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I'm looking for phones with stock Android. I was able to find articles on the internet, but they mention mostly new phones, and I'm more interested in older (cheaper) versions.

I have Google Pixel (one) and from what I read, it's the one with "vanilla" Android. But there are some preinstalled apps on it - like Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, which I cannot uninstall (without rooting). I neither need nor use them and consider them bloatware.

Is it possible to find a phone from a manufacturer which does not have even such Google apps? Or they just must be there?

beeshyams
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Line
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    Android phones cannot be pure more than roughly, say, 70%. A huge codebase working at backend, not very much visible to the user, is hardware-specific (and so vendor-specific) and isn't part of pure/stock/vanilla Android (AOSP). – Irfan Latif Dec 04 '20 at 01:26
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    There are some Android brands (AFAIK, mostly Chinese brands) that don't have Google apps (because Google is blocked in China), or maybe non-certified devices that cannot have Google apps preinstalled. Otherwise, fsfe - Free Your Android, Liberate Your Device! – Andrew T. Dec 04 '20 at 04:00
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    You should look for devices running "Android One". Even phones from different manufacturer running Android One it is guaranteed that nothing is changed because this is not allowed for Android One devices. – Robert Dec 04 '20 at 08:01
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    Interesting, my Samsung Galaxy S10+ let me uninstall Google Play Music/Movies. However, there are plenty of things which I cannot uninstall like Bixby, AR Emoji for whatever f'ing reason, Verizon Cloud, etc. – MonkeyZeus Dec 04 '20 at 14:22
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    @Robert as far as overall user experience is concerned it's correct to say that Android One devices are nearly identical. But they are far from stock Android. For instance on Mi A2 Lite out of 216 system packages almost half are not from AOSP, including 46 from Google, 47 from Qualcomm and the rest from Xiaomi or hardware vendors. Similarly out of 107 native daemons 74 binaries are from /vendor/bin. Vendor specific bootloader, modem etc. are in addition to this. So I don't think we can call it a pure Android device. – Irfan Latif Dec 04 '20 at 15:00
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    @IrfanLatif absolutely right though I wasn't aware of such technical devices //I owned MiA1- unlocking bootloader won't wipe data (they corrected later), factory reset using key combo will not invoke FRP, adb backup not possible etc. So broad brushing Android One = Stock Android isn't right – beeshyams Dec 04 '20 at 15:19
  • @IrfanLatif Actually, it’s theoretically possible to be higher than that. The only stuff that needs to be proprietary are the drivers for the baseband processor, it’s technically possible to design a phone that has all other required drivers in the upstream Linux kernel, though I don’t know of any companies that actually make such phones. – Austin Hemmelgarn Dec 04 '20 at 16:42
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    @AustinHemmelgarn yes you are correct. There are modular phones like FairPhone claiming to use open source hardware, and also open source OSes like PureOS. But I don't think any of those is 100% open-source. – Irfan Latif Dec 04 '20 at 18:10
  • Can you explain what you consider "bloatware"? For example, my grandmother gets very anxious about any icon that she doesn't immediately understand the use of, even though some of those are doing important things like backups. So I installed extra software to put all the icons she doesn't use on a separate tab in the app drawer and now she's happy. OTOH there's really unnecessary stuff like "theme support" right in AOSP and impossible to remove, but she never complained about that because access to it is in the settings menu so she never noticed it. – user3067860 Dec 08 '20 at 15:02
  • @user3067860 I gave two examples from Google. I basically mean apps which I don't use, and that's true that they annoy me the most when I see their icons. not sure how it looks in case of your grandmother, but on Xiaomi/Huawei I can put all those icons into one "not needed" folder, it is only one annoying icon then, but I still know they are there and it kind of disturbs me :) what you did is rather workaround, they still take space on the memory. I was interested more in the matter of approach to this. – Line Dec 10 '20 at 11:17
  • @Line OK, but things like "themes" don't bother you? Because that still takes system resources. More system resources than an application that is installed but never opened/running. I ask because things like LineageOS, etc., often have even more features built into the OS, even if they also usually let you remove all visible "apps". Or things might be classified as system apps and not show up as apps even if they technically are (fun fact, "com.android.cellbroadcastreceiver" is a system app). – user3067860 Dec 10 '20 at 13:33
  • @user3067860 hmm, maybe that's stupid and lazy but there is something in it, if I don't see an icon, I'm not annoyed that much :) maybe it's more about the simplicity of usage. I don't know much about this theme which you mention, but I'm anyway not considering LineageOS, because I was looking for a manufacturer phone, and those won't be easy to find according to fraxinus answer. – Line Dec 10 '20 at 15:30

