Are you excited about the upcoming Pixel 9, or have you given up on Google hardware?

Blaze@lemmy.zip to Android@lemdro.id – 46 points –
79

Personally, I gave up on google as a whole

Pixels are the best degoogle phone thanks to GrapheneOS...

ok?

Apparently this has upset the google bois

What a dumbass edit. It's probably because "ok?" Adds literally nothing and you could've just said nothing instead. But noooo must be fanboys down voting you right? ๐Ÿ™„

Same. I have come to trust Appleโ€™s commitment and attitude towards user privacy substantially more than Google. I actually know a person that works in a fairly high middle management position in a technical department at the fruit company, and he told me that even their internal handling of user data is incredibly restrictive, even when it makes their jobs harder. I donโ€™t think Apple is perfect, but better than the alternative.

Apple is a locked in ecosystem what is based entirely on proprietary software. I'm not sure how that is good for privacy. They can and are collecting your data. You also can't get apps outside of the App store which limits your options.

AOSP based Android Like Lineage OS is the only way.

yes I'm surprised at the lack of FOSS apps on IOS.

I'm not

The App store is very restrictive and the OS is locked down

Yeah we should start our own FOSS app store for iOS.

Oh wait, you can't...

Iโ€™m well aware of the risks inherent to not running calyx or graphene, but my threat model doesnโ€™t justify sacrificing a lot of the functionality that I enjoy on an iPhone. If my threat model required it, Iโ€™d have an unactivated burner and a pixel device running calyx in addition to my iPhone. Iโ€™m happy settling for โ€œbetter than googleโ€ based on my needs. I also have a couple PCs running Linux, with steps I can take to ensure some level of privacy if needed.

Thanks for posting some good reading though, itโ€™s all shit Iโ€™m generally aware of.

Pixel is the only game in town for anyone who wants a secure and privacy friendly smartphone as they're the only ones that run GrapheneOS.

I do like the look of the 9, especially finally being able to get a smaller Pro model but the prices are getting silly and my 7 Pro is still working fine. Maybe the 10 or 11.

I'm also keeping an eye on Fairphone but they need to add all the hardware GrapheneOS needs to support them for me to be interested. And it'd help if they weren't launching with last gen specs. Fairphone 5 came out after my P7P but is inferior in most ways, I just can't justify paying for a downgrade as much as I support the mission.

And it'd help if they weren't launching with last gen specs. Fairphone 5 came out after my P7P but is inferior in most ways, I just can't justify paying for a downgrade as much as I support the mission

Right? I like the idea of Fair phone and Linux phones as well, but they always seem to slap in mediocre hardware at best.

Even the latest Fairphone 5, like you said, comes with a Qualcomm QCM6490 from late 2021. It wasn't designed for phones and can't even compete against the Tensor G2, a processor already widely regarded as crap

Yeah, as a Graphene user, there simply aren't any other options. I could switch to Calyx or e/OS, but none of the phones they support are really worth it.

Unless I decide I need whatever satellite SMS support Google brings with the 9 (I live very remote, and rely on wifi calling 95% of the time), I'll probably target the Pixel 11. My Pixel 8 should be fine until then, and I imagine they'll work through most of the issues their first fully in house SoC has in the Pixel 10.

And hey, maybe they'll decide to make the regular small Pixel smaller than the small Pixel Pro, by then.

Google is the only one implementing the full spec for bootloader relocking with custom keys, so as far as I'm concerned they're the only viable manufacturer now (RIP OnePlus, you used to be good).

The default UX on most phones just plain outright sucks. I keep hearing Samsung is better, IMO modern OneUI sucks just as much as TouchWiz sucked. Everyone tries to differentiate themselves by how much bloatware they load up on the phone so customers go wow it's got so many features! Lately they're all in on the AI fad as well, and subscriptions, and their own store.

Been a custom ROM user forever, and I have no intention of letting go of that. My phone is almost 5 years old now, and it still runs better than the out of the box experience of any phones on display at the stores. Raw hardware performance is utterly useless if the stock OS immediately wastes it all and some more.

So I'm not excited about the Pixels but they're also the only viable option.

Do wallet/banking apps still work on a custom rom?

Do you lose out on anything?

