>Give me a Pixel & all the Google stuff but without Google

no_wizard 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

As a consumer, I lament most of all about Pixel devices (or any other Android device really) that I have to wipe the OS and install a different one to get features that matter to me, particularly around privacy.

Thats why I don't use Pixel devices, or any Android devices really. I know its a precarious situation with Apple since they could reverse their stance at any point and sometimes they get it wrong, but they have yet to completely fail me when it comes to privacy.

In any event, it'd be nice if there was a 3rd mainstream vendor in the mobile race[0][1]

[0]: Both design wise and conceptually, I miss WebOS when it was strictly under Palm. It could have really been something. Why they didn't embrace multitouch screens I haven't a clue, it was the one thing that baffled me.

[1]: The one project I really wanted Mozilla to take a long term view on - Firefox OS - was another great innovation of our time that didn't get the love or support it deserved. It was a blast using web technology to build apps that ran fluidly on modern hardware. Unfortunately, it was all too often relegated to cheap manufacturer hardware that couldn't support it ideally, but even with this being true, they pulled off alot of technical excellence with that project.

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zem 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

I miss Nokia's maemo/meego based phones :( the n900 was really nice to use and even write my own little personal apps for (something I haven't done in over a decade of owning android phones)

	▲	lallysingh 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		It ran emacs. It was glorious.

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jraph 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

/e/ Foundation sells phones with /e/OS preinstalled if you'd like an ungoogled Android phone without having to wipe the OS and install an ungoogled Android yourself.

I haven't tried /e/, I prefer installing a raw lineage with microG myself (although I don't currently use the microG part), but it seems like you and your parent commenter would be in the intended target.

I do agree that an alternative would be great. I'd gladly use Linux mobile with good, realiable hardware.

	▲	chasil 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		The Bliss launcher in /e/OS does not support widgets conventionally, and the best thing to do is immediately replace it. I used Lawnchair, and it did improve things. It did encourage me to provide my Google account credentials, which I refrained to do, which made the appstore essentially equivalent to F-droid. I can't really get excited about it.

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maples37 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Apparently the GrapheneOS folks are talking with an OEM[0], which would allow you to buy a phone with a secure, private, non-spyware operating system straight from the factory.

I already own a Pixel running GrapheneOS, but if this happens I'll probably order one as soon as they come out to cast a vote with my wallet.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44678411

	▲	chiefalchemist 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I hope this happens in 2026, not later. If they have a model with a removable / replaceable battery that would be heaven.

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colordrops 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Apple isn't privacy oriented, please quit spreading this misnformation. The only thing you can say about them is that they are marginally better than google but that isn't saying much. Their supposed respect of privacy is just marketing.

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bestnameever a day ago | parent | next [-]

Apple doesn't track anywhere close to the amount of data that Google collects. Equating them is very disingenuous, IMO.

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tonyhart7 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

lol there is only 2 vendor in market right now

google and apple, apple is the best in this privacy field

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colordrops 5 days ago | parent [-]

Did you read the thread? Google devices are orders of magnitude more private if you install a custom rom like graphene OS or lineage + microg.

Apple is pretty much the same as a vanilla google phone in comparison.

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thewebguyd 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

> Google devices are orders of magnitude more private if you install a custom rom like graphene OS or lineage + microg.

Sure, but then it ceases being a Google device. The discussion is focused around Pixel, as is, vs. Apple/iOS, in which case Apple wins by far in that aspect.

	▲	colordrops 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Semantics. It's still a Pixel device regardless of the software. The OS is still Android. Android is open source.

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tonyhart7 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

why you acting like android apps is free from tracking ????

"Apple is pretty much the same as a vanilla google phone in comparison"

Google literally Ads company, do you know how ads company works????

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colordrops 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Look into it rather than speaking out of ignorance.

There are several ways to block ads on Android. First and most-important, with a de-googled OS like Lineage or /e, the built-in tracking functionality just isn't there.

