Ironically, Google Pixels have the best privacy-respecting custom ROM support
https://grapheneos.org/ https://calyxos.org/
Seconding Calyx, graphene can be a bit of a pain in the ass but both are good
https://youtu.be/heVNcdq2MKA here's a good rundown
tl;dw: Calyx has more features, runs faster, and is easier to use in general, and for fairly small security drawbacks that you can opt out of, it gives you hugely more usability
The guides after this page should explain it better than I could - you basically have to just be able to get into the settings, so you have to go through any Google Android prompts before you can
I don't believe either support it - you should aim for a phone with official support, and only Pixels are supported by Calyx and Graphene
Imo Graphene is better, but Calyx might be a little more approachable. Both are good though!
Xiaomi phones are ok I have heard. Also huawei for Chinese brands to look at.
Huawei got kicked out of the google ecosystem so chances are you won't have to sign up for google shit there
Hisense has a phone with an electric ink display like a kindle or nook, but it runs on android but but it's a Chinese company, so no google
it's clearly viable in full sunlight and the display only uses power when the screen changes. It even does video fairly well. They put a lot of thought into the UI, and i've had no trouble with it despite being a sad, detestable monoglot anglophone. It has admittedly changed how I use my phone. Less video, less browsing, more reading. It doesn't play nice with my US carrier, so I'm capped at a 2G connection, but I've accepted it as a feature, rather than a bug. Maybe it's right for you. Maybe not. Worth considering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAIHkawsEuo
Find anything LineageOS supports, and use that - You can optionally install GApps to whatever level you want or don't want Google on there.
xda-developers forums are legit and trustworthy for their unofficial versions. But I will caveat that if the phone isn't on the LineageOS 'official' support list, it can take a day of fiddly messing to successfully flash and install, YMMV.
Xiaomi phones are some of the best available in terms of punch for pricetag.
just bought a Xiaomi Redmi Note phone. It’s good for all of that, but the camera is inferior to the iPhone. Every phone camera I’ve experienced has been worse than the iPhones camera.
I just carry my old iPhone around in my bag these days as a spare camera and emergency phone.
