Phone: Volla πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ

Most phones want your data before you finish setting them up. Volla, a small German phone maker, starts from the opposite idea: a phone that just works, without Google watching in the background. Its own Volla OS runs open-source Android without Google services, and Ubuntu Touch is there too if you want to go further.

Two Volla smartphones seen from the front and from the back

Volla Β· Germany

Volla’s pitch is control and simplicity. Volla OS is built on open-source Android without Google services, and the company also supports alternative systems such as Ubuntu Touch.

Most phones want your data before you’ve even finished setting them up. Volla, a small German phone maker, starts from the opposite question: what if a phone just worked, quietly, without accounts, clouds, or Google watching from the background?

Its phones run on open-source Android with Google Play Services stripped out, under the company’s own Volla OS, so most apps still work fine, just without the data trail. Not open enough? Volla also offers Ubuntu Touch, a mobile version of Linux, as an alternative operating system right out of the box. A genuine third way beyond Android and iOS, software built in Germany, with hardware made together with manufacturing partners.

It’s not always effortless. A few Google-dependent apps misbehave, and switching between operating systems takes a bit more curiosity than most people bring to buying a phone. But for anyone who wants a device that feels like theirs, not one quietly reporting home, Volla is one of the last companies in Europe still betting on that idea.

Learn more: https://volla.online/en/

The Saturday newsletter

Liked this pick? Get five like it every Saturday.

One calm email a week with the five picks and a short note from us. Free, always.

Or get each pick on Telegram.