Future of Sony Xperia Z5 Compact (suzuran) as an official /e/ device

Summary

TL:DR It doesn't have one! 😞

• The latest e R build is significantly behind upstream (unofficial) LOS build
  • in device_sony_suzuran device tree - /e/ repo updated 04 Jul, 2021, upstream updated Nov 25, 2022
  • in device_sony_kitakami-common - /e/ repo updated 07 Feb, 2022, upstream updated Nov 5, 2022,
  • in the kernel /e/ repo last updated 26 Aug, 2021, upstream on Sep 7, 2022
  • vendor blobs upstream updated Jul 15, 2022. I don't have access to /e/'s vendor_sony repo, but I believe the lialac and kitakami-common directories will be well behind upstraem
• Upstream has diverged significantly from the 'normal' LOS amd lineage4microg build process: using init scripts, patches, remove-project statements in manifests, adding bundled MicroG, F-Droid, and other components
• Merging these changes into the /e/ source would be a significant amount of work, and /e/ does not have the resources (people, devices) to do this work.

We should therefore

1. Give existing users plenty of warning that /e/ on suzuran will be "sunsetted" sometime relatively soon (probably Q1/Q2 2023). We should avoid repeating what happened to users of /e/ Nougat devices who were "left in the lurch" when /e/ stopped building and distributed updates.
2. Advise users of the possible options for how to proceed, which are
3. Stick with the current outdated /e/ R builds until R builds from /e/ stop
4. Migrate to another custom ROM, including - Upstream "vanilla" LOS build (19.1, 20.00) - Upstream microGLOS build (19.1, 20.0) (same threads as "vanilla" builds - Custom Los4Microgbuild, including Bliss Launcher, Bromite browser and upstreams of /e/'s other forked devices
5. Re-install stock ROM
6. Devise, test and document a strategy for users to perform the migration described in option 1.2, and include the work on that in /e/'s plans for upcoming milestones

I am prepared to accept a lot of the blame for this state of affairs, having stepped back from being the maintainer for this device. I am also happy to help with step 3 (devising, testing and documenting the way forward)