{Photograph}: Scott Gilbertson
Whereas I just like the privateness options of /e/OS and have even taken to spoofing my geodata a lot of the time, the true killer characteristic to me is the /e/OS app retailer, which is called the App Lounge. After I used LineageOS, I put in apps from a number of completely different app shops. There’s F-Droid, which hosts open supply apps, and Uptodown, which just a few apps I exploit help (Vivaldi being the primary one), after which I had just a few I may solely get by the Google Play Retailer. As anybody utilizing LineageOS can let you know, it is quite a bit to maintain observe of.
The /e/OS App Lounge combines apps from a wide range of sources, together with the Play Retailer and F-Droid, amongst others, making all of them out there in a single place. (You too can decide to solely present open supply apps.)
Additionally good is the choice to remain nameless when connecting to any of the app shops, though you have to to be logged in to get the apps you paid for, since these are tied to your consumer ID. I’ve additionally had the nameless login fail just a few occasions, giving me token errors. This is without doubt one of the few locations I’ve had points with /e/OS.
The App Lounge makes use of a well-recognized design that appears like Google Play however provides just a few options. The primary is that App Lounge supplies privateness details about every app, grading it on a 1 to 10 scale, the place 1 is horrible for privateness and 10 typically means no trackers. The App Lounge additionally grades apps in accordance with which permissions they require. The less permissions (like entry to your photographs or geodata), the upper the ranking. It is a good manner of offering advanced data in a manner anybody can simply parse.
In a win for the bigger Android-alt neighborhood, /e/OS claims to be engaged on making the App Lounge out there as an app that may be put in anyplace. (Within the meantime, the Aurora Retailer is a detailed different.)
What Doesn’t Work
As a lot as I like /e/OS, it isn’t excellent. I’ve had some minor points with geodata. I reside on the highway, so my location adjustments each couple of weeks. Typically /e/OS is gradual to select up on this, and the Maps app will present me search outcomes primarily based on the place I used to be final week. The included Maps app itself continues to be tough across the edges (and makes use of some proprietary code). It is higher and extra correct than each different map app I’ve tried, nevertheless it is not nearly as good as Google Maps. I do not care what you consider Google; its Maps app is unmatched. I nonetheless use it as a backup when the default /e/OS app would not discover what I would like.
The opposite large lacking characteristic for me is speech-to-text. Proper now, /e/OS ships with out speech-to-text in any respect. There is a good abstract of the choices out there within the /e/OS boards. None of them are very best, however I’ve managed to get by with a mix of Sayboard and the inventory /e/OS keyboard. The excellent news is {that a} built-in speech-to-text characteristic is on the highway map for /e/OS in 2024. This will even open the door to an /e/OS assistant, which isn’t presently out there. The undertaking is unclear about what kind this would possibly take, given the privateness implications of interacting with a server to reply queries, however one chance is a big language mannequin working regionally.