The Fediverse is not perfect, but it actually blew my mind a bit how much it lowered my blood pressure to not see the constant ragebait, and the calm of not being exposed and monitored at all times. I still have Snapchat just for one person, and WhatsApp which is Meta but still E2EE. Other than that, I'm all in on FOSS privacy approved apps and man does it feel great.

I just did this too, except I bought a refurbished Pixel, so I paid someone else $100 for Google to fuck off lol.

This is what I'm afraid of too. I could see apps like fdroid and the ability to install custom roms being taken away within the next year or two. I hope I'm wrong but I don't have a good feeling. I need Linux phones to be a thing now more than ever.

I never know what to expect from Google. They respect open source efforts to an extent, but play Calvinball with where they draw the line. In any case, Motorola will be an option soon, maybe more. And there are other custom ROMs, albeit not as thorough as Graphene. And for me? They can't take it away now that I already did it, so I'm good for up to 7 years unless my phone breaks.

But then I wouldn't have been able to make this meme.

Most used pixels are oem locked verizon ones. They say unlocked, but they only mean carrier unlocked.

I hâte this reminder too. But the constant playsyore is missing permissions is a reward. Yes stay here little software keep complaining, your owner can go fuck them self.

Gives me a jumpscare when I apply updates, not gonna lie

I don't trust Google hardware

To me it wasn't. I don't think The non-a Pixels can really justify their price based on the hardware itself.

Considering waiting to see if Motorola releases a GrapheneOs built in Razr I’d consider that. But can’t help but wonder how much they would mess up the core important pieces of Graphene for their overlords who wants AI down our throat

If you want a Pro, go with the 8, 9 if you have to. 8 still has the 2k screen, 10 is a bastardized 1080p screen

Soon, but not yet! I needed to upgrade, can't wait until 2027 or whenever. But hoping it'll be one of their flagships, the new Razr is pretty dope specs wise.

It's wild to me that that's legal here. Devices should have to be carrier agnostic.

It's not that they have a deal with Google, it's that Google's hardware security is best bar none except maybe iPhone. And Graphene is the best way to degoogle, as counter intuitive as it may seem. They are working with other manufacturers to get these security requirements for new phones so Graphene can be put on them.

Why, because you can't afford it (reasonable), because you think it helps Google (unreasonable), because you think it's a privacy risk (unreasonable), or because it feels icky (unreasonable)?

The profits from Pixel hardware sales are a drop in the bucket for Google. I'm pretty sure the only reason it exists is so they can have insight and control over the hardware ecosystem, as without it they'd be driven by whatever Samsung wants to do.

The walled Android ecosystem is where they make the bulk of their money, and Graphene actively pulls people away from that and to something objectively better. Graphene is fully de-Googled and safe from their spyware, and exists outside of their business model. Using and promoting Graphene actively hurts Google, even if you have them $1k for a phone.

Also, there are plenty of cheap second hand pixels on ebay, and Google doesn't see a penny from those sales. Recycling is good for the planet anyways.