They run GrapheneOS Wonderfully…
Personally, I gave up on google as a whole
Pixels are the best degoogle phone thanks to GrapheneOS…
ok?
Apparently this has upset the google bois
Same. I have come to trust Apple’s commitment and attitude towards user privacy substantially more than Google. I actually know a person that works in a fairly high middle management position in a technical department at the fruit company, and he told me that even their internal handling of user data is incredibly restrictive, even when it makes their jobs harder. I don’t think Apple is perfect, but better than the alternative.
Apple is a locked in ecosystem what is based entirely on proprietary software. I’m not sure how that is good for privacy. They can and are collecting your data. You also can’t get apps outside of the App store which limits your options.
AOSP based Android Like Lineage OS is the only way.
yes I’m surprised at the lack of FOSS apps on IOS.
I’m not
The App store is very restrictive and the OS is locked down
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Okay
Apple’s commitment to privacy is just marketing:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/23/apple-user-data-law-enforcement-falling-short
https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/privacyhub/apple-privacy-violations/
Not saying Google is any better, but Apple is much worse than they paint in adverts
I’m well aware of the risks inherent to not running calyx or graphene, but my threat model doesn’t justify sacrificing a lot of the functionality that I enjoy on an iPhone. If my threat model required it, I’d have an unactivated burner and a pixel device running calyx in addition to my iPhone. I’m happy settling for “better than google” based on my needs. I also have a couple PCs running Linux, with steps I can take to ensure some level of privacy if needed.
Thanks for posting some good reading though, it’s all shit I’m generally aware of.
Pixel is the only game in town for anyone who wants a secure and privacy friendly smartphone as they’re the only ones that run GrapheneOS.
I do like the look of the 9, especially finally being able to get a smaller Pro model but the prices are getting silly and my 7 Pro is still working fine. Maybe the 10 or 11.
I’m also keeping an eye on Fairphone but they need to add all the hardware GrapheneOS needs to support them for me to be interested. And it’d help if they weren’t launching with last gen specs. Fairphone 5 came out after my P7P but is inferior in most ways, I just can’t justify paying for a downgrade as much as I support the mission.
And it’d help if they weren’t launching with last gen specs. Fairphone 5 came out after my P7P but is inferior in most ways, I just can’t justify paying for a downgrade as much as I support the mission
Right? I like the idea of Fair phone and Linux phones as well, but they always seem to slap in mediocre hardware at best.
Even the latest Fairphone 5, like you said, comes with a Qualcomm QCM6490 from late 2021. It wasn’t designed for phones and can’t even compete against the Tensor G2, a processor already widely regarded as crap
Yeah, as a Graphene user, there simply aren’t any other options. I could switch to Calyx or e/OS, but none of the phones they support are really worth it.
Unless I decide I need whatever satellite SMS support Google brings with the 9 (I live very remote, and rely on wifi calling 95% of the time), I’ll probably target the Pixel 11. My Pixel 8 should be fine until then, and I imagine they’ll work through most of the issues their first fully in house SoC has in the Pixel 10.
And hey, maybe they’ll decide to make the regular small Pixel smaller than the small Pixel Pro, by then.
Google is the only one implementing the full spec for bootloader relocking with custom keys, so as far as I’m concerned they’re the only viable manufacturer now (RIP OnePlus, you used to be good).
The default UX on most phones just plain outright sucks. I keep hearing Samsung is better, IMO modern OneUI sucks just as much as TouchWiz sucked. Everyone tries to differentiate themselves by how much bloatware they load up on the phone so customers go wow it’s got so many features! Lately they’re all in on the AI fad as well, and subscriptions, and their own store.
Been a custom ROM user forever, and I have no intention of letting go of that. My phone is almost 5 years old now, and it still runs better than the out of the box experience of any phones on display at the stores. Raw hardware performance is utterly useless if the stock OS immediately wastes it all and some more.
So I’m not excited about the Pixels but they’re also the only viable option.
Do wallet/banking apps still work on a custom rom?
Do you lose out on anything?
Wallet no. For banking apps it depends on the app. For me about 80 percent work
Pixel phones have been too big for me for a while. They won’t fit in my pockets comfortably and I don’t want to have to stretch to reach the top of the screen. Come out with something 5.75" tall or less and I’ll re-engage.
Yes. My Zenfone 8 is “small” but I want it even more compact. My old Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact is the perfect size!
Yes, I am still on my pixel 5 for that reason but I really need a new one
I held on to mine for so long, but after they stopped getting updates, I bailed since the S22 wasn’t massively larger.
