Hello there! This is my problem: I’m going to buy a new smartphone, and I’d really like to degoogle myself as much as possible. The idea would be to buy a device compatible with LineageOS, but… Supported devices are usually older models, and often there are newer devices with better specs for the same price, that does not support lineageOS. Is seems a shame to buy a device with lower specs than another one just because of software compatibility. So the alternative would be to buy an unsupported device, unlock the bootloader and debloat it as much as possible, flash privileged fdroid and aurora store on it, install microg, etc… What do you suggest me to do? Is the second alternative a viable option? What other steps should I do if I decide to go that way?

Thanks in advance folks!

Edit:
Thanks to anyone for the great answers! I finally decided to buy a pixel 6 (or 6 pro if I find a good deal) and install a custom ROM on it! GrapheneOS will support it for “only” 3 more years, while other roms like lineageos or divestos will have longer support. What do you suggest? Graphene OS and when support ends switch to another one? O directly use the other one?

  • @MajorHavoc@lemmy.world
    3•7 months ago

    I’d really like to hear from some people that have actually done this about what to do and what their experience is with grapheneos. I’m leery of spending hundreds of dollars on a phone that may or may not work as I want.

    I’ve done this, here’s my takeaways:

    On the install:

    • The install guide is long and detailed, and it felt important to take my time and do every step exactly as it says.
    • In spite of the length of the guide, I was done with my install in about 45 minutes. I spent about 30 of those minutes sipping coffee and reading on my Kindle while my phone applied updates automatically. -By the time the install finished, my feeling was “that was it? I feel like I clicked like 4 links and it did everything.”

    On owning it:

    • My $300 GrapheneOS Pixel 6 is substantially more responsive than my previous $1000 phone. I migrated to a 3 year old phone and if feels like a big upgrade.
    • My camera opens quickly, snaps pictures quickly, and is ready to snap another picture, quickly. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but some of your with $1000 Android phones know what I’m talking about. I’ll die on the “this should never have been hard in the first place” hill. But in the meantime, the responsive camera is the most important quality of life upgrade I got from GrapheneOS.
    • Installing apps from Aurora, with it’s privacy insights, was very eye-opening for me. I mention this mainly for context on my next point.
    • App compatibility has not been an issue for me; but I quit using certain really invasive apps when I saw their tracking details in Aurora store. (Cough - Paramount Plus - cough)
    • I’ve heard bank apps can be a challenge, but mine works perfectly. I now love GrapheneOS enough that I am realizing I will move my money if that changes.
    • @Meuzzin@lemmy.world
      2•7 months ago

      I did a bit of searching, maybe used the wrong terms, but is there a list somewhere with Banking Apps compatible with Graphine or Lineage that you know of? It’s literally the only thing holding me back…