Pavel 🇪🇺Oct 7

I've installed now #GrapheneOS.

There were a few reasons I only tried GrapheneOS now. The main issue was purchasing a device - I didn't want to pay much if I didn't like Graphene, but I'm only interested in Pixels for GrapheneOS. I found #BackMarket is the best option for refurbished phones, especially since they deliver to Greece and other small EU countries, and deliver just within 3 days! As for eBay, I have found it is problematic.

#Graphene #mobileos #customrom #android #aosp #degoogle

Show threadautumnstuffOct 7
@m7v Does any other brand works for GrapheneOS? Or still no other yet
Show threadPavel 🇪🇺Oct 7
@autumnstuff Only Pixels. It is so technically difficult to support every additional mobile device, especially for small-tech organizations, so, I understand it. They will still support only Pixels in the future. BTW, there are #NitroPhones which ship #GrapheneOS.
You may install #eOS or #iodeOS if you want a not-Google device, but it's unclear how it is secure, maybe it's just like iOS or stock Android. However, it is #AOSP-based mobile OS (so-called #CustomROM) like #GrapheneOS.
Show threadautumnstuffOct 7
@m7v Noted. Thank you
Show threadPavel 🇪🇺
@autumnstuff I have now realized that #GrapheneOS is not about 100% #DeGooglization (unlike #pmOS), not about GNU's #GPL-only lisences, but about #security, sandboxing, #antitracking and #privacy Half of preinstalled apps are the same as on stock Android (inc. keyboard, messages, phone, calculator etc - only open-sourced #AOSP) - so, they remind me Google stuff. It is not bad - any team has limited resources, and I accept that it is better to put them forward the supreme goal of privacy.
Oct 8 at 7:26amMoshidon
Show threadautumnstuffOct 8
@m7v Gotcha! Thanks for sharing. I checked the other OS you mentioned also earlier. Right now - I am still in the learning phase :) Security is always better! But overall - for Google Pixel of yours - it feels smooth right? Like no lags etc. This morning I read on Graphene OS website that - they mostly recommend pixels above 8 and so on. So, that's a pretty pricy point for me...- have been learning of F-droid and Google's recent dev policy change and all. There is so much to learn :)
Show threadPavel 🇪🇺Oct 8
@autumnstuff I feel developers of GrapheneOS always overcomplicate stuff. It does not matter which supported device you buy especially as a novice. I bought Pixel 6a for 150 euros (including delivery) on #BackMarket (it is in EU and US both). And everything works absolutely smoothly without almost any glitches (unlike Mobian which is more like OS in testing phase).
Show threadGrapheneOSOct 8

@m7v @autumnstuff @thornax No, these statements you're making about GrapheneOS are incorrect.

The apps you're referring to are open source Android Open Source Project components. Those aren't Google apps and do not use any Google services.

GrapheneOS is open source and has no cross-device closed source components. The only closed source components we use are the hardware, firmware and userspace device vendor components for hardware support. Changing the hardware is very long term work.

Show threadGrapheneOSOct 8

@m7v @autumnstuff @thornax GrapheneOS is an open source privacy project. Our work on security is to protect privacy. We avoid including third party apps and services in general due to the focus on privacy but also wanting to leave app and service choices to users for the most part.

You seem to wrongly believe that the AOSP apps we use are closed source Google apps which is not the case. They're our forks of open source AOSP components just like the rest of GrapheneOS. What's wrong with that?

Show threadGrapheneOSOct 8
@m7v @autumnstuff @thornax Many of the user-facing AOSP apps are not actively developed as part of AOSP anymore since Google and other Android OEMs don't use them and they're provided as sample apps meant to be replaced by others. Overhauling and improving these apps is equally valid to writing new ones from scratch or forking other apps instead. We plan to continue improving AOSP Contacts and Dialer including a UI modernization. We want to replace others because they're outdated, nothing more.
Show threadPavel 🇪🇺Oct 10
@GrapheneOS @autumnstuff Nothing wrong! I didn’t know that modern basic Google closed-source apps were made between 2015–2020 and replaced the #AOSP open-source apps (which still exist and are safe)! I’m probably not the only one who didn’t know this.
It’s easy to be misled because their designs are so similar. Only checking the app’s package name (like com.android.calculator2 vs com.google.android.calculator) can confirm which one device has. Thank you!
Show threadGrapheneOSOct 10

@m7v @autumnstuff Most of the AOSP sample apps have a very outdated design compared to the Google ones.

Keyboard, Contacts, Phone, Calculator, etc. are essentially older versions of the bases used for the modern Google apps. Other apps like Gallery simply became obsolete.

Other AOSP apps which are part of the base OS are still actively developed such as Launcher are still actively developed and the Google/Pixel apps (in this case Pixel Launcher) are still variants kept in sync with them.

Show threadGrapheneOSOct 10

@m7v @autumnstuff AOSP as a whole is a fully open source OS with open source apps. Only device-specific code for hardware support is closed source and it doesn't have to be, it's just how things are for most mobile devices.

We need to replace or overhaul most of the remaining AOSP apps because they're outdated and no longer actively developed/improved with some exceptions such as Launcher and the Files app, although we could still improve them similarly to how the Pixel OS improves them.

Show threadautumnstuffOct 11
@GrapheneOS thanks for clarification