Here comes the adventure.
Note: I'm writing this in English so that more people can read and use of my experience. But be also aware that I'm not a native English speaker. I'm originally from the Netherlands. That means that for some native English speakers it could be a bit confusing. I apologise in advance.
The current situation
Well, every story has a beginning. So I will try to tell a short story here.
I'm using an iPhone 17 Pro. Yep, pretty expensive thing. I've always been an Apple fan. It didn't start with the iPhone, by the way. It started years ago — the year 2006, to be precise. I wanted to get away from Microsoft Windows and switch to an Apple Mac. Why? It started with my photography education at the Photo Academy in Rotterdam. I learned to use the Mac and the way that a Mac was so much more user-friendly than Microsoft Windows was. So yeah. I ditched my Microsoft Windows environment andswapped it with an Apple Mac Pro. The first Intel series, by the way.
When the iPhone 3G came out in the Netherlands in 2008, I wanted to have it. In 2025 I bought the iPhone 17 Pro, and to be honest, I still love the iPhone. But perhaps this will change. Who knows.
Why the switch?
In 2019 the documentary "The Great Hack" came out on Netflix. At that time I used Facebook, but the irritation factor with Facebook was already very high. This documentary really opened my eyes. A few weeks later I decided to delete my Facebook account. I have never regretted that moment. What this documentary really did was open my eyes. The same for WhatsApp, by the way. I'm not using Meta products.
I started to look at Google, Facebook, and yes also Apple in a different way. Back in those days Apple sold its products by saying "Privacy is our number one priority." So I stayed with the Apple iPhone at that time.
Apple iPhones have become more expensive, and I'm increasingly frustrated by how Apple uses privacy as a product but doesn't act on it. Well, my personal opinion is that you're still better off with Apple than with Samsung or Google products. Secondly, Apple blocks more and more functions that are available in the USA and not in Europe. Why pay €1200+ for a device without getting all its functionality?
It's time to switch!
By the way, this is not the only reason I want to get away; there are many more.
The Challenge
How to get away from Big Tech? Well, I don't want to get rid of everything at once. I'm a big Linux fan, but because of photo editing software (no, I'm not using Adobe software!) and music recording software, my MacBook Pro will stay for a while. For those who say "you can use this or that software program," the answer is no.
Here are two examples:
- Photo editing software: I'm using DxO PhotoLab 9 for now. It's not open source, but as far as I know it's still European (from France). And no, I haven't seen any Linux program that can compete with this.
- Music software: I'm a guitar player and use different tools, mainly ones from Toontrack and TH-U. And no, I haven't found any software like this on Linux.
What to explore?
First of all a list of Apps on my iPhone that will be part on my quest. I'll already give my expectation, lets see what happens at the end of this adventure.
| App | Use | My expectation |
|---|---|---|
Other functionality:
| Function | Use | My expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Pay | NFC payment | Not aval |
Secondly, I will also look at user-friendliness of /e/OS. Apple has a very high level of user-friendlinessregarding the UI. And, yes, it used to be better years ago. Apple is also hiding more and more options in the UI.
Third, I'm getting my Fairphone delivered by Odido. That means it will be delivered with its default Android 16. It is not clean Android; it has Fairphone adjustments. And as far as I know, this Android version is somewhat adjusted in China -> not good.