3 ms·

Reading the pros and cons list made it very clear to me that I'll never switch to GrapheneOS.

wilkystyle 7mo ago
Not sure why you are being downvoted, as this is a very valid conclusion for you to arrive at, individually. To those downvoting, please note that this person did not say that nobody should switch, only that the information provided was a clear indication that it is not the right fit for them. I, for one, greatly appreciated the detailed pro/con list in the post, as many of these would be genuine annoyances to me, and would have probably taken several months to encounter all of them.
- olyjohn 7mo ago
  Maybe it doesn't add anything to the conversation. How does it help anybody that this one person gave no reasons for why it won't work for them?
wolvoleo 7mo ago
The author is being a bit pedantic though. Complaining about stuff that can't be fixed. For example yes aurora store sometimes doesn't work and definitely not over tor. But that's because its 'anonymous' option uses pooled Google accounts. Google tends to block them when they see thousands of users using the same account and blocking traffic to their servers over tor. Yet connecting directly to Google is the safest option here. And Google maps does not require a Google account. I always use my android phones without any Google account and maps works fine. I think OSMAnd is way way better anyway but they don't have the public transport integration so I still use Google maps for that once in a while. For everything else OSMAnd really rocks and its maps are better than what Google and apple offer especially when you're not a car user. But really expecting apple level polish from a free outfit it's just not fair.
- delusional 7mo ago
  If you're interested in an alternative for public transport you should give Transportr a try. I've only had good experiences with it.
  - wolvoleo 7mo ago
    Oh thanks but it doesn't seem to support the metro here in Spain :( Google always sees live data like real arrival time and line closures. Even the transport company's own site doesn't show that very accurately. But they're very manipulative. For example if a train is coming soon the signs upstairs don't show it because they don't want people rushing. Google shows the real data though, not their lies.
- iLoveOncall 7mo ago
  > The author is being a bit pedantic though. Complaining about stuff that can't be fixed I care a lot less about the stuff that CAN be fixed than about what can't be.
wao0uuno 7mo ago
Which ones are the biggest show stoppers for you? I'm curious because I find most of them to be complete non issues or even a user error.
- iLoveOncall 7mo ago
  > OS can’t handle lots of files in folders. Folders with thousands of files are very slow to load and sync. Sometimes music apps fail to load all songs. > Poor UI guidelines cause serious problems > Doesn’t always recognize wired headphones when they’re plugged in the first time. Sometimes even the second time. > Max volume is rather low for wired headphones, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to increase it. > No decent Photos app alternative, except Google Photos but apparently with a lot of issues (I'm paraphrasing this one, it's really long) > Google Wallet does not support NFC payments due to restrictions that Google imposes > App Store madness I recognize that some of those are features and not bugs for some users, like the "App Store madness" and the lack of a Photos app alternative, but overall those seem like huge gaps that make it a non-serious alternative.
  - wao0uuno 7mo ago
    First two seem to be general Android problems. Headphone volume is something device dependent. No Photos app is a feature. Lack of contactless payments is to be expected. No google store is a feature. Really I'm not sure why anyone who values convenience over security and privacy would even consider GrapheneOS. It's not made for normies. It's not advertised towards normies. It's an OS for schizos and tinkerers like me. It will never be a "serious alternative" to whatever manufacturers ship with their devices. What really grinds my gears is people installing GrapheneOS and then loading google play services onto it. What's the point? Just stick with the stock OS. It works better and has all the features you want.
    - microtonal 7mo ago
      What really grinds my gears is people installing GrapheneOS and then loading google play services onto it. What's the point? Just stick with the stock OS. It works better and has all the features you want. It makes a lot of sense to do that, since GrapheneOS sandboxes Google Play Services like any other app and you can revoke most of its permissions. On stock OS Play Services is privileged and has access to pretty much everything. So, using GrapheneOS with Play Services is a vast privacy/security improvement. And then we haven't even talked about rerouting location requests, etc. Even if would use GrapheneOS and then set it up as closely as possible to Pixel OS, you still benefit from a lot of security/privacy improvements.

