I am looking for a new Android smartphone (currently on iOS).
Obviously I read about GrapheneOS as the „Gold Standard“ of alternative OS. But the downside is that it only runs on Pixels. Which is kinda weird to buy a device from a company you want to „boycott“ (de-Google).
On the other hand I kinda like the approach of Fairphone: most parts are easy repairable, parts are available and cheap compared to Google and Apple. But the downside here is that it isn’t supported by GrapheneOS, doesn’t have the most capable hardware for the price and probably won’t get 7 years of updates like the Pixel 8a in comparison.
So that leaves me with a „analysis paralysis“: I have to choose a device and a CustomROM.
/e/OS does seem interesting but I read some comments that it isn’t that secure like GrapheneOS. I don’t need that high-level of security but it should be significantly more than stock Android to be worth all the hassle by installing/using a CustomROM. On the other hand I don’t want to sacrifice every comfort for the sake of the last bit of (theoretical) security.
Did someone go down this path as well recently and can share some experiences? Maybe there is even some better alternative.
I like stock Lineage OS
Do you plan on using any proprietary apps?
Also Graphene has a very vocal fan base. It isn’t the gold standard for some.
I like lineage, too. But there’s a long list of security and privacy features that it doesn’t get you. Not to mention that the chipset EOL is going to end firmware updates, usually quickly. And the model support is impressive, but still spotty.
Meanwhile https://grapheneos.org/features
The model support is of course miserable. Which is kind of understandable when only one line of hardware has the needed hardware features.
Most of the features on that page are in AOSP
https://eylenburg.github.io/android_comparison.htm