Small LineageOS phone, either cheap or rugged

Question

I'm searching for a phone which meets those requirements:

Either below $100, or rugged (that is, I want to minimize cost of use. And I tend to drop things)
No larger than 4.5", but the smaller the better
Supported by current LineageOS (used to be named Cyanogenmod)
4G
Removable storage, i.e. uSD

While there are other requirements, I don't think there can be a candidate which meets the ones I listed, but not the ones I didn't list.

In my experience Lineage OS sucks pretty much on anything but official Google phones. The drivers are not open source but binary blobs for many phones even by Samsung and are not forward/backwards compatible. So I do not believe a phone like this exists. Despite phones operating systems being open source the hardware isn't. — William, Mar 26, 2018 at 3:59

user7794 · Accepted Answer · 2018-01-24 02:08:16Z

1

Lineage OS has been ported to the AGM A8 rugged phone which goes for around 160 USD.

answered Jan 24, 2018 at 2:08

user7794

111 bronze badge

Although the form factor is five inch.
– user7794
Jan 24, 2018 at 2:08
That looks perfect... but I can not find an actual (source) download and a single binary download is not enough to base a decision to buy something on - (where) do I get updates, does it even work, etc. I don't think this counts as "supported by current LineageOS" unless you can add a link to a source repo.
– Nobody
Jan 24, 2018 at 8:41
That press release was three years old. Press releases are wonderful things; when they show a contact; this did not. However, you could write [email protected] and see if you get a response when you ask for source code.
– K7AAY
Apr 14, 2020 at 15:33

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K7AAY · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-14 16:09:03Z

I was not able to find a phone both =< 4.5" and < $100 currently supported for LineageOS, nor could I find one described as 'rugged'.

The smallest found, at 4.7", is the Samsung Galaxy A3 in the $80 and up range.

Several were available in the 5.1"-5.2" (diagonal) size range:

A 'certified' refurbuished Google Pixel can be found for $51 shipped.

2 Answers 2