this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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Example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_Phone

Is there a reputable phone company that offers unbranded phones?

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Reputable brands wouldn't hide their logo. Put a case on it if it bothers you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Lol what a take.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Reputable brands wouldn’t hide their logo.

Why not? I do not want to be a billboard for a thing I already paid for.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 8 months ago

Because most don't bother with having a billboard for a thing they already paid for. Even if the question of "Wow, what is that phone ?" could just be answered by the one who bought it, by themselves, instead of the interested to check out the logos and markings.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 8 months ago

If it’s not branded, it’s probably because it’s meant for white labeling, and a phone that’s meant for white labeling is probably going to be trash.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 8 months ago (2 children)

My Pixel technically has a G on it, but it's black on dark grey, so you can barely see it

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Same with my black iphone 15. If you hold it at a slight angle its actually completely invisible. Plus, a case can cover it up quickly.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Your iPhone has a G on it? /s

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

You must just be holding it at the right angle 100% of the time πŸ˜‚

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

The 3 camera circles in square is also Apple's branding. You should hide them too.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

My Pixel has a case on it, so you can't see the logo. What's all this fuss about?

[–] [email protected] 25 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I don't like branding either. I keep a small piece of black electrical tape over the "G" on my Pixel phone so I can't see it.

I remove logos & tags from other stuff I own too. Isopropyl alcohol, acetone, seam rippers, & scissors are all friends.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Curious about the phone thing, why not just get a case? For example rhinoshield brands itself with artist so you could get some cool art while supporting a creator

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I don't have a good response here. My existing case is transparent, so I could easily put some art in there. I guess I just didn't think of it! Thanks for the suggestion!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

if you've got a friend with any artistic inclination, ask them to paint you something tiny. I love doing that, I have my friends' art all around my house

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

I just use a case. It doubles up as protecting my phone if I drop it.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Unfortunately, any non-branded phone is going to be problematic for a wide array of reasons. You're probably better off just buying the phone you like the most, and buying a brandless skin for it, IMO.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

Oh my god Becky, look at her phone. It’s got no logo.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago (4 children)

If you use your phone without a case you are strange.

Or fooled by the industry. Who the fuck cares about fancy phones, give me plastic, I put a case on it anyways.

Liked that about the Pixel 4, all plastic, pretty strange but perfectly fine and light. Modern pixels use glass for some arbitrary reason (this silly energy wasting charge thing works through plastic too)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

I agree. Premium modern plastic or resin beats metal or glass any day.

Better grip. Better duribiliy. Transparent to radio. Easier to repair or replace. It's just better.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

Despite always having all my phones in cases, I cracked my 4a 5G screen three times from drops before I gave up on repairing it. It was a fragile thing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I don't use a case, just a screen protector. Been through a lot of screen protectors but the phone has taken a pretty solid beating and still functions like new with exception of battery life. Not sure a case is necessary unless Xiaomi make unusually resilliant phones which I think is unlikely.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I have a case and no matter how I dropped my phone, I'm convinced it wouldnt break, even without a screen protector.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I guess if you have a closed shell case it'd be fine for the screen, but in my experience the screen is the only part likely to break and I'd rather not carry the extra size and weight of a case

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

I don’t use a case because I’m fine with my phone being the size it is.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 8 months ago

I'd try and buy a Fairphone, the only branding is on the detachable back cover. You can probably get a non-branded replacement off eBay or AliExpress, and just snap the old one off and the new one on.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Most phone companies that lack a brand name are white label, pumped out en masse so somebody like Rob Braxman can stick a logo on it.

Would not recommend.

Even the reputable companies that use cheap off-the-shelf parts will announce themselves. See: Pine.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Fairphone is also made in China, and Daniel Micay was also trying to do the same rebranding as Rob Braxman. All the YouTubers that claim to sell "privacy" phones either do this or flash custom ROMs on bought devices.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

True with the first part, I dropped "in China" because that's not a helpful qualifier. I was thinking of how the FreedomPhone was using Umidigi hardware, but that never made it into my post.

Besides, Pine itself (which is pretty good) is based in Hong Kong and manufactures phones in China.

I had no idea about Fair... That's pretty funny. They say they pay their workers extra, but not directly where the workers are. I read about their "European design" first

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Apple - Designed in California, Made in China :D

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Isn't that the point of the nothing phone? Afaik it doesn't have a logo or anything but it does have a kinda gimmicky LED setup on the back for notifications

I reckon if it was that important to you and you're relatively handy you could probably 3d print a custom back for the fair phone too

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

try nail polish remover on most printed logos. also check out adbusters.org

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Careful. Nail polish remover can discolor plastic.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Why? Just put a sticker over the logo if you don't want to see it

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago

I agree with the post when it comes to clothing, I don't like being a walking advertisement and I'd prefer the logos to be small and subtle, if at all

For a phone, it's pretty low on my list of priorities when picking

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

Exactly. No reputable company is going to NOT put their logo on the phone, especially with the main other difference is the camera stack. It's free advertising. The assumption is that you'll throw a case or skin on it anyway.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

They really were great phones. Our whole family had them

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why would you not still use it? Snapdragon 835 is still pretty powerful.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

From what I can tell, all the top selling phones have something etched on the enclosure. That said, unbranded cases are pretty easy to find, and if you don’t want the bulk of a case, there are some interesting ultra slim cases on the market.

A lot of name brand case companies like to brand their cases, but if you look for off brand stuff from China, you can find a lot of cases with no branding.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I remember when "Samsung" was plastered on the back AND front of their phones. Apple was ahead in that regard, at least. iPhones don't even have "iPhone" written on the back anymore.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I used dbrand skin on my previous phone which hides the logo