Yes, nur then there is so much Samsung stuff on it. Maybe I’ll have to do it like you and modify it then
It’s pretty easy to strip most of it off. It’s definitely an adjustment, but I got used to it (the remaining things I couldn’t change) pretty quickly
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Galaxy S22 with Nova launcher getting rid of the Samsung UI and making it note pixel-like.
You might be interested in finding an alternative to Nova, they got aquired a couple years ago
You can still lock down privacy stuff to a fair degree. I’m keeping an eye on it
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It’s 5.75" tall, so no. It’s as big as I want to go. I’d love something a bit smaller to be sure
It’s the smallest option, so doesn’t really matter.
The pixel 8 was exciting because it was the 1st android smartphone which broke the usual 5 years of update cycle and jumped to 7 years. Making other OEMs like Samsung and OnePlus to play catchup.
Pixel 9 appears like a minor improvement in comparison. Hopefully, the SOC provides improved battery life due to better modem, and modern ARM cortex cores.
The pixel 8 was exciting because it was the 1st android smartphone which broke the usual 5 years of update cycle and jumped to 7 years.
The Pixel 8 also has MTE support.
Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are ARMv9 devices supporting hardware memory tagging…Hardware memory tagging is going to provide a massive increase to protection against remote exploitation for GrapheneOS users. It’s the biggest security feature we’ll be shipping since we started in 2014.
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8439-mte-support-status-for-grapheneos
Neither? I am more wary after the launch of 6 and the issues, but I also say ‘neither’ because I’m simply not in the market for a new device.
I have a pixel 8, and a pixel 6 before that. The same bugs have followed me the whole time. I guess PiP, keyboard, bubbles, and graphical issues just aren’t being worked on. I’m waiting on Apple sideloading updates before I’m upgrading, but this is a piece of shit. I would try another OS, but I am afraid of getting banking apps and Google Fi working.
I’m riding this 6a all the way to bricktown, then I’m switching to a repairable alternative. Also never buying Google hardware or registering for Google services ever again.
Do you have any prospects in mind for a repairable phone? I’m of a similar mindset, but the premium on the existing ‘repairable’ phones out there is so high that I don’t feel like I can justify it.
No not really. I said it a bit vague because I think because of EU mandates more phones will be repairable(Soon TM hopefully). I wholly agree with you about the price of, for example, Fairphones. On the other hand my usage has changed radically from 10y ago, and consequently my phone is holding on much longer, so I’m saving up in the extra years this phone is surviving for a more expensive and arguably worse phone except for the repairability. Every day, it becomes worth more and more to me to be as independent from (large) corpo’s as possible, so effectively it’s becoming a better and better deal 😊. Same story for laptops, except it’s Framework instead of Fairphone
My Pixel 6 still works
Not excited, but not disappointed. When my current phone reaches EOL i’ll buy the next pixel phone, put grapheneos on it and keep being mostly satisfied. No need to buy a new phone before EOL. EOL for my phone is 2028
If they released a phone with a headphone jack, I’d buy that as soon as it was available to signal that its important to me, I wouldn’t wait for my current phone to go EOL.
I’m abnormal, I know. People in my life get new phones more frequently.
Person A: when their phone gets full, they buy a new one
Person B: can’t keep their phone from getting cracked and destroying hr display every 6 months or so
Person C: keeps losing their phone, in a bus, on a airplane, at the beach… So far
I don’t know anybody who buys a phone, just to buy a new phone for fashion or chasing trends.
I have had the same phone for over 5 years. I run Lineage OS and it gets security updates once a month. The downside is that it doesn’t get firmware updates but that has more to do with Qualcomm
I’m still sitting on my LG V60 and dreading the day I have to lose my headphone jack and micro SD slot.
I loved my V60 (and my V20 before it). They were such great phones.
I’ve been wanting to buy a Pixel for a while now (for GrapheneOS), but there’s always something that bothers me too much.
This time around, the Pixel 9 pro sounds like it will be great, but I’ll be waiting to see Google’s custom SoC using TSMC for the Pixel 10.
I could always just get the 9 later at a lower price or used.They’ll probably use another mediocre modem that will again make cellular reception mediocre. Until they fix that problem, there is no reason to take that phone line seriously.
I wouldn’t say “excited”, as I don’t know of it having any specific advantages over what’s already on the market.
I’m quite fond of my 7 and 8 though. Battery life and cell reception could be better, but I’ve never found either to be less than satisfactory.
