Hi, this is my first post, I hope I’m not breaking any rules.
Basically it comes down to this: Pixels are too big for my tiny girl pockets and Graphene OS don’t support most banking apps in my country, as they say on their website. I don’t really hate iPhones, but it really annoys me that they make it nearly impossible to transfer your photos and files to a non-Mac PC in a reliable way (or maybe I’m just stupid and don’t know something very obvious that other people know, I’ll admit I’m not a techie, in fact the opposite).
What are my other options? I know I don’t have that many. Does it matter if I get a Samsung S24 vs S23 vs S25 vs… any other phone that’s smaller than 150mm in height? In terms of privacy AND security I mean. Threat model is nothing crazy.
I know that there are similar threads to this one, but they don’t quite answer my questions. Sorry in advance.
If you are set on getting a samsung, get one of the flagship models since they tend to do better in terms of security compared to their budget options.
and also are devoid of bloatware potentially some or most being privacy invading, I would say A56 and above are also fine and are in the same ballpark as flagships which is why I said only up at this point
Is there any tangible difference between the S23, S24 and S25 Samsung models in terms of privacy, security or bloatware? And also are Xiaomi, vivo, OnePlus and Oppo any good or should I avoid them?
Samsung is a decent option. I would avoid S23 because S24 and S25 will likely receive longer support. The unfortunate thing about Samsung is they removed multiple profiles feature, which is still available on their tablet line-ups, but no longer available on their phones. If you’re looking for compartmentalization, check out OnePlus phones. You can create up to four different profiles.
You can achieve compartmentalization on Samsung by using Secure Folder to encrypt sensitive data. You can also install Shelter to create a work profile which will sandbox your apps, but this is more limiting compare to OnePlus and GOS. Or you could get multiple phones if you have the budget. Since your threat model is “nothing crazy” and the more important thing for you is height, unless you look into foldable flip phones, S24/25 is probably your best option.
If the apps you need seem OK based on that list and you can wait a year or two, it may make sense to see what manufacturer GrapheneOS ends up partnering with and whether it would meet your requirements. Of course that’s a lot of ifs.
Also I forgot to say this but I am in the same position as OP
I’m starting to dislike how chonky the pixel 7 is especially by 6.3 inch standards so I’m really looking forward to getting the S25 and have it throughout the Update Lifecycle (it fits the requirements compact and will be supported for 7 years of software updates)
I also realized I completely stopped using my galaxy watch after calling stopped working, this was one of the ways I would actually be able to isolate from my phone it was a pleasant experience honestly so there’s that.
Recently I only booted my smartwatch to see if I could get Molly working, the answer is not without some tweaking/ADB Tweaking, Trial and error scanning the QR Code not being able to call but yes it is possible! Despite that, carrier calls did not work again
I looked again and the smallest most recent Pixel is the 8a one - 152mm. So maybe either this one or Samsung S24 for me. The one thing that I see coming up again and again in forums is how many preinstalled apps there are that are essentially the same service like the Samsung Internet app and Chrome, for example, so I guess if I wanted to instead use Brave, I would have to install essentially a third browser and just have the other two take up space. The same goes to other private alternatives to Samsung, Microsoft and Google apps. As far as I understand, it is not recommended to tinker around in the settings to try to remove and “debloat” these pre-installed apps, so all of this just makes me wonder if I should just get the Pixel 8a, so that at least I get bloatware from only one company instead of 3… thoughts on this?
To Anvil - thank you for the recommendation, no, I haven’t tried localsend but I’ll try to see if it’ll work for me.
You’re right about the Pixel 8, I guess I overlooked it because it says that it came out in 2023, but now I see that the 8 and the 8a seem to offer essentially the same upgrades, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
About Graphene OS, I’ve given up at least for now because of the banking app thing (and also I don’t have much confidence in running it but I guess you can learn anything if you really try… but still… the banking app thing.)
Have you checked the list like @Anvil mentioned?
And I can try the banking app on my phone if it’s not on the list and report the status
Just that for obvious reason I won’t be signing in I’ll just ensure it at least runs (more specifically it will be tested with Sandboxed Google Play for also obvious reasons)
Got it do you wanna dm me through signal or email or whatever or on Privacy Guides messaging or you can state which banking app here whatever’s comfortable and I can just try whenever the app runs or not
Of course I will not be able to sign in so this can’t be tested.
Obviously refusing is also an option, I understand any choice at this point
