thebardingreen, 1 year ago

• My Android phone that I’ve had for several years just died forever and I am currently without a phone (other than Google Voice on my computer).
• I’m in the US. Carrier is T Mobile. I understand I’d have to place my order through a third party.
• Things I care about: All of the above, as long as I can do my work.
• I have the budget.

Things I do regularly:

• Make phone calls.
• Check my email.
• Text messages.
• Signal
• Podcasts and Audiobooks (I’m currently going nuts trying to do chores without my normal audio stimulation). I need Audible and I need some app that will let me keep all my subscriptions and Patreon benefits.
• Magic Arena.
• Lemmy (I currently just use it in a browser, last time I tried Jerboa it was super buggy)
• ChatGPT app.

I also “Hey Google” all the time. I’m not sure what the state of deGoogled voice assistants is. If I could “Hey ChatGPT” it would be orders of magnitude more useful than “Hey Google.” Losing voice assistance isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s something I do use frequently.

Probably 40% of my phone use is Magic Arena and 40% is podcasts and audiobooks. Then probably 5% is “Hey Google, set an alarm for 5 minutes / OK Google, set an alarm for 6:00 AM.”

Google Services I need for work… but I’m willing to hack my way around to get them, as long as it’s possible.

• Google Voice (non negotiable, sadly).
• My work email is through Google.
• My work video conferences are through Google Meet.
• My work calendar is through Google and my phone gives me 10 minute notifications before a meeting.

I would like to degoogle as much as possible, but these are work requirements, and my ADHD brain can’t handle having two phones (one will get left uncharged / lost / never turned on and the odds are that will be the work one).