There are conflicting opinions on which of the two is better overall. Some members of the community recommend iPhones, others recommend Pixels. There are multiple forum posts that touch on this but the answer is still inconclusive for me.
I need a “normal” common device that is fully supported by modern features and app functionality (no caveats or complex workarounds) for day-to-day smartphone use like personal communication, payments, and navigation. I might be able to get a spare Pixel running GrapheneOS for anything really private in addition to the stock Pixel or iPhone.
What I like about iPhones:
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Post-quantum E2EE with iMessage and FaceTime (very popular where I live, unlike Google Messages)
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Apple Pay (I can’t use Privacy.com and heard this is the next best thing?)
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Supposedly better privacy policy?
Disputed privacy
I don’t have the energy to read entire privacy policies. PrivacySpy ranks Apple much higher than Google, but some say their privacy policy isn’t a benefit.
- Miscellaneous (there’s a few non-privacy-related benefits I don’t care to mention)
My issues with iPhones:
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It’s still unclear if Apple is actually better than Google for privacy.
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They’re unaffordable: The iPhone 16 (2024) is $800, the 15 (2023) is $700, the Pixel 8a (2024) is $500.
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No more TouchID. I can’t stand FaceID for many reasons and passcodes are both inconvenient and vulnerable to shoulder surfing.
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I’m not a fan of having no freedom but it isn’t a deal breaker if I can get that spare GrapheneOS Pixel.
iPhone SE and old iPhones aren’t a great solution.
In response to points 2 or 3, people can suggest an iPhone SE series phone or an older iPhone. The iPhone SE 3 is from 2022 which knocks off a few years of update support when buying it in 2025. People say iPhones are supported by security updates for a long time but it isn’t guaranteed and I haven’t even seen approximate ranges. Even if it lasts 10 years, you don’t receive full security updates so it sounds like a moot point. The rumored iPhone SE 4 is expected to swap TouchID for FaceID. Once released it’ll resolve point 2 but I’ll still struggle with point 3.
My issues with Pixels are basically the inverse of the pros for iPhones. Google Messages isn’t popular here so I’m much less likely to have E2EE by default with most people. I also don’t know if voice or video calls are E2EE on Android or if they’ve adopted post-quantum crypto yet. I heard that Google Pay isn’t a good alternative to Apply Pay if you’re looking to protect your privacy, so I lose that too. I might also suffer worse device privacy in general if it is true that Apple does a better job than Google.
”Just use Signal” is not a solution.
I try my hardest to move people over to Signal but not everyone budges. I also can’t move strangers over to Signal, so whenever I meet new people and talk over SMS, it’s totally unsafe. Even if everyone moved to Signal, it doesn’t address the other downsides I list with stock Android.