Joe Maring / Digital Trends
When you buy a phone today , your first decision is to settle which operating system you want : Android or iOS . We ’ve seen other platforms come and go over the year , from Windows Phone to Palm OS , but Android and iOS stay your two sole choice in 2024 .
One of the last things I see atCES 2024earlier this month was a smartphone operating system that ’s trying to be that third choice between Android and iOS . It ’s called Apostrophy OS ( also referred to as AphyOS ) , and I nonplus to toy around with it while also chatting with Apostrophy CEO Steve Cistulli to learn about the could - be Android and iOS option .
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
What is Apostrophy OS?
Inthe company ’s own words , Apostrophy OS is “ a bespoken OS - level implementation integrated , in partnership , with an Original Equipment Manufacturer ( OEM ) smartphone . ” In simpler footing , it ’s an operating organization that smartphone manufacturers can license and use on their devices — just like Android .
Apostrophy OS is also based on Android at its core ( specifically , Android 13 ) , but it ’s beenheavilymodified to work quite a bit differently — with a vainglorious focus on substance abuser privateness . Apostrophy is based out of Switzerland , and Apostrophy OS gives you “ pure restraint ” over all of your personal data .
Starting from the house screen , your principal home page on Apostrophy OS is call the “ Domus . ” It ’s a grayscale Thomas Nelson Page with shortcuts for the Aphy Store ( Apostrophy ’s own app stock ) , your calendar , contacts , Apostrophy ’s VPN service , your files , electronic mail , and more . You ca n’t customize anything on this page , and everything you do here is run through Apostrophy ’s waiter for maximal security .
However , swiping to the left wing takes you to the “ Piazza . ” The Piazza can be customise like any other Android home filmdom , and you could run whatever apps you desire here . But it ’s still design to be more secure , as each app you consort in the Piazza is sandboxed and kept separate from your other apps there .
This mean you could still use any Android app you ’d like — be it WhatsApp , YouTube , Instagram , etc . — but the app is running as its own , individual thing without access to your data point beyond the wall of the software . The Google Play Store is n’t installed by default on Apostrophy OS , but you may easily install it in a thing of minute . Cistulli walked me through the procedure himself , and it ’s literally just a matter of enroll your Google account entropy and accepting some privacy terms .
As Cistulli explained to me , “ I have a family relationship with WhatsApp . I know the selective information that WhatsApp is taking and that Meta will be using . That ’s now the singular kinship . I do n’t have to worry about Google being involved in that relationship any longer . ”
The same matter apply to other apps , including Google ’s . As Cistulli told me :
“ I like YouTube and YouTube Music , and I use those quite often . That ’s my relationship with YouTube and with Google . Does it have in mind that they have access to my Gmail and everything else ? . ” If you are n’t using Gmail or other Google service , the answer is “ no . ”
A VPN, email account, and more — for a price
But a secure agency to use Android apps is only part of the Apostrophy O experience . The other big affair Apostrophy extend is a cortege of apps and services provided instantly by the company .
The first of those is called Digital Nomad , and it ’s essentially a VPN bake into the operating system . you could turn it on anytime and exchange your location from the U.S. , Germany , or Japan . So long as it ’s enable , everything you do on your Apostrophy osmium smartphone is hidden behind the VPN .
What I found more interesting is a feature of speech call “ Ledger . ” When you press and hold on any program , you’re able to tap the Ledger icon . Once you do , you ’re fill to a young page with Data Privacy and Carbon Reduction dials specific to that app .
When you move these dials , you ’re fundamentally exchange the various permissions that the app has on your phone . However , alternatively of having to manually vary each permission yourself without a clear account of what it ’s doing , that ’s all handle automatically by Apostrophy OS when you move these dial . Want an coating to have free range to all of the permission it ’s bespeak ? Crank the Data Privacy slider to 1 . require to tolerate some necessary permissions but block others ? Maybe plough the dial to 4 .
Each number on the dial clearly explains what you ’re changing and what permissions are being allowed / deny . The Carbon Reduction slider works the same fashion but focus on limiting your phone ’s computing power . Moving this telephone dial to 2 , for illustration , allows an app to have limited background data point usage with optimized barrage fire usage . switch it to 3 outright denies screen background information manipulation from that app and restricts its battery use .
Cistulli broke it down for me like this :
“ The bulk of people do n’t want to go through and verbalise about 200 different character of permissions and accesses . What we ’ve done is we ’ve categorized them into privateness and energy impact , and then give you these really simple , really coolheaded dials , along with your energy impact per covering . ”
Along with the VPN and Ledger services , Apostrophy bone give you your Apostrophy account with a new e-mail computer address , calendar , physical contact , undertaking app , and 5 GB of cloud store space . All of this comes at a cost of around $ 15 / calendar month , and one yr is included for free with the purchase of any Apostrophy OS phone .
The hardware powering Apostrophy OS
That ’s the Apostrophy o software — but what about the ironware ? The phone I used — and the only Apostrophy group O handset at the moment — is the Punkt MC02 .
It ’s a fair stock Android speech sound . It has a 6.67 - inch IPS screen with a 2400 x 1080 resolution and a 60Hz refresh pace . You get a MediaTek Dimensity 900 central processor , 6 GB of RAM , 128 GB of expandable storage , a 64MP chief camera with an 8MP ultrawide tv camera , and a 2MP macro instruction camera . It’ll go down you back $ 749 .
The earpiece felt well - construct during my hands - on time , but those eyeglasses for $ 749 could be a tough sell . The beneficial intelligence ? More Apostrophy OS phone are come . Cistulli says Apostrophy already has “ another OEM on board ” and that the caller will have “ a third [ OEM ] by the closing of the twelvemonth . ”
The Android alternative we’ve been waiting for?
Is Apostrophy OS the third peregrine operating system we ’ve been waiting for in the Android vs. iOS world ? The heavy privateness focussing and the required subscription make it a definitely niche option , but there ’s certainlysomethinghere .
Apostrophy has done a good line at making its software promiscuous to run and sympathise , and that ’s an accomplishment that should n’t be overtop . The seclusion tool make sentiency , it all works very likewise to other Android phones , and you could still employ any app you already use on yourGalaxy S23orGoogle Pixel 8 . As Cistulli put it simply , “ Why would you choose another Android gimmick if you’re able to have the best of both worlds ? ”
There are obvious hurdle Apostrophy needs to overcome . It postulate to get Apostrophy OS running on more devices , get those devices onto store shelf and in front of masses ’s eyes , and make a convincing literary argument that it ’s worth buying a phone with a monthly subscription . Those are allmucheasier said than done , but Apostrophy seems up for the challenge . And I ’m now eager to see how the companionship does it .
