Hey guys, I’m in the market for a new phone. Just to preface, I’m an iPhone shill and have been since birth. I’ve pretty much always owned an iPhone, apart from a Xiaomi I had years ago. When I had that Xiaomi, I never really used any sideloading features. I also wasn’t really into the whole privacy/security rabbit hole back then, but I am now.
I’ve always heard GOS is one of the better options for privacy and security, and I definitely like what it offers. My main concern is compatibility. From what I know, my banking app isn’t officially supported, or at least there’s no documentation explicitly confirming that it currently works. I have a friend who showed me that the apps worked on his GOS phone, but that was about a year ago at this point.
I’m wondering if it’s worth taking the risk. I know I’d still have the stock Google OS available if I needed it, but I’d obviously prefer not to constantly switch between the two.
I’m also a pretty heavy mobile gamer, and I want to try out that new Monster Hunter mobile game they showed at Apple’s launch event a couple of weeks ago.
Another thing that makes me hesitant is performance. From what I remember seeing in benchmarks, the newer Pixels, I think the Pixel 10 or 11, aren’t really competing with the latest iPhones in raw performance. They seemed closer to something like an iPhone 14/15, which is already a few generations old at this point. Obviously benchmarks aren’t everything, but gaming performance is still pretty important to me.
I’m not completely against switching to Android or GOS though. I’m pretty open to it if the benefits actually make sense for me. I’m just wondering whether a Pixel + GrapheneOS would be a good fit given my banking and gaming needs, or if sticking with an iPhone would make more sense.
I tried playing Roblox and Minecraft on my Pixel 9 with GrapheneOS and the performance was awful. Pixels are known to have a terribly underpowered GPU. The upcoming Motorola which was just announced will be top of the line GPU and therefore good gaming. Clash Royale plays fine (requires play services) but it was just less smooth than on a many years older iPhone. That may have just been the Android app and not GrapheneOS.
iPhone for Gaming and Entertainment and Public forums, chat etc.
Pixel for the personal non entertainment or gaming related, Personal communications
You can choose to put your authenticator and password manager either on the iPhone or Pixel depending on if you want a more digital minimalism approach
In my opinion, it comes down to your threat level, GrapheneOS doesn’t send any telemetry at all while Apple devices send a relatively small amount that includes no personal information and is anonymized everywhere except Apple Music, App Store and some other ones that are stores or subscriptions. For me, this is okay bacause I semi-trust them (based on track record), and all the benefits of Apple devices, you can also block these telemetry requests with a DNS Profile
As other people said you could use your current iPhone as backup and buy a (used) pixel (maybe even the new Motorola).
If you ask on the GOS forum if somebody can test the apps you need people might be nice enough to test them out.
I personally would take the jump as with Apple you’re in the “golden” cage. Once you’re outside you start noticing that “all that glitters is not gold”.
There are a LOT of great apps and settings that are not available on iPhones. Some of them also help you break free of other bad companies like Netflix.
There will be strong opinions all over, especially due to tribalism on this sort of thing. I dabbled with GOS but decided I’m more comfortable with an iPhone
It once again boils down to “what’s your threat profile?” and when it comes to my brand of paranoia it includes things like “what if I’m accused of something I haven’t done?” I feel that a false accusation is easier the more data you’re creating and the less protected that data is - BUT that it’s a bell curve and also easier to accuse you when you act too secretive.
Basically when it comes to extreme privacy solutions like GOS I try to look through the lens of a cop or detective on that matter.
If you’re a journalist or CEO, it won’t be seen as unusual to use something hardened like GOS.
If you’re a normie, especially a slightly weird normie already (that’s me) their eyebrows will skyrocket and they’ll wonder WTF it is you are so desperate to hide and you’ll be high on their list of suspects. Maybe I could explain it off as the truth: being an IT guy and more aware of security and privacy issues - but I don’t really want to be sat across the table from a DI solving a murder case and trying to explain that in the first place, Of course I may have watched too many TV dramas but it’s what I think of.
How it would get to that point, I don’t know. Maybe I booted it in view of CCTV near the scene of a crime. Maybe it’s a routine search like at a border. I just feel that for someone who doesn’t really NEED that level of protection and doesn’t have a role that easily explains/justifies it then it looks suspicious as hell and could mean going through more scrutiny. It’s that Streisand effect “wow what is it you’re trying so hard to hide” thing.
An iPhone is a normie phone. No one finds it unusual for someone to use an iPhone. Even an IT guy - I do it all day already and genuinely, I don’t want to spend my free time tinkering and doing more “IT stuff”, I just want the OS to get out of my way so I can enjoy my time. iOS and macOS are perfect for me. I actually choose to use an appliance rather than an open computer.
