Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS. It’s the first and only time I’ve ever felt I was in control of my own smartphone.
If GOS is ever no longer an option, I will likely stop using smartphones altogether until a proper community-based Linux OS with similar features is available.
I put grapheneos on my old Pixel 6 as a “Yolo” phone for a Infosec conference this past year.
It’s very… okay for apps. You effectively have two options, install a third party app store (F-Droid), or setup a new profile with Google services enabled and use Play store over on that.
GApps alternatives are mixed quality - nothing really beats Maps (at least in the US), but other things like Chrome are easily replaced with DuckDuckGo browser or Firefox.
It was an interesting experiment to see if I could go Google apps free, and it worked okay for 4 days, but going full time to it would be rough.
For what it’s worth, I use F-Droid and the Play Store via the Aurora store frontend, all without a Google account.
I don’t install the Google Play Store bundle, as I feel it defeats the purpose. I do install Google Services Framework though as most apps rely on it and it doesn’t require network access.
I generally don’t use any apps that compromise user privacy, so apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, and Google Maps are all a no-go for me. If and when I need to access their services, I use an alternative front end or simply use a browser.
Even if you do need to use the above apps though, you’ll find GrapheneOS a much more secure and privacy-respecting way of doing so.
How does GOS work with apps, or how would a proper Linux OS work with apps?
For the former, GOS works really well for what I want from a smartphone. Self-hosted contacts and calendaring, Signal for messaging, Firefox and Vanadium for browsing, markdown editor, file sync, etc. all work great.
For the latter, a proper Linux-oriented release would be something like a mature version of the GNOME Shell mobile project. I don’t need specific Android apps, but rather the ability to complete certain tasks (banking, appointments, email, etc.). With Linux, there’s already an app for most of those tasks. The only exception might be Signal, but I’m sure if GNOME Shell matures enough we’ll see a solution for mobile Linux activation too.
Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS. It’s the first and only time I’ve ever felt I was in control of my own smartphone.
If GOS is ever no longer an option, I will likely stop using smartphones altogether until a proper community-based Linux OS with similar features is available.
How does that work with apps?
I put grapheneos on my old Pixel 6 as a “Yolo” phone for a Infosec conference this past year.
It’s very… okay for apps. You effectively have two options, install a third party app store (F-Droid), or setup a new profile with Google services enabled and use Play store over on that.
GApps alternatives are mixed quality - nothing really beats Maps (at least in the US), but other things like Chrome are easily replaced with DuckDuckGo browser or Firefox.
It was an interesting experiment to see if I could go Google apps free, and it worked okay for 4 days, but going full time to it would be rough.
For what it’s worth, I use F-Droid and the Play Store via the Aurora store frontend, all without a Google account.
I don’t install the Google Play Store bundle, as I feel it defeats the purpose. I do install Google Services Framework though as most apps rely on it and it doesn’t require network access.
I generally don’t use any apps that compromise user privacy, so apps like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, and Google Maps are all a no-go for me. If and when I need to access their services, I use an alternative front end or simply use a browser.
Even if you do need to use the above apps though, you’ll find GrapheneOS a much more secure and privacy-respecting way of doing so.
Hey thanks!
Yeah Google maps is really good and the alternatives are quite mediocre :-/
Otherwise if I can use lichess and my high sea sailing Spotify id probably be good :-)
That’s not true, I have Google Play Store with my regular gmail account logged in. I have all my usual apps installed without any issue.
Pixel 6 Pro with Graphene OS
How does GOS work with apps, or how would a proper Linux OS work with apps?
For the former, GOS works really well for what I want from a smartphone. Self-hosted contacts and calendaring, Signal for messaging, Firefox and Vanadium for browsing, markdown editor, file sync, etc. all work great.
For the latter, a proper Linux-oriented release would be something like a mature version of the GNOME Shell mobile project. I don’t need specific Android apps, but rather the ability to complete certain tasks (banking, appointments, email, etc.). With Linux, there’s already an app for most of those tasks. The only exception might be Signal, but I’m sure if GNOME Shell matures enough we’ll see a solution for mobile Linux activation too.
I recently read about https://murena.com/ which is a degoogled OS. Might be not enough for your needs, but others might find it useful.
I remember reading that GOS eventually wants to develop their own hardware, although I’m sure that is many years away.