Wallet no. For banking apps it depends on the app. For me about 80 percent work

Pixel phones have been too big for me for a while. They won't fit in my pockets comfortably and I don't want to have to stretch to reach the top of the screen. Come out with something 5.75" tall or less and I'll re-engage.

Yes. My Zenfone 8 is "small" but I want it even more compact. My old Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact is the perfect size!

Yes, I am still on my pixel 5 for that reason but I really need a new one

I held on to mine for so long, but after they stopped getting updates, I bailed since the S22 wasn't massively larger.

Yes, nur then there is so much Samsung stuff on it. Maybe I'll have to do it like you and modify it then

It's pretty easy to strip most of it off. It's definitely an adjustment, but I got used to it (the remaining things I couldn't change) pretty quickly

What are you using now?

Galaxy S22 with Nova launcher getting rid of the Samsung UI and making it note pixel-like.

You might be interested in finding an alternative to Nova, they got aquired a couple years ago

You can still lock down privacy stuff to a fair degree. I'm keeping an eye on it

The pixel 8 was exciting because it was the 1st android smartphone which broke the usual 5 years of update cycle and jumped to 7 years. Making other OEMs like Samsung and OnePlus to play catchup.

Pixel 9 appears like a minor improvement in comparison. Hopefully, the SOC provides improved battery life due to better modem, and modern ARM cortex cores.

The pixel 8 was exciting because it was the 1st android smartphone which broke the usual 5 years of update cycle and jumped to 7 years.

The Pixel 8 also has MTE support.

Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are ARMv9 devices supporting hardware memory tagging...Hardware memory tagging is going to provide a massive increase to protection against remote exploitation for GrapheneOS users. It's the biggest security feature we'll be shipping since we started in 2014.

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8439-mte-support-status-for-grapheneos

I was always a cheap Nexus/Pixel A guy that traded up when the new budget phones went for sale on the Play store. I got my 6A for like 150 bucks brand new. When the 8A was announced for 500 dollars and barely better than the 6A I jumped to a refurbished 7 Pro and I'll probably just keep this phone until something really special comes out or I just abandon carrying a cellphone all together [most likely.]

Google Fi and every banking app ive tried work fine on Graphene, Android auto as well. The only thing that definitely does not work is google pay

I haven't been "excited" about any phones or really much of any technology at all in years. There's just been very little practical progress and a whole lot of regress. What does P9 bring to the table that's new? Fucking useless and annoying AI trash?

I have a pixel 8, and a pixel 6 before that. The same bugs have followed me the whole time. I guess PiP, keyboard, bubbles, and graphical issues just aren't being worked on. I'm waiting on Apple sideloading updates before I'm upgrading, but this is a piece of shit. I would try another OS, but I am afraid of getting banking apps and Google Fi working.

Neither? I am more wary after the launch of 6 and the issues, but I also say 'neither' because I'm simply not in the market for a new device.

I'm riding this 6a all the way to bricktown, then I'm switching to a repairable alternative. Also never buying Google hardware or registering for Google services ever again.

Do you have any prospects in mind for a repairable phone? I'm of a similar mindset, but the premium on the existing 'repairable' phones out there is so high that I don't feel like I can justify it.

No not really. I said it a bit vague because I think because of EU mandates more phones will be repairable(Soon TM hopefully). I wholly agree with you about the price of, for example, Fairphones. On the other hand my usage has changed radically from 10y ago, and consequently my phone is holding on much longer, so I'm saving up in the extra years this phone is surviving for a more expensive and arguably worse phone except for the repairability. Every day, it becomes worth more and more to me to be as independent from (large) corpo's as possible, so effectively it's becoming a better and better deal ๐Ÿ˜Š. Same story for laptops, except it's Framework instead of Fairphone

I'm still sitting on my LG V60 and dreading the day I have to lose my headphone jack and micro SD slot.

I loved my V60 (and my V20 before it). They were such great phones.

Not excited, but not disappointed. When my current phone reaches EOL i'll buy the next pixel phone, put grapheneos on it and keep being mostly satisfied. No need to buy a new phone before EOL. EOL for my phone is 2028

If they released a phone with a headphone jack, I'd buy that as soon as it was available to signal that its important to me, I wouldn't wait for my current phone to go EOL.

I'm abnormal, I know. People in my life get new phones more frequently.

