To me it is super weird that GrapheneOS positions itself as a way to degoogle - but it is only supported on google’s Pixel hardware.
Pixel hardware is some of the easiest to get/best/cost effective with an unlocked bootloader.
Too bad the only affordable ones are those that have little to no support left.
Why would anyone care about official support? That’s not why you buy a pixel
I meant support from Graphene itself.
is it that bad? I though Graphene supports all Pixels well
The following devices are end-of-life, no longer receive firmware or most driver security updates and receive extended support from GrapheneOS as part of the main releases with all GrapheneOS changes including all of the latest Android Open Source Project changes:
Pixel 5 (redfin) Pixel 4a (5G) (bramble)
well, I see. thankfully there’s loads and loads and loads of alternatives over on XDA still in development
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That sounds like a reasonable position. Google would have an advantage in getting timely AOSP and security updates, but getting that stuff done should be a high priority for all manufacturers anyway. As for the rest of the list, there are things I don’t know about - but at a glance it looks fair enough. So I guess there could and probably should be other phones trying to meet those conditions.
For example, they’ll regularly suggest using sandboxed Google Play over F-Droid or Aurora Store
Because many of my used apps are only available in Google Play.
GrapheneOS gives you options that you don’t have to use. I don’t agree with you.
You know what Aurora Store is, right?
What is it?
An anonymous frontend for Google Play
Thanks. I thought there may have been some sort of controversy about it, that’s why I asked.
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I think because on other manufacturer android phones, like Samsung, you’d have to de-Google and also de-Samsung.
I’m betting it’s because Pixels have some unique hardware/ software quirks or something.
iirc they are the only phones that allow adding custom avb keys and then relocking the bootloader
Honestly this is one of the only things holding me back from going to graphene. Once this is available to non alpha users I might make the switch properly.
Absolutely. Android Auto is a must for me.
I’m on stable, and using it.
Awesome. I’ve been using GrapheneOS on my Pixel 7 for almost a year now and it’s been great. I won’t be using this feature, but am happy it might attract more users.
I’m still sour that Google disables hdmi/DP over USB-C on Pixels on purpose, and it bothers me that Graphene devs never bothered adding it back.
I think it’s available on the Pixel 8. Graphene OS enabled USB-C video out a couple of months ago.
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About time!
Oh hell yeah. That was a big issue when I tried out gOS last year.
I’d have rather seen Google Pay support than Android Auto though I imagine it’s a lot less feasible.
Google Pay support
I can not comprehend this. Ditching Google is why I yearn for alternatives to stock Android.
Here’s an example and why I’m not on a custom ROM. My job has “restaurant credit” as one of the benefits. That’s 200 euros a month in a card that can only be used through Google/Apple pay.
So either I skip the money or I need a second phone with me all the time.
Privacy isn’t a binary choice. Obviously I would love for there to be an alternative to Google Pay but no such service exists.
The most private form of payment is to use cash but that’s just hugely inconvenient in 2024. Sometimes it would be nice to be able to pay from my phone when I don’t have my wallet on me but custom ROMs don’t allow it.
Strive for the future you want, reject bad choices where you can.
I’ve never paid via my phone. If I could replace debit card with cash I would.
This is huge, but are there any navigation apps which work with Android Auto except Google Maps and Waze (which is re-skinned Google Maps)? Afaik OSMAnd or Organic Maps do not support it
I’m still iffy about grapheneos after the rossman issue. Any other good alternatives?
I generally like Louis Rossmann, but his arguments in the GrapheneOS video were beyond stupid. He says that he can’t trust GrapheneOS because it’s developed by Daniel Micay. I guess he doesn’t understand that GrapheneOS is open source and anyone can see the code. Then he switched back to the proprietary Google ROM. So he’s trusting proprietary software that’s filled with spyware over privacy-respecting open source software that can be audited by anyone.
You don’t seem to understand the situation either and you blindly follow some YouTuber. I’d advise you to overthink your opinion on this topic.
iirc that developer doesn’t work on grapheneos anymore
Is it easy to install graphenos on iOS? I got an iPhone 14. Does anyone have a good recommendation to help me through the process?
oh wow! i doubt im going to use that feature because android auto is insufferable but that’s still really neat!
What don’t you like about Android Auto? What alternative would you use to interface with a vehicle head unit if you didn’t AA?
I use a phone holder… It has better viewing angel, don’t require any connection (except bluetooth for audio) and even better, it don’t cost a new head unit, both in price and in e-waste.
He’s probably gonna reply aux cable lol
That’s what I use (or Bluetooth) and I don’t see how you can get more consistent.
Android Auto is the same screen on each vehicle and always in the center head unit area of each vehicle
When I drove multiple different vehicles for workas well as my personal the only consultant mount point was android Auto, all other phone locations changed and MANY were just ass to actually use my phone and the vehicles controls
You just plug your cable into the vehicles USB (if it supports AA it supports USB, Bluetooth was a recent addition) and your favorites apps/widgets are up on the head unit like always, no matter the vehicle
Though thats a fringe use case I guess
this is a phenomenal reason to disagree with me, i have no argument. if you use multiple vehicles on a regular basis through vehicle share or work, android auto sounds extremely useful. thanks for the reply
The main argument I have against just phone + bluetooth is that you have to unlock your screen, keep it on, and it’s a smaller size. I have wireless android auto set up, along with a magsafe case+charger, so my routine is to get in the car, slap the phone on the charger, and everything just comes up on my head unit display. For me it is way more convenient than having to deal with my phone display, and the larger screen is also better for navigation.
I have yet to hear any real negative points against AA or CarPlay for that matter, mostly it comes down to preferences like yours rather than actual interface issues.
I vaguely remember one of my cars supporting AA and I disabled it because I saw no benefit. Either it’s not very intuitive or the apps I prefer to use don’t integrate with AA.
I am not sure how it could be much more intuitive, at least from a touch screen perspective. It’s just a touch interface with an app drawer, nothing much more to it than that. However, if it wasn’t a touch screen I could believe it not being very nice to use, as I have a friend that has an Audi that does CarPlay but the screen isn’t touch, so he had to use physical buttons to use the interface. THAT is definitely not good.
As for the apps, I use Signal, WhatsApp, Messages, Spotify, YT Music, Waze, and Google Maps and they all support AA, so at least for my purposes it does what I need from a car apps interface standpoint.
Other than Maps I use none of the apps you mentioned. Guess I’m not their target market.
what baseless_discourse said. a windshield or dashboard mounted phone clamp. it is far cheaper, easier, and downright better, for myriad reasons. viewing angle is better, music playing is unspeakably easier, system resources are almost guaranteed to be better, software compatibility is better, etc.
I much prefer utilizing the head unit already installed in my car. Otherwise, before I did just use my phone.
I am curious why you think that? My reasons for liking it are the fact that it essentially just works, and gives me a consistent UI across multiple vehicles. What are your issues with it?
I’m just fundamentally against those tablets in cars. I’ve never seen a single good implementation of it. This first question I always have is… what can this do that my phone cant do easier, faster, and better? And 100% of the time I’ve had to ask this it has been nothing. I just use a phone grip on either my dashboard or my windshield and that accomplishes the same thing without having to use the massive, clunky, and usually dysfunctional tablet stuck on my console. Another enormous complaint is that most cars that work like this also remove aux/tape/cd and then BURY the bluetooth audio option underneath a bunch of finnicky android auto shit that has so many different problems all of which wouldn’t exist in the first place if i could just set my phone in a clamp and plugged in the aux cable. The only benefit android consoles have i can tell it has is being big if you have bad eyesight.