My Pocket PC (PPC) Adventures: Cubot Kingkong Mini 2 Pro

Year 2022: Cubot Kingkong Mini 2 Pro

For some banking apps, you need Google Play (GMS) which my A5 Pro CC does not have unlike my previous Yotaphone2. So I bought a Kingkong Mini 2 Pro (KKMN2P) [specs] (not to be confused with the non-Pro Kingkong Mini 2) in 2022-09, with Android 11 (API 30). At last, a small phone; though speed and camera are both rather medium. And it gets me away from browsing the internet too much, because the small screen is not as much fun. And once more, hardware buttons at the bottom will probably never be en vogue again.

Cubot KingKong Mini 2 Pro	Evaluation
	Pro: Small! (12x6cm) GPlay for banking apps Contra: Low-res camera Non-removable battery No hardware buttons Bugs: So far none

Using adb (stand-alone per apt-get install adb or from Android SDK) is a must to get this device up and running, particularly to remove all the bloatware [discussion]. One curiosity is that the USB connection mode pop-up did not appear with my previous USB-C cable, only with the supplied one. Boot specials by holding Power + VolumeUp.

Privacy: KingKong Mini 2 Pro

First disable apps manually by going to Settings->Apps and notifications>See all 32 apps, and then turn off everything that moves, including Android Auto, Assistant, Calendar, Contacts, Chrome, Digital Wellbeing, Drive, Duo, Files by Google, Gmail, Google, Google TV and Maps, Photos, and Youtube, but keep Files, Gboard (keyboard), Google Play services and store, Messages, Phone, and Quickstep (homescreen launcher).

Second, for some reason my Linux computer recognized the phone without any idVendor=="0000" [doc]. Connect the phone by USB, and test the connection with adb devices and then adb shell, where you can pm list packages -e |sort |more and grep to find out if a specific app is installed.

pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.bips
pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.feedback
pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.onetimeinitializer
pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.partnersetup
pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.setupwizard
pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.mainline.telemetry
pm disable-user --user 0 com.sagatest
pm disable-user --user 0 com.stoneoim.audiorecorder

Details: bips is "built-in printing service", feedback is telemetry, onetimeinitializer is for installing gapps once [xda], partnersetup is for vendor bloatware configuration once [guide], setupwizard is another one-time init [guide], telemetry is phoning home even if it is for updates [xda] [debloat] and could possibly stay, and sagatest seems to be Cubot-only, with no real explanation [xda], while audiorecorder is just an unneeded uninstallable app.

Just for the record, the rest of the packages is:

com.android.backupconfirm
com.android.bluetooth
com.android.bluetoothmidiservice
com.android.bookmarkprovider
com.android.calllogbackup
com.android.carrierconfig
com.android.carrierdefaultapp
com.android.cellbroadcastreceiver
com.android.certinstaller
com.android.companiondevicemanager
com.android.cts.ctsshim
com.android.cts.priv.ctsshim
com.android.deskclock
com.android.dreams.basic
com.android.dynsystem
com.android.egg
com.android.emergency
com.android.externalstorage
com.android.hotspot2.osulogin
com.android.htmlviewer
com.android.inputdevices
com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.corner
com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.double
com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.hole
com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.tall
com.android.internal.display.cutout.emulation.waterfall
com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.gestural
com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.gestural_extra_wide_back
com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.gestural_narrow_back
com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.gestural_wide_back
com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.threebutton
com.android.keychain
com.android.launcher3
com.android.localtransport
com.android.location.fused
com.android.managedprovisioning
com.android.mms.service
com.android.mtp
com.android.musicfx
com.android.networkstack.inprocess.overlay
com.android.networkstack.overlay
com.android.networkstack.tethering.inprocess.overlay
com.android.networkstack.tethering.overlay
com.android.ons
com.android.pacprocessor
com.android.phone
com.android.printspooler
com.android.providers.blockednumber
com.android.providers.calendar
com.android.providers.contacts
com.android.providers.downloads
com.android.providers.downloads.ui
com.android.providers.media
com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks
com.android.providers.settings
com.android.providers.telephony
com.android.providers.userdictionary
com.android.proxyhandler
com.android.se
com.android.server.telecom
com.android.settings
com.android.settings.intelligence
com.android.sharedstoragebackup
com.android.shell
com.android.simappdialog
com.android.soundpicker
com.android.statementservice
com.android.stk
com.android.storagemanager
com.android.systemui
com.android.theme.color.black
com.android.theme.color.cinnamon
com.android.theme.color.green
com.android.theme.color.ocean
com.android.theme.color.orchid
com.android.theme.color.purple
com.android.theme.color.space
com.android.theme.font.notoserifsource
com.android.theme.icon.pebble
com.android.theme.icon.roundedrect
com.android.theme.icon.squircle
com.android.theme.icon.taperedrect
com.android.theme.icon.teardrop
com.android.theme.icon.vessel
com.android.theme.icon_pack.circular.android
com.android.theme.icon_pack.circular.launcher
com.android.theme.icon_pack.circular.settings
com.android.theme.icon_pack.circular.systemui
com.android.theme.icon_pack.circular.themepicker
com.android.theme.icon_pack.filled.android
com.android.theme.icon_pack.filled.launcher
com.android.theme.icon_pack.filled.settings
com.android.theme.icon_pack.filled.systemui
com.android.theme.icon_pack.filled.themepicker
com.android.theme.icon_pack.rounded.android
com.android.theme.icon_pack.rounded.launcher
com.android.theme.icon_pack.rounded.settings
com.android.theme.icon_pack.rounded.systemui
com.android.theme.icon_pack.rounded.themepicker
com.android.traceur
com.android.vending
com.android.vpndialogs
com.android.wallpaper.livepicker
com.android.wallpaperbackup
com.android.wallpapercropper
com.android.wallpaperpicker
com.android.wifi.resources
com.android.wifi.resources.overlay
com.debug.loggerui
com.google.android.apps.messaging
com.google.android.apps.restore
com.google.android.apps.setupwizard.searchselector
com.google.android.captiveportallogin
com.google.android.cellbroadcastreceiver
com.google.android.cellbroadcastservice
com.google.android.configupdater
com.google.android.connectivity.resources
com.google.android.dialer
com.google.android.documentsui
com.google.android.ext.services
com.google.android.ext.shared
com.google.android.gms
com.google.android.gms.location.history
com.google.android.gmsintegration
com.google.android.gsf
com.google.android.ims
com.google.android.inputmethod.latin
com.google.android.marvin.talkback
com.google.android.modulemetadata
com.google.android.networkstack
com.google.android.networkstack.overlay
com.google.android.networkstack.permissionconfig
com.google.android.networkstack.tethering
com.google.android.networkstack.tethering.overlay
com.google.android.overlay.gmsconfig.common
com.google.android.overlay.gmsconfig.comms
com.google.android.overlay.gmsconfig.gsa
com.google.android.overlay.gmsconfig.photos
com.google.android.overlay.gmsconfig.searchlauncherqs
com.google.android.overlay.modules.documentsui
com.google.android.overlay.modules.ext.services
com.google.android.overlay.modules.modulemetadata.forframework
com.google.android.overlay.modules.permissioncontroller
com.google.android.overlay.modules.permissioncontroller.forframework
com.google.android.packageinstaller
com.google.android.permissioncontroller
com.google.android.printservice.recommendation
com.google.android.providers.media.module
com.google.android.safetycenter.resources
com.google.android.syncadapters.contacts
com.google.android.tts
com.google.android.webview
com.mediatek
com.mediatek.SettingsProviderResOverlay
com.mediatek.batterywarning
com.mediatek.camera
com.mediatek.capctrl.service
com.mediatek.duraspeed
com.mediatek.engineermode
com.mediatek.factorymode
com.mediatek.frameworkresoverlay
com.mediatek.gba
com.mediatek.gnss.nonframeworklbs
com.mediatek.gnssdebugreport
com.mediatek.ims
com.mediatek.lbs.em2.ui
com.mediatek.location.lppe.main
com.mediatek.mdmconfig
com.mediatek.mdmlsample
com.mediatek.omacp
com.mediatek.sensorhub.ui
com.mediatek.simprocessor
com.mediatek.smartratswitch.service
com.mediatek.systemuiresoverlay
com.mediatek.telephony
com.mediatek.ygps
com.wapi.wapicertmanager

... and that should save you some battery life and provide additional privacy too.