My current phone is 7 years old, does not support recent android versions, and battery life is becoming atrocious. This feels like right time to change my phone.
Currently, I know of & am considering 3 options:
- Google Pixel
- iPhone
- Samsung Galaxy
I heard that Pixel is the best choice for privacy, despite it being Google^TM. Should I go with it, and install Graphene OS or similar options? The very fact that the name “Google” is attached makes me nervous. Also, I don’t think I can trust android, so I would have to install Graphene OS or the like. In the case, app support would be lacking, though.
I am considering iPhone as well, since it has “reputation” of being secure. Of course, Apple can access my data, but that might be a good enough compromise? Honestly, I don’t know. It’s the best supported option as well - lots of apps support iPhone.
Galaxy is just the one that I am the most familiar with (my current one is Galaxy S8). I don’t trust it, though. Do they even make good hardware nowadays?
EDIT: Turns out, Pixel phones are poorly supported by local telecomm companies. It is relatively cheap though. Still worth it?
EDIT2: I heard that data & message is fine, but the call quality is impacted by lack of VoLTE compatibility.
Oh my, that sounds difficult. What does “permanently locked bootloader” mean? I was just going to buy at local phone shop…
EDIT: Turns out, local phone shop does not sell Google Pixel. Gotta buy from official google store…
Actually, if you buy a Pixel, you need to get the “google edition” version, which google sells directly. If you’re buying used, specifically search for the “google edition” version. I have a Pixel 6 Pro running Graphine OS and I love it. It’s not difficult to install.
“Permanently locked bootloader” means you can’t unlock the bootloader so you can flash a different OS. If you can’t unlock the bootloader, you can’t flash. A lot of phones are like this, like Samsung’s galaxy series. I got really fucked by Samsung with the S10 because of this. You need to buy a specific type of phone and security patch if you want to flash. I went with the Pixel bought unlocked from Google so I could use GrapheneOS. It was very easy to unlock the bootloader and then relock it back. I noticed you said the pixel does not have good reception in your country, I would look more into this before going with it if this is the case.
I usually just buy them used.
You have to look for the unlocked version though. They usually sell for a little bit more but it’s worth paying the extra.
Where can the seller check if it is the unlocked one?