5 Answers5

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tl:dr; Google phones have the purest Android. They come with Google apps

In Android ecosystem, phones launched by Google are stock Android (aka vanilla). It's the purest form of Android because Google developed the OS and tightly integrated with the hardware (earlier Nexus and now Pixel). They come with Google apps, you can't avoid them, unless you root your device and uninstall.

If you are looking for a phone that is running Android LineageOS -XDA launched a phone that ran LineageOS /Ubuntu out of box. Such devices are more of an exception to the rule (running LineageOS out of the box, as you mentioned in the last paragraph of the question, though LineageOS doesn't qualify as pure Android)

beeshyams
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    A modern smartphone with true Linux and HDMI out? Color me impressed, and now there is one less early model left to snatch :) – PTwr Dec 04 '20 at 11:26
  • thanks. but then how come there is for example Google Clock preinstalled on Pixel while it isn't on Xiaomi? – Line Dec 04 '20 at 14:49
  • @Line That exactly proves the point. Stock Google has a framework and apps that are defined. Other OEMs are at liberty to add system apps or remove them, modify the framework, add their own tricks, bells and whistles, etc, etc. All that is permitted as long as they stick to the framework in principle. It's not just OEMs, even carriers add their own apps, sometimes make bootloader unlockable//The list is endless and that's what makes for a chaotic, fragmented Android eco system //That's one reason some prefer stock stuff, it works as it was designed to and yet gives you flexibility // – beeshyams Dec 04 '20 at 15:06
  • Flexibility to play around with things, mostly if you root your device. If you don't, stock works and they are happy with it // Aside, after many years of owning devices by multiple OEMs, I own now a stock Pixel device and an liking it :) – beeshyams Dec 04 '20 at 15:08
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    @beeshyams I'd say, even not modifying the core AOSP framework, Google devices are far far from pure Android (AOSP) like Android One devices are (see my comment: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/231628/which-phones-do-have-the-purest-android#comment304588_231628). Google doesn't make changes to core AOSP framework is their plus point (though some good changes aren't always a bad user experience, see Lineage, Omni etc). But I think we should not accept Google's additions to AOSP a standard set of changes. After all Google is an OEM, like others are. – Irfan Latif Dec 04 '20 at 15:18
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    @IrfanLatif It's not my point that Google is ideal or right or a gold standard (it might have come across like that though). Those observations are only to underline what is stock and what isn't//Also see my comment just below yours adding to what you said!//Edit : Aosp vs Google comparison is a different ball game, isn't it? – beeshyams Dec 04 '20 at 15:22
  • This answer completely ignores the existence of AOSP. -1 – ave Dec 05 '20 at 13:50
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    @Ave yes, it completely does that on purpose. OP is looking for "manufacturers" phone (last para of question). Does any OEM give AOSP out of box? // That's what I also mentioned in the comment above yours – beeshyams Dec 05 '20 at 13:56
  • why are you claiming that LineageOS is not Android? I read everywhere (in the comment to the KERR Answer, on LineageOS site, even when I follow the link from the site you mentioned) – Line Dec 26 '20 at 11:38
  • @Line I never said Lineage isn't Android . Question asks for two things 1. Pure Android - Lineage isn't 2. Phone from manufacturer- Lineage normally isn't shipped as out of the box OS, one installs it. There is an exception to that, which is mentioned in my answer// Lineage is Android plus a package of useful features which Irfan mentioned above// I was answering to the terms you set out in your question:) – beeshyams Dec 26 '20 at 11:43
  • @Line Since you seem to be interested in Lineage , please have a look at my answer here – beeshyams Dec 26 '20 at 11:50
  • @Line To support my point that Lineage isn't pure Android, see this comment – beeshyams Dec 26 '20 at 11:59
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    thanks, but still I don't get why did you state "if you're looking for a phone that is NOT using Android..." (then take a look at LineageOS) :( – Line Dec 27 '20 at 14:09
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    @Line Thanks for correcting me on my mistake. I fixed it and it should be clear now. Apologies for the confusion// I appreciate the seriousness with which you followed this up, sadly I didn't take that care when writing it up – beeshyams Dec 27 '20 at 14:16
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How about looking for models supported by LineageOS? This is a ROM you can flash to your device, and you can even use it without the Google Apps (or flash them later)

