ether userdebug lineage-16.0 W
f1f userdebug lineage-16.0 W
f400 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
find7 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
FP2 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
gemini userdebug lineage-16.0 W
griffin userdebug lineage-16.0 W
gts210vewifi userdebug lineage-16.0 W
gts28vewifi userdebug lineage-16.0 W
ham userdebug lineage-16.0 W
hlte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
hltechn userdebug lineage-16.0 W
hltekor userdebug lineage-16.0 W
hltetmo userdebug lineage-16.0 W
jason userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kccat6 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kipper userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kiwi userdebug lineage-16.0 W
klte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
klteactivexx userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kltechn userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kltechnduo userdebug lineage-16.0 W
klteduos userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kltedv userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kltekdi userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kltekor userdebug lineage-16.0 W
kuntao userdebug lineage-16.0 W
land userdebug lineage-16.0 W
lentislte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
lithium userdebug lineage-16.0 W
ls990 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
m8 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
m8d userdebug lineage-16.0 W
marlin userdebug lineage-16.0 W
mata userdebug lineage-16.0 W
mido userdebug lineage-16.0 W
nash userdebug lineage-16.0 W
natrium userdebug lineage-16.0 W
nx563j userdebug lineage-16.0 W
oneplus2 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
oneplus3 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
payton userdebug lineage-16.0 W
r5 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
r7sf userdebug lineage-16.0 W
r7plus userdebug lineage-16.0 W
river userdebug lineage-16.0 W
RMX1851 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
s2 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
s3ve3gds userdebug lineage-16.0 W
s3ve3gjv userdebug lineage-16.0 W
s3ve3gxx userdebug lineage-16.0 W
s5neolte userdebug lineage-16.0 W
sailfish userdebug lineage-16.0 W
santoni userdebug lineage-16.0 W
scorpio userdebug lineage-16.0 W
shamu userdebug lineage-16.0 W
tissot userdebug lineage-16.0 W
victara userdebug lineage-16.0 W
vs985 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
X00TD userdebug lineage-16.0 W
X01BD userdebug lineage-16.0 W
x2 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
YTX703F userdebug lineage-16.0 W
YTX703L userdebug lineage-16.0 W
z3 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
z3c userdebug lineage-16.0 W
zangya userdebug lineage-16.0 W
zangyapro userdebug lineage-16.0 W
zenfone3 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
zl1 userdebug lineage-16.0 W
To B:
For the Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge (e-0.9-n), Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge (e-0.9-n), and Galaxy /S9 / S9+ (e-0.9-o), well-functioning LOS 16. 0 and LOS 17.1 builds have been available for months. Accordingly, source code and local_manifests must be available.
For the Samsung Galaxy S7 “herolte” / S7 Edge (e-0.9-n) source code and local_manifestsas well as roomservice are provided by the developer.
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016 Exynos) SM-A310F “a3xeltexx” also known as “a3xelte” with 4.7 inches Super AMOLED Display) it is a high-quality small-format smartphone. Please read more …
Our /e/ forum member @ Panta has also been showing us for months how well his migration to e-0.9-pie works for the LG G3 d855 (3 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage). Also @ Chimpthepimphas proven that migration to e-pie is possible for the LG G5 h850 (4 GB RAM, 32 internal storage). For both LGs, LOS 17.1 ensures sustainability. The user-replaceable battery for the two robotic LGs indicates that the devices have a longer life than many others.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 LTE N9005 “hlte” (e-0.9-n) is well equipped for a migration with 3GB RAM. The hlte fan community has been enjoying the official LOS 16.0 builds as well as (unofficial) LOS 17.1 and other custom ROM builds for many months. The same goes for the Samsung Galaxy S4 - “jfltexx” GT-I9505 with LOS. 16.0 and LOS 17.1.
To C:
The principle of supply and demand of our market economy: is relatively simple - goods and services are only provided if someone is willing to buy them. Therefore it makes sense to list devices of this class.
Arguments for other devices for or against remaining in the /e/ list are desired by the /e/ team.
/e/ User - your statement is needed, please!
6 Likes
Hi @Manoj, and thanks for your feedback !
About “C” devices with 0 downloads : some may show this poor counter from /e/, but as /e/ only offer Oreo builds for them, some users prefer to download an unofficial Pie build.
Of course, I’m talking about devices with LOS Pie support, not devices stuck on Nougat because out-of-LOS-support.
Building for these devices is quite straight-forward and unofficial builds doesn’t show any specific problem so far.
Will /e/ Foundation continue the upgrade plan and offer an official Pie build for these devices ?
That’s not clear if they will be included in “B” devices …
BTW I think “C” category should be splited in 2 
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Hi Manoj, thanks for this. Regarding GSI, I thought this was only possible for treble phones, do I understand correctly that it is also possible for other phones?
2 devices I know to be running /e/ Pie smoothly :
- Xiaomi Redmi 4X (santoni) - I own this device, running with my personal unofficial build
- Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S (polaris) - I don’t own this device, but the unofficial build I posted last month has no device-specific defect feedback so far
Hi Manoj, I have a remark regarding tablets. I have an unofficial /e/ build on my tablet. It works really well, everything functions, except there are a few minor things that need to be fixed in the bliss launcher. If those are fixed, the build is fully OK in my opinion. I’m willing to be the maintainer for the build for this tablet, so my suggestion is this: if the /e/ developers can fix these issues in the bliss launcher on tablets, then people from the community can volunteer to be maintainers for the build. This would give /e/ its first officially supported tablets!
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also samsung s4mini is to be added it is fully working with official lineage sources, i think even lineage 17.1…
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There are several° versions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini serrano°. Please check → here and you will know more …
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This would be great!
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what is the advantage of locking the Bootloader?