My current phone is 7 years old, does not support recent android versions, and battery life is becoming atrocious. This feels like right time to change my phone.

Currently, I know of & am considering 3 options:

  • Google Pixel
  • iPhone
  • Samsung Galaxy

I heard that Pixel is the best choice for privacy, despite it being Google^TM. Should I go with it, and install Graphene OS or similar options? The very fact that the name “Google” is attached makes me nervous. Also, I don’t think I can trust android, so I would have to install Graphene OS or the like. In the case, app support would be lacking, though.

I am considering iPhone as well, since it has “reputation” of being secure. Of course, Apple can access my data, but that might be a good enough compromise? Honestly, I don’t know. It’s the best supported option as well - lots of apps support iPhone.

Galaxy is just the one that I am the most familiar with (my current one is Galaxy S8). I don’t trust it, though. Do they even make good hardware nowadays?

EDIT: Turns out, Pixel phones are poorly supported by local telecomm companies. It is relatively cheap though. Still worth it?

EDIT2: I heard that data & message is fine, but the call quality is impacted by lack of VoLTE compatibility.

  • mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world
    0·
    17 days ago

    I owned 4 Samsungs: S8, S10e, S22 and S24 Ultra. Their products got worse. An example is the recent One Ui 7 update, it is just terrible: My notification area that works perfectly fine before, is now changed; my battery life got worse…etc.

    Even if I ignore the update, Samsung products are just not great anymore. Remember when a Galaxy can take really great photos? Those days are gone. My S24 Ultra takes the worst pictures in comparison to a Xiaomi or Huawei. Heck, even the controversial Asus Zenfone 10 takes better picture. Sure the Galaxy has better Megapixels, but the AI bullshit makes it so the colors are all wrong.

    With that said, you want to go for Pixel + GrapheneOS. Anything that is close to stock Android should be ok. Oh, and stay away from anything with a lot of AI.

      • moonpiedumplings@programming.devEnglish
        0·
        17 days ago

        On a Samsung Galaxy? I have one and am also similarly frustrated with the changes, but it seems like the support for custom roms is poor.

    • CCAirWater@lemm.ee
      0·
      16 days ago

      If you swipe down on the notifs twice, you can edit them to be similar to the previous style.

      On topic of your post, fuuuuck everything about their forcing AI, but my biggest gripe is how they moved the audio display (from, like, Spotify or audiobook readers/podcast apps) to the bottom of the lock screen as a tiny bar on the bottom instead of showing me all the info as it did before. It’s super annoying when I swipe to unlock and pause what I’m listening to.

      • mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world
        0·
        16 days ago

        yeh the other day I accidentally swiped down and touched the Media section. It automatically played my music, eventhough the music app was off lol. Luckily it didnt play any “videos”…

  • cy_narrator@discuss.tchncs.de
    0·
    17 days ago

    You should consider buying a flip phone and only put in SIM card when you need it, assuming you can acquire SIM card without your name on it where you live

  • rirus@feddit.orgEnglish
    0·
    17 days ago

    What apps do you need? Do you know that app support is lacking on GOS or just think it? I would go with Pixel8a and GOS.

  • JamesBoeing737MAX@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    0·
    17 days ago

    In EU, I would recommend a xiaomi. Cheap, bootloader unlockable (which breaks security a little since you cant relock), but they are a gamble in terms of reliability.

  • CodeAssembler@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    17 days ago

    I bought a Fairphone 3 and put LineageOS on it a few years back and can recommend it. LineageOS is less secure than GrapheneOS as far as I can tell but the privacy aspect is there, as you have a completely degoogled phone. I have some friends that have the same setup on the newer Fairphones and they are also very happy and have a smoother experience than me, because it is a newer phone.

    Fairphone is an European country that has a move to open source (https://www.fairphone.com/en/open-source/).