Not sure why you are being downvoted, as this is a very valid conclusion for you to arrive at, individually. To those downvoting, please note that this person did not say that nobody should switch, only that the information provided was a clear indication that it is not the right fit for them. I, for one, greatly appreciated the detailed pro/con list in the post, as many of these would be genuine annoyances to me, and would have probably taken several months to encounter all of them.

olyjohn 7mo ago
Maybe it doesn't add anything to the conversation. How does it help anybody that this one person gave no reasons for why it won't work for them?

wolvoleo 7mo ago

The author is being a bit pedantic though. Complaining about stuff that can't be fixed. For example yes aurora store sometimes doesn't work and definitely not over tor. But that's because its 'anonymous' option uses pooled Google accounts. Google tends to block them when they see thousands of users using the same account and blocking traffic to their servers over tor. Yet connecting directly to Google is the safest option here. And Google maps does not require a Google account. I always use my android phones without any Google account and maps works fine. I think OSMAnd is way way better anyway but they don't have the public transport integration so I still use Google maps for that once in a while. For everything else OSMAnd really rocks and its maps are better than what Google and apple offer especially when you're not a car user. But really expecting apple level polish from a free outfit it's just not fair.

delusional 7mo ago
If you're interested in an alternative for public transport you should give Transportr a try. I've only had good experiences with it.
- wolvoleo 7mo ago
  Oh thanks but it doesn't seem to support the metro here in Spain :( Google always sees live data like real arrival time and line closures. Even the transport company's own site doesn't show that very accurately. But they're very manipulative. For example if a train is coming soon the signs upstairs don't show it because they don't want people rushing. Google shows the real data though, not their lies.
iLoveOncall 7mo ago
> The author is being a bit pedantic though. Complaining about stuff that can't be fixed I care a lot less about the stuff that CAN be fixed than about what can't be.

wao0uuno 7mo ago

Which ones are the biggest show stoppers for you? I'm curious because I find most of them to be complete non issues or even a user error.

iLoveOncall 7mo ago
> OS can’t handle lots of files in folders. Folders with thousands of files are very slow to load and sync. Sometimes music apps fail to load all songs. > Poor UI guidelines cause serious problems > Doesn’t always recognize wired headphones when they’re plugged in the first time. Sometimes even the second time. > Max volume is rather low for wired headphones, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to increase it. > No decent Photos app alternative, except Google Photos but apparently with a lot of issues (I'm paraphrasing this one, it's really long) > Google Wallet does not support NFC payments due to restrictions that Google imposes > App Store madness I recognize that some of those are features and not bugs for some users, like the "App Store madness" and the lack of a Photos app alternative, but overall those seem like huge gaps that make it a non-serious alternative.
- wao0uuno 7mo ago
  First two seem to be general Android problems. Headphone volume is something device dependent. No Photos app is a feature. Lack of contactless payments is to be expected. No google store is a feature. Really I'm not sure why anyone who values convenience over security and privacy would even consider GrapheneOS. It's not made for normies. It's not advertised towards normies. It's an OS for schizos and tinkerers like me. It will never be a "serious alternative" to whatever manufacturers ship with their devices. What really grinds my gears is people installing GrapheneOS and then loading google play services onto it. What's the point? Just stick with the stock OS. It works better and has all the features you want.
  - microtonal 7mo ago
    What really grinds my gears is people installing GrapheneOS and then loading google play services onto it. What's the point? Just stick with the stock OS. It works better and has all the features you want. It makes a lot of sense to do that, since GrapheneOS sandboxes Google Play Services like any other app and you can revoke most of its permissions. On stock OS Play Services is privileged and has access to pretty much everything. So, using GrapheneOS with Play Services is a vast privacy/security improvement. And then we haven't even talked about rerouting location requests, etc. Even if would use GrapheneOS and then set it up as closely as possible to Pixel OS, you still benefit from a lot of security/privacy improvements.