I think you could reconsider your position re Pixel/Google phones. It is the one major maker that allows you to deploy an OS securely on their phone and GrapheneOS is grand. I have used it on a secondary phone for years.
Seconded.
I have calyx os running on my pixel 4 as my daily driver, with microG so I can still use banking app and M$ apps I need for work.
As you can unlock and relock the bootloader, the device security will still attest to the OS validity so security sensitive apps will still work. You can also put the stock Google OS back on easily at a later date if you so choose.
I could, for sure. It may even be a great idea. I'll just have to solve that by myself since I'm very disillusioned by google. Its like if the devil made a good product.
But I get your point. Graphene is probably a lot more mature than others OSs.
May be check out other privacy focused custom ROMs:
LineageOS: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/
DivestOS: https://divestos.org/pages/devices
I think that grapheneos is the most advanced one and if you can have it, it's the best choice
I agree. I myself use GrapheneOS. However, seeing that OP despises Pixels so much, I figured these would be the next best options.
Thanks for chiming in. I checked the phones on the lists. Pretty awesome! Its actually a lot of devices that can be rooted which I think is great.
I dont despise pixels, I take issue with buying a google device. I could obviously opt for a used one which would at least lessen the cognitive dissonance.
But in any case, I‘m very happy that so many devices are actually runnable in linux. I have one of the few devices that cant be rooted which is pretty much the reason I want to switch…
I see two options here really. Either get a pixel phone and install Graphene on it (this allows you to run play services in a sandbox), or get any phone that supports lineage and install everything there and avoid Google.
It depends on whether you need Google services or not. Pixel phones support both operating systems.
Thanks for chiming in. I dont need any google services. Most of my stuff is self-hosted by now.
Then a custom rom, like graphene is allows you to de google your phone. Although google have embedded themselves deeply into android, the pixels are quite open about unlocking boot loader etc.
thanks for elaborating. I'm not sure which OS i would want to use but definitely not stock android. :D
I'd really like to have a proper linux so that I can use the phone as a computer from time to time. Like impromptu connecting it to a tv and connecting a keyboard or something but I will see about that later. :)
It depends on whether you need Google services or not.
I would get a Pixel with GrapheneOS regardless of if you need Google or not. Graphene does a lot more than just sandbox the Play Store.
Having run other rooms since about 2010, I have a lot of experience with this.
I've intentionally bought phones based on the ease of flashing.
I finally switched to Pixel this year because I'm tired of fighting. My last phone was a non-Pixel 2017 flagship, that was about as simple to flash as possible.
Only needed:
The end.
Pixel works the same way. And, there'll be another Pixel model next year. So I should be able to buy a 2 year old Pixel whenever I want.
I've fought with flashing (and rooting) other phones, which require more effort, and it gets old.
Even with a Pixel I have a project plan with 130 tasks to restore a phone (many of those tasks occur in a single adb install script).
Wow! Thanks for elaborating. Thats quite a journey and a lot of work to get a phone restored but I really appreciate you telling me this. Obviously restoring a smartphone is at least as hard as a pc if you do it manually because the proprietary „comfortable“ mode isnt healthy for you.
A alternative to fairphone would be https://www.shift.eco/en/ They want to put killswitches into their new Phone which you can preorder for 535€ https://shop.shiftphones.com/shiftphone-8.html
It won't be as secure as a Pixel with GrapheneOS. Grapheneos won't support that Phone officially.
Jesus. $100 for a pixel or $600 for this. Hmmmmm
Yes, buying an used Pixel 8 or a 8a is what I would suggest. Its sustainable and doesn't fund Google.
But their phone has some unique, inreresting features, like that Killswitches, 512 GB, expandable up to 2 TB with micro SDXC card, 12 GB LPDDR RAM, Electro-scrap positive thanks to the cooperation with our partner Closing the Loop, Designed in Germany/Falkenberg and fairly manufactured in our own factory in China , modular, easy replacement of Battery that has a standard format also used in other products from them,
I'd vote against shift phones. Support is also a crucial part of what you're paying for and most of their communication on their website is in German, which doesn't tell much good about getting customer support in another language. Maybe they don't offer support in English or maybe very limited with longer waiting times.
if you hate google, you could buy a pixel secondhand, right?
