[qaute]

"I tried replacing Android with Lineage OS on a old phone I had. Whilst that meant I didn’t have any Google Apps on my device, it was still Android underneath. Also many apps kept complaining that I didn’t have Google services on the device."

An alternative is to install microG [1], which reimplements assorted Google services. YMMV, but I've been able to run ~70% of all Android apps with no problems.

[1] https://microg.org/

[kingosticks]

What's the best hardware supported by microG? My current phone is not supported and while my previous one is, it's an original Moto G; I don't think I could handle returning to those specs, not to mention the ageing battery.

[commoner]

MicroG supports all Android devices, but requires manual installation.

LineageOS for microG (which is a pre-built ROM) supports all phones that are supported by LineageOS. A full list of these phones can be found here:

Sorted by device age, with pictures and specifications: https://piotr-yuxuan.github.io/choose-a-new-phone/

Sorted by model, with LineageOS version and build day (view on desktop for all columns): https://www.lineageoslog.com/build/scheduler

[kingosticks]

I actually tried it on my moto g and it runs pretty well. Everything works so far, this seems like a much better choice than buying an overpriced, discontinued, entirely closed Apple device.

[jammygit]

I installed it one a pixel 1 xl recently and it runs great