“Dr. Roth: “I’ve been waiting a long time to run tests on someone like you.”
Daemon: “Another fanboy. I have them everywhere.””
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Origin
I consider myself a die-hard Android fanboy and can hardly imagine a life without Android. The OS is like the air for me – it’s something I breathe and embrace no matter what.
And Google, the company behind Android, is, as it were, my Disneyland. It is my virtual playground, where I build my own apps and experiment with my Java codes on Android Studio and push the limit of the OS’s capabilities by unlocking the bootloader.
All in all, what I loooove the most about it is the undeniable fascination with its open-source nature. I can mess around with not only the software but also its apps.
As I mentioned, I recently started building my own Android apps thanks to a tremendous number of online tutorials and resources. For the first few months, I tested my apps on my daily driver, Pixel 4a. But I thought it would be nice if I had another device not only for experiencing my Android apps, but also to mess around with the OS itself.
For my secondary phone, non-Google devices were initially out of my radar. Just like my daily driver, Pixel 4a, all I was looking for was another Pixel device. It’s basically because of my cult-like devotion to Google.
However, a few months ago, I accidentally found a cheap yet amazing device that caters to my criteria. Not only does it offer a vanilla Android experience, but also is a product designed by Andy Rubin, known as the father of Android! What kind of amazing product is that?! As a die-hard Android fanboy, this is something I can hardly ignore! Essential PH-1 is a controversial yet still legendary product released from his company Essential Products.
Even though Essential Products closed its business in February 2020 and discontinued its support on the PH-1, the device is still quite popular in the second-hand market, especially among Android lovers and developers. Thanks to its vanilla Android UI and friendly nature to developers, it is ideal for me. Additionally, I particularly love its blocky design similar to that of the iPhone SE.
Anyways, I purchased the device almost a couple of months ago at a second-hand store, and since then I’ve been messing around with the device. For the first time in several years, I, for instance, unlocked the Android bootloader.
Not only that, I even tried to install a custom ROM, particularly LineageOS, on the device. However, It was not successful. Both on Windows and Linux, I was messing around with some command lines, and I did almost everything I could think of to install the open-source OS on the device. Despite my repeated challenges, it wasn’t successful and almost bricked the PH-1! Fortunately, it recovered itself.
For the past few weeks, to avoid the risk of bricking the device, I’ve been using it mainly as a testing device for my Android apps. Maybe shortly, I’d try unlocking the bootloader and installing LineageOS again, but maybe not now… Perhaps, I may purchase another Android device for the experimental trials.
So, let’s get back to what I wrote earlier. I consider myself a die-hard Android fanboy. But what’s the definition of a die-hard Android fanboy? Is it someone who can install a custom ROM on any Android device without any hassles? Or is it someone who develops apps and releases them on Google Play Store? Or someone who automates his/her daily tasks on a mobile device with a power-user app such as Tasker?
I’ve tried almost everything I mentioned above. And I do believe the definition of a die-hard Android fanboy could be anything. The bottom line is that as long as you love the OS and enjoy interacting with it, you’re already a die-hard Android fanboy (or fangirl).
Let’s take on an endless adventure to explore the world of Android together!!
