My current phone is 7 years old, does not support recent android versions, and battery life is becoming atrocious. This feels like right time to change my phone.

Currently, I know of & am considering 3 options:

  • Google Pixel
  • iPhone
  • Samsung Galaxy

I heard that Pixel is the best choice for privacy, despite it being Google^TM. Should I go with it, and install Graphene OS or similar options? The very fact that the name “Google” is attached makes me nervous. Also, I don’t think I can trust android, so I would have to install Graphene OS or the like. In the case, app support would be lacking, though.

I am considering iPhone as well, since it has “reputation” of being secure. Of course, Apple can access my data, but that might be a good enough compromise? Honestly, I don’t know. It’s the best supported option as well - lots of apps support iPhone.

Galaxy is just the one that I am the most familiar with (my current one is Galaxy S8). I don’t trust it, though. Do they even make good hardware nowadays?

EDIT: Turns out, Pixel phones are poorly supported by local telecomm companies. It is relatively cheap though. Still worth it?

EDIT2: I heard that data & message is fine, but the call quality is impacted by lack of VoLTE compatibility.

  • CodeAssembler@lemmy.mlEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    I bought a Fairphone 3 and put LineageOS on it a few years back and can recommend it. LineageOS is less secure than GrapheneOS as far as I can tell but the privacy aspect is there, as you have a completely degoogled phone. I have some friends that have the same setup on the newer Fairphones and they are also very happy and have a smoother experience than me, because it is a newer phone.

    Fairphone is an European country that has a move to open source (https://www.fairphone.com/en/open-source/).

    To the compatibility and functionality:

    • SMS and Calling is no problem, VoLTE works and as SMS app I recommend QUICK.
    • AppStore I recommend F-Droid and Aurora Store. With Aurora Store you can download and install all apps that are on the Google Store. Just check, that your Banking Apps and so on support non-Google-Android OSs as some people I know had to switch back because some banks and services only work with Google Services (and that is a shame in my opinion, a Bank should NEVER be dependent on other companies for transactions and authentication. I for my part switched bank because of such a thing.)
    • microG can be used to use apps that need Google services, I do not use it but friends use it and are happy

    In general you will find an replacement for every app you now use that is from a big company. Open Source came a long way and most alternatives are even better in my opinion.