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The reason for pixel has to do with meeting graphene’s specific security and privacy guidelines. You can read them here https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices. I’m not a pixel fan specifically, but I am Graphene fan and I like my privacy and security.
Maybe that should be the case. But according to them they are unwilling to budge on any of the guidelines as to not sacrifice any of their goals of privacy and security.
Hopefully someday they either support more devices, or preferably more devices meet the guidelines. I personally would like to see devices that are better supported from a repairability point of view, like the fairphone or hmd skyline.
But, none of that changes the fact that if you want to forgo google play services on android in a secure and private way today, a pixel with Graphene is going to be your best bet. What I would like to be, or what I think should be has no bearing on that answer.
For me it isn’t absolutism. It is about trying to get the most private secure setup I can. Currently, that is Graphene and that required a pixel. If there ever comes a time where another device is supported, preferably one focused on repairability, I will go that way.
A fork of GOS for EOL devices would be pretty nice I agree , but GOS doesn’t decise phone security, manufacturers do. Any phone with good enough security would be a target device for GOS.
Calyx OS usually run longer on EOL so I would go there before lineage.
Well . That’s what forks are for. The aim of GOS is not to support a lot of devices. Since it can’t achieve its goals of a reasonable secure device that way. But as I said a fork of GOS would be good , or longer support from calyx. I think I got a year more out of a pixel 3 on calyx OS. But if your goal is maximum security there is no way around the fact that without manufacturers updates and to a certain extent hardware limitations, it won’t be possible to do.
But best would be a good Linux phone so we can move away from Android all together, hope we can see that soon
most people for whom I help configure their phones they don’t want to buy a new one. and they are often terribly afraid of used phones. I don’t have any google services on my phone, the problem is not about me, but lets be honest, the absolute majority of the world’s population
Because no one should give Google any more money! Buying second hand/refurbished is the only way it makes sense for me to get a device by a large corporation like that.
I’ve had a couple of refurbished pixel phones and they’ve each worked well for years. The battery health was at about 95% when I bought them I think.
Google do Google stuff not because they are evil. They do it because they can , which is true for any company in this system. If another takes the position it will do the same. Also its not like phones are Googles main income source. Buying a pixel and putting GOS on it probably is worse for Googles bottom line , no matter new or used, than using a stock any other Android.
Yeah but you have no control over how other people spend their money. That second hand phone would still be there whether you buy it or not. But if you buy a new one you’re giving google more money.
Ideally there would be no second hand google phones because nobody would buy them new, but that’s not happening
Buy a used pixel in cash, install Graphene. This is probably the best way to accomplish running without google services.
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The reason for pixel has to do with meeting graphene’s specific security and privacy guidelines. You can read them here https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices. I’m not a pixel fan specifically, but I am Graphene fan and I like my privacy and security.
Then maybe Graphene should amend their guidelines to address that not everyone can get that phone, especially after Orange Man tariffs
Maybe that should be the case. But according to them they are unwilling to budge on any of the guidelines as to not sacrifice any of their goals of privacy and security.
Hopefully someday they either support more devices, or preferably more devices meet the guidelines. I personally would like to see devices that are better supported from a repairability point of view, like the fairphone or hmd skyline.
But, none of that changes the fact that if you want to forgo google play services on android in a secure and private way today, a pixel with Graphene is going to be your best bet. What I would like to be, or what I think should be has no bearing on that answer.
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For me it isn’t absolutism. It is about trying to get the most private secure setup I can. Currently, that is Graphene and that required a pixel. If there ever comes a time where another device is supported, preferably one focused on repairability, I will go that way.
deleted by creator
A fork of GOS for EOL devices would be pretty nice I agree , but GOS doesn’t decise phone security, manufacturers do. Any phone with good enough security would be a target device for GOS.
Calyx OS usually run longer on EOL so I would go there before lineage.
deleted by creator
Well . That’s what forks are for. The aim of GOS is not to support a lot of devices. Since it can’t achieve its goals of a reasonable secure device that way. But as I said a fork of GOS would be good , or longer support from calyx. I think I got a year more out of a pixel 3 on calyx OS. But if your goal is maximum security there is no way around the fact that without manufacturers updates and to a certain extent hardware limitations, it won’t be possible to do.
But best would be a good Linux phone so we can move away from Android all together, hope we can see that soon
most people for whom I help configure their phones they don’t want to buy a new one. and they are often terribly afraid of used phones. I don’t have any google services on my phone, the problem is not about me, but lets be honest, the absolute majority of the world’s population
deleted by creator
Because no one should give Google any more money! Buying second hand/refurbished is the only way it makes sense for me to get a device by a large corporation like that.
I’ve had a couple of refurbished pixel phones and they’ve each worked well for years. The battery health was at about 95% when I bought them I think.
deleted by creator
Google do Google stuff not because they are evil. They do it because they can , which is true for any company in this system. If another takes the position it will do the same. Also its not like phones are Googles main income source. Buying a pixel and putting GOS on it probably is worse for Googles bottom line , no matter new or used, than using a stock any other Android.
Yeah but you have no control over how other people spend their money. That second hand phone would still be there whether you buy it or not. But if you buy a new one you’re giving google more money.
Ideally there would be no second hand google phones because nobody would buy them new, but that’s not happening
they didn’t mean to buy from a reseller who got it directly from google, but to buy from people who had it and are selling it now.
Why would I buy brand new when I could provide life to a phone that might otherwise end up in a landfill?