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.
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.
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.
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 throatsI 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.
GrapheneOS is coming to Motorola soon™
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
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.
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.
The only contender I see for a Pixel or the flagship Sony ones.
But they cost some serious money. :(
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
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.
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.
this is exactly what I’ve done, and I’m very happy. used pixel 8 with GrapheneOS. works well!
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.
It’s all of the US own making. Ban everything Chinese including phones, EV’s, and lately routers. Than make a monopoly for the 3 manufacturers left. Meanwhile in China, I can buy whatever I want. Any brand, manufactured locally or internationally.
Hell, the iPhone is not even in the top 5 of best selling phones here. That is called competition - something the US lost track off thanks to the lobbyists.
But you keep doing you and just get left behind. https://www.wired.com/story/us-government-foreign-made-router-ban-explained/
Motorola has the Edge and G series in the US as well.
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.
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!
deleted by creator
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
On us market we are basically out of options. Its just Google and Samsung now