To blame the OS for an app spying on you is like saying Firefox is spying on you for Google because a webpage has a google tracker in it. Nonsense. An app is not the same as the OS. You can just not install the app like you would not visit the page.

But even then, open source android has many ways to block ads if you do want to install shitty apps that track you.

- The AdAway app that uses host file updates

- App Warden, which actually disables tracking libraries in apps

- LineageOS has the ability to turn off network access for apps that don't need them

- AFWall+ for app-level firewall rules.

The OS is absolutely not spying on you and actually gives you tools to stop spying. You can't say this AT ALL about Apple or vanilla Google Android.

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akimbostrawman 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

And so is apple

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-is-an-ad-company-now/

	▲	tonyhart7 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		nope

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seviu 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Did you try a Jolla phone?

Not expensive and work great. Was playing with one today. I am impressed.

	▲	nextos 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I love Jolla and I wish more people used it so that there was a really good native browser and different chat + VoIP options. The rest is great, and you can always use Android applications via the emulation layer.

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eredengrin 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

fwiw, installing GrapheneOS is by far the easiest phone OS install I've ever done. It's been a while but if there were any hiccups, they were too small to remember. My memory is just plug it into desktop with usb-c cable, go to grapheneos website in chromium (it uses web usb so no firefox), hit the install button, and wait a couple minutes.

And yes, it allows you to disable network permissions for apps, among many other nice things.

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rossjudson 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What privacy feature are you looking for that Pixels don't supply?

	▲	thewebguyd 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		> What privacy feature are you looking for that Pixels don't supply? Opt-in cross app tracking instead of opt-out, but if Google can get all apps on board with their new privacy sandbox thing that'll be less relevant. More importantly, an equivalent to Apple's advanced data protection for all Google services & backups. I want full E2EE for photos, notes, backups, passwords, bookmarks, etc. I want built-in hide my email to gmail, I want to be able to turn off network access for any app I want in the permission settings. I want Google to treat Android as something completely separate from their advertising business instead of an extension of it as a source of data collection.

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hollandheese 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

>I miss WebOS when it was strictly under Palm. It could have really been something. Why they didn't embrace multitouch screens I haven't a clue, it was the one thing that baffled me.

Huh? WebOS was Palm embracing multitouch screens.

	▲	no_wizard 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		They didn’t embrace virtual keyboards if I recall correctly

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daniel_reetz 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've been running GrapheneOS for a few months now, keeping my old Samsung on WiFi as a backup.

It is such a breath of fresh air. It is so quiet and functional. It feels like it prioritizes me, the user. I am so grateful to have this OS.

Of course it has flaws, but they're lesser flaws. Like the crop tool is sometimes unusable in the gallery app. I can live with that. I couldn't live with the AI onslaught and spyware infiltration.

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chasil 5 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

After looking at it, there are many things that I do not like about Graphene, and many ways that it tries hard not to be likable.

Beyond the monochrome icon pack that cannot be changed in the included launcher (which is so aesthetically challenged with an appearance that only a mother could love), the browser that cannot grasp dark mode, and the lack of the accustomed pattern unlock, I find the lack of one singular thing intolerable:

I want root. At a minimum, adb rooted debugging.

I realize that I could unlock the bootloader and Magisk this thing, but with the number of correct decisions that have been made by the authors of this operating system (and they are legion), they do not recognize one fundamental need of administrators:

I want control of my systems.

That is really a shame.

	▲	Itoldmyselfso 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		[dead]

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k4rnaj1k 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Isn't battery life worse on it?

I did consider it at some point but not having google wallet(apparently nfc payments are only available via banks' apps there) was too big of a downside for me.

	▲	j1elo 5 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		It is Google themselves choosing to prevent GrapheneOS from passing the validation checks required to make GPay work (which is the app that makes the actual payment). Wallet is there, you can hold digital cards, and transit cards, and your Ikea member card, etc. It's GPay that won't work to do the payment. And it's Google the one being a bully and deliberately making you think like that towards any alternative that's not in their list of approved systems that can be used in your own phone.
	▲	Itoldmyselfso 5 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		[dead]