> [...] but are the current Google phones any less usable than other Androids for people who are keen to avoid going all in on Google services? Paradoxically,

> [...] but are the current Google phones any less usable than other Androids for people who are keen to avoid going all in on Google services? Paradoxically, they are way more usable. They are the only phones (on some Sony too, but with several caveats) where it's easy to compile and install your own AOSP. Lots of security focused efforts aim at Pixels for this reason. See CopperheadOS and its successor [1]. With the advent of device independent ROMs (thanks to Treble) it will be a bit easier to run generic ROMs on any phone. But there are still many glitches [2]. [1] https://grapheneos.org/ https://grapheneos.org/ [2] https://github.com/phhusson/treble_experimentations/wiki https://github.com/phhusson/treble_experimentations/wiki