Thats what I‘m thinking about as well.
Currently have a pixel 6 256gig
Spent about a half hour in a hot tub with it in my pocket on saturday and it shut automatically disables the usb port.
Havent had any issues with it this week
If it helps
(In a sprigen case)
That's what I did!
How do you buy a second hand Puxl safely?
With iPhone there's so many horror stories. Mainly what they do is buy the phone through some means that opens up the possibility of credit card fraud, then pass the phone on. Then they do the charge back to reclaim the money. Apple then bricks the device of course due to non payment and you as the second hand owner are stuck with a decorative piece.
You can try a refurbished store, I got my Pixel from Backmarket without any problems.
That's what I've done for my last few phones. Aside from a battery issue that got replaced on a "recall" of sorts, my pixel 4XL has been running strong for years now. Haven't bought a brand new phone for well over a decade now
With the crowd here, I have completely de-googled my life, also hate google, and the data mining nightmare that comes along with it....but in the end. The pixel phones (with grapheneos) are the most secure and private out there, or one of the most should say, ya know seems odd that a phone by such a data hungry company, can be made into exactly the opposite. Have had 0 issues since running grapheneos on my pixel 6
If you're comfortable with the pros and cons of an unlocked bootloader, you might consider phones on the LineageOS supported hardware list.
So, I'm on a P7 with GOS, and truly it is a brilliant way to divest oneself from google services, alongside being probably the most secure ~~third party~~ ROM. I think, they're certainly very keen on it, and laudably competent, updates are around weekly, sometimes every couple of days, because there are some vulnerable (to state level actors etc.) users. It's been great, I have a primary profile that is google free and a secondary for google stuff that I want, and over time I find, at my own pace, FOSS things to move into my primary, so I don't need my secondary as much, until I didn't need it at all. It's great, and now I can move to any other ROM without google services and be (mostly, except for some bastard in real life requiring an app that I can't install in secondary on Lineage etc, at least last time I used it, which will come up) happy. Thankyou GOS. Also, being able to revoke network permissions on any random app (including google services) via OS is Gold.
That said, P7 has some issues, it runs hot (I recorded via termux), and if you live in a hot humid environ, don't expect longevity near the 5Yr security updates promised. Mine's spicy pillow at 16 months, enough to break the seal and accelerate degeneration. I live in a country with consumer protection for 24 months, so it's not so bad (I hope, batteries are special), but in the rest of the world it would suck. I do not want to replace my phone every year, assholes.
TLDR: Get a second hand Pixel (4-7), hence not giving money to google, replace the battery, install GOS. Learn, live, enjoy, at the end you will have learned to live free (if that's what you want).
You can also look at supported calyxos/divestos phones
Keep in mind that divestos doesn't support any gapps
My personal choice would be just Graphene, without any gapps
If your not going to go with a pixel, the best alternative is a new samsung phone with Divest OS.
Samsung is the closest in terms of meeting GOS hardware requirements (it still doesn't) and Divest OS is the next best privacy respecting ROM.
There is no better phone than Pixel. It's because Pixel has the support for the best alternative ROMs like GrapheneOS and LineageOS. I have a Samsung A53 5G phone, and I have to use Odin to flash stuff.
I’m partial to the poogle gixel
Thanks for mentioning it. It feels like there isnt that much of an option if I want something that actually works. At least thats what a lot of folks are saying.
Yeah, I haven’t personally used grapheneos but that seems to be the reigning king at the moment
I am rocking a Fairphone 4 with iodéOS and I am very happy with it. Though I am definitely not phone power user...
Thats the first time I‘ve heard of this OS. What features do you like most?
FDroid is a native app store, aurora is preinsralled as well as microG. I don't use any google apps and have none installed. Afaik there is no option to have GAPPS with iodéOS. They do sell the fairphone with the OS preinsralled which is very nice and iodé is from france which is a plus in my book as well 😁
I bought my sister a Motorola g52 which is compatible with calyxos and only cost 175€
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