I've never been so happy to have the ability to root my phone and flash a new OS onto it. This shit is absolutely insane, I'm surprised there isn't more eyes on this from non-profits globally.
No special skills or even a certain phone, although yes some equipment can sometimes be required. Honestly, though, almost anyone with some free time and will power will be able to root (Android)/Jailbreak (iOS) their phone and subsequently change the operating system it uses.
A good starting place for me was the XDA forums which I'll link below, search for the section specific to your model phone and see what is available, software wise.
No special skill...
I know lots of people that A. Have no idea what model phone they got and B. It would at the very least take 10 min to guide them to where they can find it. Saying "all the information needed is available at a forum" would in itself be a step too complicated.
Yeah but the bar for that skill is gradually lowering, just ask the old timers, it used to be hard to tie knots, hell some young guys can only barely just tie their own laces lol
I've not used play store for a number of years now, so I was unaware of this. I guess for those uninterested in getting your apps and updates from elsewhere, consider that this may cause issues with the play store, appreciate the heads up.
Most importantly: the banking-apps won't work. And as a Dutchman, where creditcards are virtually non-existent, I need my banking-apps to pay my regular bills.
Use a nice rooted phone as your daily driver and keep a shitty burner to use on wifi for any such finicky apps. Keep it off so the camera/mic is useless.
For what it's worth, this isn't the case, at least for me, using banking apps within the UK. I do need to keep the apps updated to maintain functionality, but with 3rd party stores offering auto updates it hasn't been an issue thus far.
Not to say that your experience is the minority though, it's entirely plausible my experience is the exception.