Although they are not included in LineageOS as such due to legal issues,[44] users can flash the normal Google apps, including the Google Play Store and Play Apps, with a Zip package, usually referred to as gapps, while installing LineageOS.

You'll need to make sure that you can unlock your phone's bootloader/root the device (double check before you buy it).

KERR
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  • thanks, but the question was about Android. – Line Dec 04 '20 at 08:17
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    @Line LineageOS is Android, and it sounds exactly like what you want. – airace3 Dec 04 '20 at 09:06
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    I'm going to be an antagonist here. I would say that LineageOS isn't a "pure Android" experience, merely it is stock Android with a bunch of modifications which made it more customisable than stock Android. – James Hyde Dec 04 '20 at 13:30
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The question has quite deep implications.

Android is not an OS, it is an "ecosystem".

There is Android Open Source Project. This is the "base" of the Android OS.

Hardly usable and you will not find pure AOSP on any factory phone.

Vendors get AOSP and build over it to make some phone firmware that fits their business model (it may as well be useful for the user, but this is completely optional).

Then, there is Lineage OS - a community-built Android OS made for selected phone models. In general, it is built just like the vendors' firmwares, except for not having a real business model and driven more or less by the contributors' understanding of usability.

LineageOS comes without any Google apps (not even Google Play, so you cannot directly get apps from it). But you can use OpenGApps to get either the bare minimum of Google stuff (like "pico" package with Google Play only), something more, or a full-blown Google suite. There are also great sources to obtain open-source apps, such as F-Droid.

Or you may skip this step and use some other means to get apps (a lot of limitations apply).

It's worth mentioning that neither Google nor phone vendors are happy with people installing LineageOS (or other similar packages). This breaks their business model. The process of replacing the phone vendor's software is intentionally made complex and challenging. In most cases, it also voids phone's warranty.

There are also a niche phone vendors that ship phones with LineageOS.

End Anti-Semitic Hate
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fraxinus
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In addition to the Pixel phones from Google, Android One phones also enjoy a clean interface and receive timely software updates and security patches. Currently, Nokia and Motorola phones are the most prominent Android One phones (see, e.g., Best Android One Phones in 2020.

Some phone brands like OnePlus and Realme keep their Android flavor light but I would not call them vanilla Android.

Itamar
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  • and would you call Android One vanilla? I saw this article and exactly - those are prominent phones. and I don't want prominent one ;) (like I mentioned in the question) – Line Dec 16 '20 at 10:53
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    Since Android has to be adopted to the hardware you will always have some modifications to vanilla Android. I think that Android One is close enough but for me personally a light version with timely updates are the priority. – Itamar Dec 17 '20 at 12:15
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Sony Xperia Phones have a very close to Stock Android UI eg Sony Xperia 1 II

You can learn more about the latest update to Android 11 for the aforementioned phone in the following Youtube Video:

Sony Xperia 1 II Update Android 11 | 15 New Features.

Hope this helps & Merry Christmas !

Simon
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