I still love my Pixel 6 and I am thinking of grabbing a used Pixel 8 to run GrapheneOS.

I am not one to chase the latest benchmarks. Any phone made in the past five years or so is perfectly capable once you take the bloat out.

Edit: I found a great deal on a Pixel 10 and have ordered it.

I don't trust Google to not put hardware back door in their hardware. It's an ad company after all.

social contract around Android has always been Google provides the Android as an operating system that's open source while everyone else just manufactures actual devices I don't want my Android phone to be built by Google on hardware level.
Tbh not even on software level either .. beyond core aosp - I don't need any other Google services they force down our throats

The linked article sums my position up perfectly. I've had a Nexus 6P, a Pixel 2XL and now a Pixel 6 Pro which, were it not for a cracked screen and (small but increasing) issues with overheating, I'd be happy to stick with.

However there's no way I'm even considering a Pixel for my next phone - much too expensive and fuck all that AI bullshit.

Not sure what I'll go for, and not looking forward to a phone with an OEM skin on the OS but Google has finally driven me away from the Pixel line. It's a shame.

I don't trust really Google anymore but I think GrapheneOS without Google services should take care of any risk.

If GrapheneOS was available for other devices I might switch but that is not the case. Maybe this Motorola deal will produce something but that's still a ways out if it ever happens.

That is why I'm considering the used Pixel 8. GrapheneOS will support the Pixel 8 through October 2030. Maybe by then this Motorola deal will bare fruit.

Brands like OnePlus and Motorola have made major improvements to their camera systems as well.

OnePlus is gone from the US market.
Motorola doesn't have any non foldables here.

US android market doesnt have any options left other than Google and Samsung and that's just terrible.

I made the move to Android with my current phone (Pixel6 Pro). I won't be sticking with Google phones after this. I already replaced my pixel watch.

On us market we are basically out of options. Its just Google and Samsung now

I have a Galaxy watch 7 that I am looking to replace.

I am really hoping to move away from Google services completely but I also like having notifications on my wrist. I haven't found a decent replacement yet.

I got a Pebble Time 2 and, so far at the almost-two-week mark, no complaints. I get notifications just fine.

I've had 5 pixel phones, and 4 of them have stopped booting after about a year of use.

Meanwhile my last Galaxy phone lasted over 6 years.

Even with their cheaper retail price, they haven't been more affordable to own for me.

I'm on GrapheneOS too, but I think hardware backdoors are a genuine concern. There's not much an OS can do to fight a hardware backdoor. So I don't entirely trust it but it's better than not trying for privacy. In any case, the risk of hardware backdoors is present on pretty much every device we compute on. There's not a lot of fully open hardware out there, especially for phones.

I had a few phones before my first pixel and always struggled to run apps - there wasn't much space in those days, or much in the way of processor or memory.

I think my first Pixel was in the 2 era. I remember my wife or I had a 3 - and I think it was a 3a at that, but I don't care THAT much to remember too precisely.

I know after that I had a 4a, then a 6a, just because that's when I needed to replace phones because the battery was starting to get annoying, or in the case of the 6a, the charge port was blocked and it didn't have wireless charging, and financing though Fi was a better deal than trying to fix the phone.

I've had an 8a for over a year so far.

All of the Pixels have been good for me. I consider battery to be a normal thing - I preferred the old days with removable batteries, but this is the current life we have, so whatever.

I can't afford to buy bleeding edge, but I like my pixels. They don't feel bloated to me, and I've been able to easily disable the behaviours I don't like, which aren't many.

I do appreciate the camera.

When it's time to replace this one...... I'll see what the cheaper pixel looks like and it will quite possibly be what I go with. My phone does everything I want from it. Maybe it gets a little warm while taking video or doing things that can eat battery when it gets warm, but 99% of the time, it lasts all day, does whatever I need it to - just fine.

Motorola has the Edge and G series in the US as well.

Nexus 4, 5, 6 and 6p here. The 6p was a disaster. Everyone's battery shit the bed and they screwed a lot of people over. Brutal.

I've heard several similar things about the pixel brand. Not sure if the battery issues were due to software or hardware. But having a reliable battery is on top of my list of phone features.

Edit: Nexus 5 was peak android device. I wish it had larger storage or a SD slot but it was still near perfect.

As an OG Pebble fan I was really looking forward to getting a Time 2. I am in Canada though and it's $350 plus after exchange. I had one in my cart but just couldn't press go.

this is exactly what I've done, and I'm very happy. used pixel 8 with GrapheneOS. works well!

I'm in Japan so I feel you on the pain. I never had an original pebble. My pixel watch (which is actually a replacement after the other one literally started falling apart despite the fact that I'm not particularly hard on watches), was on its last legs with battery life. It was that or some sketchy 2000 yen thing that sends data who-knows-where.

You only get AI if you stick with the stock OS or don't do anything with it.

The advantage of the Pixel is they can be factory unlocked, which permits root or flashing a different OS.

