this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2026
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I've heard demos on all of these. Bad connectivity, poor interfaces, prone to overheating, very limited use cases... All these gadgets fucking suck.
Your cellphone ALREADY DOES ALL THIS!
But because it's a portable touchscreen online TV, it's still got a few useful functions attached. None of these other widgets offer anything a cell phone can't do better and cheaper.
Mine supposedly doesn't. Never ever enabled Google assistant or whatever it is. I probably have some apps doing it stealthily while they're in use but at least they supposedly can't do it while the phone's in my pocket.
I flashed e/os to main and I love it! Automatic blocking of trackers. Clear notices when apps access hardware. Falsified GPS to a plausible location at the flip of a switch. It's still not perfect but it's a big step and very easy to install.
I think Graphene is similar?
I've just had so many random bullshit issues with syncing my phone while using a VPN. I'm very reluctant to go to a new OS entirely. Maybe I can dig out an old phone and experiment. But I haven't even set up a proper Arr suite yet. So I'm not in a rush to add another task to the queue.
Oh that's totally fair! Honestly it's been a really pleasant surprise? I thought I'd have to fight it but even the few Google apps I needed still worked without an issue. I've been gradually sunsetting them one by one and just removed the last one the other day.
I love Organic Maps for nav. The voice is a little clunky but everything is computed offline.
Did you want any help? Tech support is literally my job, lol. I've built an are stack + jellyfin, mailserver and home assistant before for what it's worth.
Smartphone cameras are obscured in your pocket though. And isn't typically always responsive like Alexa attached to your shirt.
I'm not saying you're wrong though. It's just lest obvious and doesn't have the opportunity to film all the time.