After two weeks with the Teracube 2e I decided that it’s not a good daily driver for me. Teracube has a 30-day return policy, but I’m going to keep the phone because I really like what the company is doing and having a sacrificial phone for experimenting with new Android ROMs appeals to me. However, there were a number of issues that made the phone unsuitable for me as a daily driver.
The first issue is the potato quality camera. I previously stated that I don’t need a very good camera, but I do need a camera that is at least good enough for me to document things. I decided to do more thorough testing with the Teracube 2e cameras during the week. I found two major issues. The first is that the autofocus is inconsistent. Sometimes I can get properly focused photographs, but other times the photographs turn out blurry even after the camera app shows that the camera is properly focused. It’s a crap shoot whether a photograph will be clear or blurry. The second camera issue is the flash. Since the cameras have such poor low light (really any light other than outside daylight) performance, using the flash is a requirement. But when the flash is used the resulting photograph is heavily blue tinted. This issue isn’t caused by the beta build of LineageOS. A number of users on the Teracube forum reported the same camera issues with stock firmware.
The second overall issue I have with the phone is the size. I’m an oddity because I like phones that are small enough to operate with one hand. The 2020 iPhone SE is acceptable although slightly larger than I like. The Teracube 2e is larger than the 2020 iPhone SE. When stacked on top of each other, the Teracube 2e doesn’t look much larger than the 2020 iPhone SE. But when you have the devices in your hand the size difference feels significant. The included case also adds some additional bulk. Moreover, the case has raised corners that like to catch on my pockets whenever I stow or take out the phone.
The third issue is the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Although rare the phone will periodically disconnect from my Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth devices for a brief second. It’s hardly noticeable. If you’re streaming a video, the issue manifests as a brief moment of buffering. If you’re listening to music through Bluetooth headphones, the music will stop and your headphones will indicate that they disconnected and connected again. This problem is most likely being caused by the unofficial beta of LineageOS that I’m using. Unfortunately, all of the Google-free ROMs I’ve found for the Teracube 2e are based on the LineageOS build and therefore exhibit all of the same bugs. I’m confident that this issue will be fixed if the problem is being caused by the ROM. But this does roll into my fourth issue.
The fourth issue is that this setup is a hack. What I mean by this is that the overall experience isn’t polished. This isn’t a surprise. I’m running beta firmware on a relatively new phone. I didn’t expect it to feel polished. And if I only had to worry about myself, I could run this setup without much trouble. But I’m also the technical advisor and support for my wife. I can’t hand her a buggy device and expect her to be happy with it. Especially because she’ll be comparing it to her iPhone (she wants to get off of iOS because she, like me, doesn’t like spyware running on her devices, but she’s less tolerant of bugs than I am). I could get her a nicer device and continue using the Teracube 2e myself, but I also don’t want to have a drastically different setup than her. If we have the same or very similar setups, we will likely run into the same problems. That simplifies debugging for me and means that when I figure out how to fix a bug on my setup, I also figure out how to fix it on her setup.
With all of that said, I really like the Teracube 2e. It has a lot of great features such as a removable battery, four year warranty, and flat rate charge for repairs. For the price the hardware is a good deal (minus the cameras). The device comes with a case and a screen protector, which are nice bonuses at that price range. I also like how transparent the company has been. I’ve dug through the Teracube forums and the company representatives who post on there open and honest. For example, Teracube released a tempered glass screen protector for the 2e. A lot of people who bought it reported issues with the edges of the screen protector not adhering to the screen. A company representative both acknowledged the issue and warned a few users inquiring about a better (than the included) screen protector about the issue. There is a thread about the camera issues. Rather than disappearing the thread, company representatives have been using it to collect information that may allow the issues to be fixed (or at least mitigated to some extent).
As I said at the beginning of this post, I’m going to keep the Teracube 2e. Both because I like the device and because I want to fund Teracube’s efforts. I will continue to experiment with it and test new builds of LineageOS as they are release (and maybe /e/OS as well). But it won’t be the replacement for my iPhone.
That brings me to the big question, what’s next? Will I stick with iOS knowing that Apple intends to install spyware on it? Not a chance. I ordered a Google Pixel 4a (actually two). Although the 128 GB of storage will be tight for me, it checks every other box. It’s affordable, about the same size as my iPhone, and has a good rear camera. Besides the lack of storage the other major downside is Google just discontinued it (which is why I bought two, one for me and one for my wife). So it’s not a device that I will be able to recommend to people in the future. Unfortunately the replacement, the Pixel 5a, is significantly larger and $100 more expensive.
My intention is to try GrapheneOS since it’s the most security focused Android ROM. If that doesn’t work out, the Pixel devices are officially supported by a number of other Google-free ROMs including LineageOS, /e/OS, and CalyxOS. I will report on my findings just as I have been reporting on my findings with the Teracube 2e.