do GSI roms still contain google binaries (play store, play services, etc…) or is it similar to a AOSP rom where its just a bare android image

Yes. That’s to say they can be either depending on how the ROM was built. All of the GSI ROM builders I’ve worked with usually have multiple releases of the same build with different configurations: root, no root, with Google services (often MicroG), without Google services, combinations of both, etc.

To my understanding, GSI ROMs are basically just the “userland” portion of a full ROM. Basically they use the stock/existing kernel, drivers, etc but replace the rest of the system that runs on top of it. If memory serves, they’re possible due to Project Treble. Sadly, they still require an unlocked bootloader to install, so they’re not a total fix-all.

They’re also very generic generic images (hence the “G” in the term). They’re not optimized for any specific device and can be hit-or-miss feature wise depending on the device. If you’re already reading about a specific device on XDA forums, then you’ll probably be able to see what works and what doesn’t.

TL;DR: Running a GSI ROM is like upgrading to a newer Linux distro but without upgrading the kernel.

[Weary sigh]

Awesome! Yeah, spoilers aren’t standard markdown (AFIAK) and most apps just copied the way lemmy UI implemented them as custom containers.

At least in the default UI, it’s still not working right. It’s all treated as the title of the spoiler.

Most clients require it as :

:::spoiler Title that shows when collapsed
The rest of the text that should be hidden in the collapsed part.

More text that should be hidden.
:::

Not sure what client you’re using, but the spoiler tag not being closed causes them to not work.

…it’s a suppository.

Mine is also from the “Born to be a Bureaucrat” song but it’s the “born to be all obsessive and snotty. I made my friends and relations fill long applications to get into my tenth birthday party” part.

It’s like phone manufacturers have run out of ideas and will do anything except stop making tall, skinny phones. I miss horizontal pixels and not needing a step ladder to reach the top of the screen, dammit!

• Does it have USB-C video out?
• Do you plan to run any custom ROMs / Can it run custom ROMs?

Thanks. That’s already set to grayscale out of the box. I guess what confused me was that screenshots were in color (when I sent them to my PC to look at) but on my old Lineage 16/Android 9 device with “reading mode” enabled, the screenshots were in grayscale.

Apparently screenshots are no longer affected by those settings in later releases.

It comes with Google maps, but I use Organic Maps with it. It’s got GPS and works fine.

I did have to turn off the compass-orientation feature since it jiggled the map too much for the e-ink display to keep up. Haven’t tried it for navigation yet, but I usually just listen to the voice prompts on that.

But you mentioned the colour correction is set to grey scale, isn’t that exactly what you want from reading mode?

I honestly don’t know. Maybe? I’d need to try with another Android 14 phone (which I don’t have handy right now) to see.

When I took a screenshot on the Minimal and emailed it to myself (to view on my laptop), the screenshot was in color.

On my OP3 on Lineage 16/Android 9, with “Reading mode” enabled, the screenshot was in black and white.

A number of things could be different, but that’s all I’ve been able to test at present.

It’s also possible to set your display to grey scale in the settings for “modes” so you could create your own mode there called reading mode and change the display settings for that custom mode.

Either I don’t have that option or it’s buried under a different name/menu path.

I could watch this video all day (from the product page next to the e-ink description). Is visual ASMR a thing?

When I was searching for a case on Amazon, at least one e-ink phone did pop up in the search results (clearly trying to piggyback on the search term). I’ve never heard of “Bigme” and it runs a much older version of Android 11. It also doesn’t have the keyboard (which is something I really wanted for a long time).

Edit: This one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGG5RSHC

guess I should say. I think Pine had one?

If I ever did see Pine having one, I’m not recalling it now. Maybe the Yotaphone (which is discontinued)?

Good questions!

Sadly, I cannot answer either of them. I would assume the battery is replaceable with some effort, and I have no idea about the screen. Considering these are currently pre-order devices releasing in small production-runs, I would imagine sourcing replacement parts would be taking it apart and searching Ali for the part numbers. That said, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”.

I have not attempted disassembly, but there are two very tiny torx screws on either side of the USB-C port. My assumption is that removing those allows the casing to slide apart. Perhaps when I’m feeling brave enough, I may take a peek inside and document my journey with some photos.

There also doesn’t appear to be an iFixit teardown yet, and a cursory internet search didn’t reveal any galleries of the juicy innards :(

Thanks, and yeah, that’s my hope.

Android, without significant modifications, just doesn’t seem suited to e-ink right now. Unless it’s buried and I haven’t found it yet, there no longer seems to be the “Reading Mode” I used to have in my Android 9 / Lineage 16 devices that would put the whole UI into greyscale mode. I feel like that would help the experience greatly on e-ink displays.