Setting Up the UniHertz Titan 2

This article is a transcript of a video that you can watch by clicking the thumbnail below. Hence, certain statements may not make sense in this text form, and watching the video instead is recommended.

Intro

Setting up my cellphones only grew more complex with time since the operating platform in these started to get well... complex. So now it was time to migrate from the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 to the UniHertz Titan 2, and I thought I’d share the exciting, overwhelming, and also satisfying process in a video.

Setting Up My Cellphones

Setting up my ThinkPads has gotten more and more scripted with time, and now it’s barely any work at all. However, cellphones still need quite a lot of manual steps. I do plan and document it down to the tiniest details, and mathematically, I’ve gone through this process almost twenty times already. Let’s not talk about how setting up the GD-92 was barely 10 minutes of work. Anyway, here’s my most documented cellphone transition till date.

Step -3: Converting eSIM to Physical SIM

To start with, a blocker was my eSIM from the Z Flip 5. Getting it converted into a physical SIM was thankfully effortless and quick, and also free of cost at a local T-Mobile store.

Step -2: Optimizing Apps Collection on the Old Device

I keep the software setup of all my personal computers in sync through shell scripts. However, for an Android phone, I still use a spreadsheet. It contains information about not only what apps there are on the phone, but also the categories, the sources to get it from (eg, Google Play Store, F-Droid, or a side-loaded APK), and a few other details down to the physical placement in app folders in the launcher. I gave the collection a quick review, trimming it down to only what I needed before the switch.

Step -1: Starting a Map for Titan 2

I forked the collection for Titan 2, so that I could create a separate one for this new device as this is a different hardware, for example, one with a physical keyboard.

Step 0: Checking Out the Titan 2

Now came the most important step, which was to check out and adore the Titan 2. I should say, this thing looks even better in person, as compared to how great it looks in the videos on the internet. I won’t talk more about this device, until I set it up for my use, and experience it in full, which is planned for the next video.

Step 1: Basic Setup on Titan 2

I set a few app-agnostic settings on the device, like changing the device name, pairing it with a few other devices I own, and other such configuration.

Step 2: Installing Minimal Apps for Setup

Next, I installed the bare minimum apps required to be able to work with my Titan 2. These included Nova Launcher Prime, Sesame, and Solid Explorer. This is where I start to face a little difficulty with the square screen while configuring Nova Launcher. I had to enable “mini mode” to be able to access all options.

This is also the step where I moved over my physical SIM from the Z Flip 5 to the Titan 2. Thankfully, I did not face any ghosting issue with the touchscreen, even though my situation checked both the boxes (that is, the United States and T-Mobile), a combination of which was known to create the issue.

Step 3: Fetching Data through Syncthing

Before I could proceed with the rest of the configuration, I installed Syncthing, linking this device with the rest of my machines, including the data servers, desktop workstation, and the ThinkPads, and fetched all data I had on the Z Flip 5.

Step 4: Installing the Rest of the Apps

Once I had all the data on the device, I installed the rest of the apps, one by one, from the appropriate sources.

Step 5: Configuring Essential Apps

Then, I configured all the essential apps I need in my workflow, for example, TickTick, LogSeq, Thunderbird, Firefox, Aegis, etc., and created app drawer folders in Nova Launcher Prime. At this point, I had dropped any dependency on the Z Flip 5, and the Titan 2 was ready to be carried along with me, with minimal disruption to my daily life.

Step 6: Configuring the Rest of the Apps

Then, I configured all the rest of the inbuilt and installed apps, while also updating any changes to the spreadsheet, so it was in sync with the configuration on the device.

Step 7: Setting Up Hardware-specific Apps

Then, I configured hardware-specific apps like this IR Blaster app from UniHertz.

Step 8: Testing Out the Setup

Once everything was pretty much there, I tested out the setup for a day, while also documenting the gaps that would need to be attended to in the next few days.

Conclusion

So, that was pretty much it on the steps I took to set up my Titan 2. The setup may change over the course of the next couple of months, and even more so over the upcoming weeks, while I adjust to this monstrous device and the software setup provided by UniHertz. I expect scaling issues with the square screen form-factor, and there may be apps that will be replaced with alternatives that run better on this device.

I still have the provided screen protector that I did not apply to the device, as it came with a minimal one already. I might as well put tempered glass protectors on both the screens at some point.

Upcoming

In the next video, I plan to finally review the UniHertz Titan 2, so stay tuned!