    To the compatibility and functionality:

    • SMS and Calling is no problem, VoLTE works and as SMS app I recommend QUICK.
    • AppStore I recommend F-Droid and Aurora Store. With Aurora Store you can download and install all apps that are on the Google Store. Just check, that your Banking Apps and so on support non-Google-Android OSs as some people I know had to switch back because some banks and services only work with Google Services (and that is a shame in my opinion, a Bank should NEVER be dependent on other companies for transactions and authentication. I for my part switched bank because of such a thing.)
    • microG can be used to use apps that need Google services, I do not use it but friends use it and are happy

    In general you will find an replacement for every app you now use that is from a big company. Open Source came a long way and most alternatives are even better in my opinion.

  • dajoho@sh.itjust.works
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    17 days ago

    Using a Pixel 6 with Graphene here with google services in their sandbox. It’s pretty neat, especially with apps like Firefox+uBlock and GrayJay, which let me also block 99% of ads, which was very important to me. I have not had trouble with any banking apps either.

  • SilliusMaximus@mander.xyz
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    17 days ago

    I think you’re mixing privacy with security, iPhone is secure but it’s not private, it’s slighty more private than Google Android but not what would you call private.

    Samsung can soft brick your phone so basically backdoor.

    Google Pixel with custom ROM like GrapheneOS or CalyxOS is considered to be best in terms of privacy.

    Another cheaper alternative if you don’t want to give money to Google or spend too much is Motorola G32, G42, G52 with CalyxOS but to unlock bootloader you have to make account on their website.

  • utopiah@lemmy.ml
    0·
    17 days ago

    best choice for privacy […] “reputation” of being secure

    Disentangling privacy and security, and potentially other priorities, e.g. secrecy, anonymity, etc might be important before making suggestion.

    Another way to help deciding what is the best choice for you, not necessarily anybody else, is what is your threat model?

    An analogy I thought recently is “Are you putting a very tough lock on your door but leaving the windows opened?” or “Are you locking your car but walking outside naked?”. The point here is not to imply that people do obvious mistakes but rather that, truly there are people who go to parades naked AND lock their cars. The concerns can be orthogonal and thus must be considered individually. For that I believe thinking about “who the enemy is” as a way to discover your threat model is interesting, namely :

    Are you worried by :

    • government getting your private data without your consent?
    • government doing so automatically and cheaply through intermediaries e.g. platforms?
    • government doing so via extremely costly individual security attacks e.g. 0-days, with a “legit” hacker manually doing it?
    • small private companies?
    • platforms?
    • your actual neighbor?

    The answer to those questions will then provide you a more limited set of options. Basically I would argue only the 3rd option ties tightly with security but that’s up to a certain extent and companies like Pegasus shows that it can also be done at scale, for profit. Still, AFAICT it wasn’t done for a random person BUT that was few years ago.

    Anyway one you go through options, e.g. iPhone vs Android vs deGoogled Android vs Linux phone vs dumb phone you will see your usage itself will have to change. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it is not something most people will think about initially.

    I suggest then to… try. I know it’s not the answer you want but what you are asking for, I believe, is genuine change. It is about the technology, yes, but it also is about your habits. Consequently it is a process with some success, failures, cascading changes and thus IMHO must be iterated on.

    It is worth it though.

  • St3alth@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    17 days ago

    In my opinion, the Google Pixel with GrapheneOS is considered the gold standard in terms of security and privacy. While I am not fully knowledgeable about its capabilities, it offers a comprehensive suite of security features.

    The iPhone is also a viable option. You can easily swap between iCloud to a more secure encrypted provider for both cloud storage and photo backups. Additionally, any notes application can be replaced with a more secure alternative.

    Samsung phones can support a range of operating system images that can be flashed, including LineageOS. However, I am not fully aware of all the available options.

  • thatonecoder@lemmy.ca
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    17 days ago

    Just to let you know, GrapheneOS uses AOSP (the base Android system) and sandboxed Google Play Services, making it compatible with 90% of all Android applications. From what I’ve heard (don’t take my word for it), the apps that have the least compatibility / more breakage are banking ones.