Person A: when their phone gets full, they buy a new one

Person B: can't keep their phone from getting cracked and destroying hr display every 6 months or so

Person C: keeps losing their phone, in a bus, on a airplane, at the beach... So far

I don't know anybody who buys a phone, just to buy a new phone for fashion or chasing trends.

I have had the same phone for over 5 years. I run Lineage OS and it gets security updates once a month. The downside is that it doesn't get firmware updates but that has more to do with Qualcomm

I've been wanting to buy a Pixel for a while now (for GrapheneOS), but there's always something that bothers me too much.
This time around, the Pixel 9 pro sounds like it will be great, but I'll be waiting to see Google's custom SoC using TSMC for the Pixel 10.
I could always just get the 9 later at a lower price or used.

I wouldn't say "excited", as I don't know of it having any specific advantages over what's already on the market.

I'm quite fond of my 7 and 8 though. Battery life and cell reception could be better, but I've never found either to be less than satisfactory.

They'll probably use another mediocre modem that will again make cellular reception mediocre. Until they fix that problem, there is no reason to take that phone line seriously.

didn't the 8 just come out. I recently got a 7 to save some bucks.

The 8a came out this spring. The 8/Pro was last fall I believe.

ah yeah. I actually just got a 7a. honestly I find these short upgrade times to make it harder to pay attention to the stuff at all. Its like eating at a place all the time as opposed to eating out rarely and being hungry to experience that favorite place when you can.

Yes a year ago. Kind of works that way.

For the "regular" versions it works like that. Release in October. For the "A" versions it has been a different story. That's been more like every 11 months; since the 5A it has moved from August to May.

I'd like to get a Pixel for GrapheneOS but I'm sorta waiting to see if the upcoming fold has pen support. If not, I'll probably just get an earlier model since it's cheaper.

I tend to get a new phone every other year. I bought a phone last year so I will probably be excited to see the Pixel 10 next year!

3rd option. I'm not excited about the 9, but I'm sticking with the Pixel 8 I already own. I'll upgrade to whatever Pixel number adds enough new features to justify the cost.

I never buy new phones but I am excited to see used pixel 8s get cheaper!

Never given the slightest flying fuck about flagship phones.

Current phone is an A52 that I bought on sale and intended to use for at least 4yrs.

Stop feeding the bullshit machine!!!

Bought a pixel 3 as soon as the 4 was released.

It was a fantastic phone... except for the two times it got stuck in a boot loop until the battery died.

Bonus points for the second time, when, thanks to a google update for emergency services, it decided it should dial emergency services every time it restarted...meaning I had to stay up until 330am that night, hanging up on emergency services, until the battery finally died.

A year or two ago, I bought a P7 Pro to replace it, hoping it'd have all the good of the P3, but with better camera, bigger screen, and no boot loop.

It is indeed bigger, the camera can zoom more, but isn't necessarily better, there's no boot loop issues which is great...but I find i have more cases of the phone locking up and needing a restart...and the in-screen fingerprint sensor (and gesture controls) are absolute hot garbage compared to the P3.

The fingerprint and gesture annoyances have been enough that my plan now, unless there's something significant that changes things, is to go back to an iPhone for my next phone.

You can turn off the weird gesture shit and go back to the three buttons in settings.

"Navigation mode" -> "3-button navigation"

TBH the lack of a back button is one of the things I dislike about iPhones

Rear fingerprint scanner though...I miss it so much

except for the two times it got stuck in a boot loop until the battery died.

Did the emergency shut-off (holding down the volume down and power buttons at the same time) not work?

It's a glitch where the buttons break down mechanically, so it just thinks the user is holding the power button constantly, so as soon as it is off, it'll turn back on.

Ah, ok, so it was a mechanical failure, not a software glitch.

Moved to pixel from HTC for the fast software updates. My next phone will likely be a pine phone or something similar; build quality on my last two pixels hasn't exactly been up to snuff.

I have a pixel 6 and my wife has an 8 pro. We've had pixels since 3. They've been good phones and we plan to keep getting pixels when we need to upgrade.

I have an 8. Also owned a 7 (but I do lots of hiking and broke the glass on the 7, so couldn't trust the waterproofing anymore, so upgraded).

Why would I give up on their hardware though?

Pixels have very good custom rom support. With that being said I like moto.

Will not touch Apple, Samsung or Google HW. Apple & Samsung too expensive. Google because ... SQUIRREL ... what the fuck, cancel it.