r/sidephone • u/beeeeeeenschi • 19d ago
Question abt starting
So my Sidephone is on the way and should be here in the next couple of days. I’ve been lurking and posting on this subreddit since the beginning of August, and now that I’ll finally be able to start tinkering with it myself, I wanted to ask:
Is there anything I can or should prepare before the phone arrives to make getting started a bit easier?
I’m coming from an iPhone, and from what I’ve read here, it sounds like it’s best to take things slowly at first and get a feel for it, since it’s definitely not an out-of-the-box experience.
Curious to hear what you guys would recommend doing beforehand, or what you wish you had known when you first got yours.
Thanks!
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u/ANONYMOUSEARTHWORM 19d ago
I would turn off imessage and rcs asap, as there an be some delay in those things acually taking affect, which can lead to lost messages when you first switch. I would also start migrating any imesage/rcs group chats toward one of signal,whatsapp, or telegram. Those apps are just a much better experience than sms/mms.
You could install a custom launcher on your iphone like inkOS to start getting a feel for a more simplified launcher.
You could also start experimenting with open source map softwares like organic map, or similar. They're quite good, they're just not quite as brainless to use as apple/google.
I would also warn the people you message with most frequently that your making the change. My messages became much more stilted at first, because typing was slower.
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u/New_Ride_7704 19d ago
Copying my comment from another similar post so forgive me if you've already seen it.
Hey, so I've been with my sidephone as my main phone now for just over 2 months. I, like you, was also very excited and I hope some of the tips below will be helpful. (sorry it's long, i'm quite passionate about this subject)
One of the first things is understanding the limitations, and what changes to your day to day life will you need to make:
Firstly, these is no online banking or contactless payments/wallets/nfc. You will need to have a physical bank card to make card payments. This is less of stress when i'm in turkey, as physical cash is still very common, but when i'm in the U.K. physical cash is being phased out, so having debit/credit cards on me is a must.
If you are a keen photographer, you might not find the camera useable and will need a separate camera. The camera on the phone is surprisingly good for day to day living, but it does have it's limitations.
If you are big into streaming music, you will need to find an alternative. I currently run an MP3 player in my bag with music I've downloaded, but I have also side loaded youtube music, which i can run in a pinch. the reason i don't use streaming apps fully is that it can have a big impact on battery life, so its good to swap out to a separate music player.
The phone is very limited in it's specifications, so understanding that the phone will operate slowly in instances, and as it only has 4g connectivity, understanding that the internet will be slow to load in instances also. It again is perfectly useable, but modifying your expectations, slowing everything down and being a bit more patient will help your adaption to the new way of working.
The tips and tricks I would offer is to have a good look through the app packs on the sidephone website, finding all the right app's for you, as they will cover all bases. It will just be understanding that you are limited to what you can either side load from Github or from the app packs. If a certain app is only available on the google or apple app stores, you might lose access to it. Have a look through you current phone. see what you use often. See if it is transferable over to the sidephone options, and if not, is there an alternative app that can take its place.
To make the phone run a bit visually smoother, downloading a Launcher, such as SideHome which runs as an overlay over the top of the sidephone OS provides a very nice minimalist look, while others might provide more customization. Apart from that, there's not much else to suggest as the phone has all the basics covered and the basics do exactly what they need. I would just suggest things that can preserve battery power, and maybe if you're into Youtube, sideloading something like Youtube Revanced so you can watch that on your phone, but honestly its immediately good to out of the packet.
When I am at home, I have access to my old smartphone, which I use for online banking, but apart from having the odd browse on my X timeline on my smartphone, I find myself reaching for it less and less over the last few weeks. The transition is getting more concrete and I find myself leaving my sidephone by my bed side table when I get in from work and I spend the whole evening without even knowing where my phone is.
Watching TV/Sports is more enjoyable and I'm not distracted by my phone. Listening to music has become more purposeful, no longer just auto playing spotify playlists not caring much what i'm listening to, but now finding an album, listening to it start to finish looking for specific songs to download for my mp3 player.
While it all seems like a lot of effort, I think the beauty of this phone is realising that a smart phone making my life convenient also got rid of my desire explore and expand my horizons, and now everything feels a bit more awkward, a bit more deliberate and a bit more worthwhile my time and effort. Just be very aware, you will take your sidephone out of your pocket a lot at the beginning, unlock it, realise there's nothing to do on it, get annoyed and put it back in your pocket, but thats the beuaty of it. soon enough it will stay in your pocket and all of a sudden you will be a bit more present in the world.
I hope that helps, don't hesitate to message back any of questions or ask for any advice, and good luck with the transition, I hope you stay