    • Novaling@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0·
      17 days ago

      The banking app thing is unfortunate, but then I kinda realized that I don’t really need them anyway. I have all the features I need in browser, and text notifications set up for when I spend money.

      The wallet not working REALLY sucks, but if I look on the bright side that’s one less thing Google knows about me and my spending.

    • Brujones@lemmy.world
      0·
      17 days ago

      While this tends to be true, the vast majority of the banking app incompatibilities are overcome with a simple app-specific toggle.

        • corn@reddthat.comEnglish
          0·
          17 days ago

          The other answers are correct but I have not gotten cashapp to work. I use an old phone connected to my current phone via hotspot on the rare occasion I need cashapp.

          I still recommend GrapheneOS regardless, almost everything else works with nothing more than minor tweaks. If you want something that “just works”, you’ll run into some hangups. Privacy unfortunately has a cost.

        • Brujones@lemmy.world
          0·
          17 days ago

          Exploit Protection Compatibility Mode. It’s a setting that relaxes this particular security enhancement for a given app.

          It’s worth knowing that NFC payments do not work with Graphene currently.

            • Brujones@lemmy.world
              0·
              17 days ago

              Not currently. It will require Google to’allow’ tap-to-pay on Graphene. Other NFC functions work fine.

              For my use, it’s not a big deal. Tapping my card is easy enough

              • idefix@sh.itjust.works
                0·
                17 days ago

                Thanks for the explanation. Unfortunately this is a major feature for me. I just don’t carry cards anymore

                • Brujones@lemmy.world
                  0·
                  17 days ago

                  That’s fair. Privacy and security generally come at some cost of convenience. Everyone has their own personal balance.

    • Ulrich@feddit.orgEnglish
      0·
      17 days ago

      It does not “use” AOSP, it’s built on AOSP, like every Android device.

      AOSP is like the foundation of any Android OS.

    • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      17 days ago
      1. Pixel, and immediately install GrapheneOS.

      I am surprised Google still allows to open the bootloader, with all the bitching they have been doing towards sideloading apps, play integrity BS and making android more similar to iOS in general terms…

      • toastmeister@lemmy.ca
        0·
        16 days ago

        Googles devices have always been able to have custom ROMs, I even had a Nexus 2 long ago and that was moddable.

        • kratoz29@lemm.eeEnglish
          0·
          16 days ago

          Yeah, but you need to concede that their efforts to block “unofficial” users have strengthened as of lately… That’s why I think they might do a Xiaomi move sooner or later.

      • N.E.P.T.R@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        0·
        17 days ago

        e/OS/ is often behind on Android monthly security patches by a month or more. Insecure and not very deblobbed of proprietary blobs, especially when compared to GrapheneOS.

      • youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
        0·
        17 days ago

        e/OS is miles behind GrapheneOS and even CalyxOS. I see no reason to go that route if you’ll be much better served by any modestly modern Pixel phone and GrapheneOS.

    • Giddy@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      17 days ago

      Does GrapheneOS support inTune Company Portal and work profiles? I would love to switch but my work requires these to install teams and outlook

      • anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz
        0·
        17 days ago

        The best solution in that situation is to have a work phone and a personal phone. If your own private phone cannot install the work apps then it’s up to your employer to ensure you have the tools you need for your work.
        From an IT Security perspective that is what your employer should want too as that allows them to confiscate the phone if letting you go.

      • chirospasm@lemmy.ml
        0·
        17 days ago

        GrapheneOS affords you the ability to have completely isolated and distinct phone profiles, where you can install all your required work apps. They are installed separate from your main profile, kind of like second or third phone. No need for a completely different device.

        GrapheneOS instantiates an improved version of this feature that Android already offers. It’s a great way to keep things separate. I do the same. Who wants to stuff their pockets or bags with more phones?

        You can read about that here.

    • Dzso@lemmy.world
      0·
      17 days ago

      I didn’t realize that Purism phones don’t have internationally compatible modems. As someone who travels a lot, that’s unfortunately a dealbreaker.