The bonus? It is most likely the most privacy respecting normie phone in existence. In short, I get reasonable control over my privacy without looking like a criminal. But I know that people with easily explainable higher needs (like journalists) would probably be better off with GOS.
None (at least not everyone) is going to be suspicious over the fact that you use GrapheneOS, In fact from an IT perspective, Daily driving a far more secure phone says alot about how you take security seriously, Not that you’re paranoid that’s got some evil plan to hide. Daily drive both an iPhone and a Pixel with GOS for the right usage strikes a perfect balance of security, privacy and usability.
I have admitted to everyone that I use GrapheneOS when it was relevant, None called me paranoid for using it, In fact most people in my country could get away using the OS just fine, especially if they use a certain local bank that was confirmed to work. I even put it on my resumè because it is something I daily drive and would cover both Android and it for companies that value high security above all [If you wonder yes I did cover the mainstream bits that IT Companies care, it is not just nichè]
In part maybe the recent discussions I saw about phone checks at the US border are still fresh in the mind. From what I’ve seen the border officers do see it as suspicious (but just uh, don’t give them the duress code lol). Not that I intend to go to the US in the first place, but France? Maybe.
I know the world isn’t Reddit, but I’ve literally seen Reddit threads where people even see wiping your hard drive before repurposing it or giving it away as suspicious and comments like “oh gosh.. no one is going to dig into your quick formatted drive for your photos of your gran or your dick pics, no one does secure wipes, so what heinous material did you have on there that you’re going to spend 3 hours filling it with zeroes?”
I still secure wipe my drives even if they’re only been used to host a Steam library. It’s basic hygiene, ancient habits and drummed into me by my line of work. I couldn’t care less that it sits there chugging for 3 hours (or needs a few command line incantations and 2 minutes on an SSD). And I have also seen a YouTube video of a guy poring through old devices he found seeing what personal data is on them so it DOES happen. So yes maybe I should treat mobiles the same way and ignore the people who try to imply that you’re suspicious when they know you use it. For me it just tips the balance that little bit too far vs. the difference in simple usability and convenience, I think. iOS isn’t as extreme as GOS but it’s certainly far from bad IMO.
Ironically at work it’d be a non starter despite them being a secure facility. I have a bigger corporate IT above me who set all the intune MDM stuff to maximum, and a GOS phone wouldn’t show up as compliant.
If banking-app compatibility and heavy gaming are both priorities, I’d verify those two specific points first before switching—GrapheneOS can be excellent for privacy, but app compatibility and gaming performance are legitimate trade-offs.
I swear you have infiltrated our office and are standing next to our water cooler! Everything you said sounds exactly like our internal discussions when we’re balancing up the needs of normies vs privacy aware vs privacy enthusiast and the different threat matrix for each of those cohorts.
I can say, the Graphene user base are our most passionate cohort and they are often the champions of proactive privacy amongst their circle of normie friends and family. We have a keen eye on the future of GrapheneOS and Motorola.
if youre a heavy mobile gamer, stay on iphone, pixels just cant compete with their tensor chips. maybe (probably) the future motorolas with snapdragons will be able to perform well in gaming and emulation.
Honestly, if banking and gaming are both important to you, I’d probably stick with the iPhone for now. GrapheneOS has some great privacy benefits, but if you’re already worried about app compatibility and gaming performance, it may end up being more hassle than it’s worth for your use case.
Yup motorola will be far better for that task fortunately since it’ll use the latest flagship qualcomm
I still recommend Pixel/Motorola + iPhone if you ideally want a Digital Minimalism approach where your entertainment phone is left at home and only take it with you on vacation or on the needed occasion while you carry your primary everywhere. Motorola if you prefer one phone to rule em all
I kind of get where you’re coming from, but also, having two phones sounds like the exact opposite of minimalism to me.
OP’s main concerns were bank app compatibility and gaming. I don’t think “leave the iPhone at home most of the time” is really practical for that. Many people would game quite often, e.g. while commuting each day. The banking app would also (presumably) be used quite frequently.
then the banking app goes to the phone you will daily drive in this case GOS., OP Should check the website I provided, find their bank and see the report. If they dont they can dm me to try it
if it comes down to it, I would say bring both somewhat but keep gaming and other distractions to your computer, Hopefully fedora linux of some kind or whatever.
But this, OP has also not made clear if its part of the goal
Honestly for me if it wasn’t for the battery swelling anxiety id be leaving my iPhone every day but yeah.
Everything you said sounds exactly like our internal discussions when we’re balancing up the needs of normies vs privacy aware vs privacy enthusiast and the different threat matrix for each of those cohorts.