[milankragujevic]

I can confirm, Motorola One & later Motorola One Action, both can be set up in seconds without an account, there's a prominent Skip button everywhere. Some phones can't, i.e. MIUI-based Xiaomi phones require a Google and Mi account on the first boot, to call home owner info. Later resets will not require it, but they always require a mobile data connection (not WiFi!) to verify validity of the device (as dystopian as that sounds).

[enitihas]

MIUI based devices don't come with Android one though, but yes, MIUI is horrible and I will never buy a device even if it has great hardware with MiUI.

[milankragujevic]

Yes, true. However, Android One is not a panacea for spyware, as I discovered with Nokia.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19449824 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17329825

Manufacturers are still allowed to install apps that are "necessary for [special] hardware functions", and include spyware in them.