My current phones are Pixel 5 - they $100 these days, and run great with Graphene or Lineage

Yeah, ive got the edge+ 2023 and it's done me well so far. Cases are a pain and so are screen protectors because of the curved glass. Its the Achilles heel to an otherwise flawless phone in my eyes. If they can take this platform and remove the curved glass and add expandable storage for the Graphene release, they'll find themselves back in the mix for top 2 android manufacturers.

I'm running LineageOS on a One+ and it's really good. I get close to 4-5 day usage with regular use just because ask the bullshit isn't running in the background from Screwgle

Just use the liquid screen protectors. Served my old curved phone well for 4 years. My One+ has one as well just bc they work well and are cheap!

I began my Pixel journey with the 4 XL with CalyxOS, before switching to GrapheneOS. I had to stop using the phone because of the well-known bloated battery issue.

After a short stint with a OnePlus 6T and DivestOS, which was brief due to the phone's processor failing, I returned to the Pixel line with the 6 Pro with GrapheneOS. I had to stop using the 6 Pro because of the Tensor modem failing to get signal or connect to cell towers where I know I would've gotten reception otherwise. Also, the phone would overheat occasionally.

My current Pixel phone is the 8 Pro with GrapheneOS, and so far it's been the best one I've had, though I have noticed that other phones, like recent Samsung Galaxies and iPhones have better picture quality than the 8 Pro depending on the environment.

With GrapheneOS announcing their partnership with Motorola, I'm hoping to switch to a Moto phone in the future, ideally one with a better camera and processor than the Pixel line. Google absolutely sucks with hardware, with each Pixel having some egregious hardware issue that makes the phone nearly unusable in some cases.

GrapheneOS is coming to Motorola soon™

That's really weird. I'm on my 4th Pixel (9 Pro), and my kids are still using my handed down 4a and 6...

The only one that has ever failed was the 4a from that firmware update that killed the batteries, and Google replaced the battery for free and now it's running like a champ

The only contender I see for a Pixel are the flagship Sony ones.

But they cost some serious money. :(

Currently running GrapheneOS on a pixel 8. It's the best mobile experience I've ever had.

Pixels are not and have never been about speed or power. They've always been about security, for which they're still the best. Also the only hardware supported by GOS (for the same reason) which is really the biggest reason to buy them, in my opinion. But I used them even before that (P4a was my first, it was $350!) for cleanliness and software features.

No problems with banking apps refusing to work?

I recently bought a Pixel 9a specifically to put GrapheneOS on it, and so far it's been good. Especially the battery runtime was a pleasant surprise, I can get two days of moderate use out of it before having to plug it in again. The only thing that is significantly worse than my previous chinese crap spyphone from 2019 is the camera. I'm not sure if the stock camera app in Graphene is bad or if it's the hardware, but the image quality is really poor.

Edge Plus 2022 didn't even have the curved edge, LOL. I don't understand the marketing but it was also great. 512GB, baby!

I don't think trying to collect data on the less than 1% of users using alternative operating systems is lucrative enough to destroy your reputation and face obvious legal issues in the EU

Depends on the bank. My banking app works fine.

Even aosp is a risk, support postmarketOS for truly free mobile phones.

List of potential workarounds for problematic apps: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos

Also includes a link to an unofficial list of known working/not working bank apps.
If the app still doesnt work there is a link to documentation for the app developers on how to implement support. It is good to include it if reaching out to your bank about this issue.

Use a computer, or a web site. Or a bank.

Why would you ever carry your entire life’s worth in your pocket. Ever?

You can download other camera apps and see if they do a better job. For example the stock pixel camera app can be downloaded from the play store.

PS. I've heard people getting crazy battery life with https://codeberg.org/s1m/savertuner and its expanded battery saver settings

Here banks use their proprietary app for 2fa

It's probably because I had four pixels and three of them died early due to hardware problems. The other one was stolen but I had been wanting to replace it due to poor performance.

I really thought I liked them, but never again.

Similar experience here. I loved the Google pixel and wanted to keep loving it, but they're just not well made. My partner and I have both had them for years and they just don't last. Meanwhile, we're not big fans of Samsung, but their phones do last.

In many countries you don't get a choice.

Both edge and g - 2026 model only goes up to 128gb storage.

Either edge or G - 2026 lineup in US only goes up to 128gb ram.

I got a Pixel 8a more than a year ago to use GrapheneOS. Its performance is somewhat similar to my Poco X4 GT but it runs a little bit hotter specially when running a private space. Last month it died immediately while I was using it. The phone immediately turned off without any warning. The problem was found to be a hardware one and that some component (i guess it was a transistor) was shorting in the board. Luckily there was a shop near me that was able to repair it.

If it weren't for GOS and maybe for its camera, I would not use and recommend pixels with its very mediocre performance and possible hardware problems.

Graphene camera is ass. There is an fdroid app for the pixel camera with google shit removed.

Personally, no.

I only use my computer to check my bank, but I'll need my bank app for their proprietary 2FA.

link or name?

I have a pixel 6a with a burned out usb c port. I would have to replace the whole board to get it working again. A shame really.

So if you don’t have a cel phone you can’t bank at all?

my bank app refuses to run if the installation source is not Google Play Services. I make a private space with GPS for the app and that solves my issue.