Volla Phone Plinius: A Google-free German smartphone with a swappable battery
German manufacturer Volla Systeme has launched two new smartphones — the Volla Phone Plinius and Plinius Plus — that ditch Google entirely while keeping a slim, business-ready design. The base model starts at €598 (around £505), with the Plus variant arriving in June 2026 at €698. Both ship to EU countries and the UK only; US buyers are excluded by company policy.
The hardware
The Plinius steps away from the chunky rugged aesthetic of its predecessor, the X23, in favour of a slim frame that still carries an IP68 water and dust resistance rating. The standout feature is a user-swappable 5,300 mAh battery — accessible with a standard screwdriver in seconds — without voiding that waterproofing. That's a combination almost no other phone currently offers.
The Volla Phone Plinius trades rugged bulk for a slim, business-friendly design while keeping IP68 protection.
Under the hood sits a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 — a 4nm chip that marks the first time Volla has supported 5G. The 6.67-inch OLED display runs at up to 120Hz with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits. The main camera is a 64MP sensor with an f/1.79 aperture, backed by an 8MP ultrawide. Every unit ships with a screen protector and a replaceable back cover included.
The Plinius Plus adds 4GB of extra RAM (12GB total), doubles storage to 256GB, and gains Pogo Pin contacts on the back for attaching hardware modules — useful for professionals who need to connect specialist sensors or extended battery packs.
The Plinius Plus adds Pogo Pin contacts for modular hardware accessories.
No Google, no cloud
Both models run Volla OS, a Google-free build of Android, with Ubuntu Touch available as an alternative. A built-in launcher called Springboard lets you make calls, jot notes, or search by typing directly on the home screen — no app-switching required. AI photo optimization runs entirely on the device, so image data never leaves your phone. A bundled hide.me VPN and a privacy-focused browser round out the software package, per Notebookcheck.
A dedicated hardware button on the frame can be mapped to activate Security Mode, which blocks app trackers system-wide — a useful failsafe for anyone handling sensitive data.
Worth it at the price?
At €598, the Plinius costs more than a Pixel 9a (£449 in the UK) or an iPhone SE (£419), without the ecosystem polish those phones carry. What it offers instead is manufactured-in-Germany credentials via Gigaset, genuine repairability, and a genuine Google-free stack — factors that matter to privacy-focused buyers, IT administrators, and NGOs. Digital Trends notes the Plus model's €100 premium is easy to justify if you need the extra RAM and storage headroom. Both models are available now through Volla.online.