undefined | Better HN

0 pointssamantha-wiki24d ago0 comments

I agree strongly with this. I would ditch my iPhone in a heartbeat for an open source alternative.

0 comments

GrapheneOS is already existing and pretty usable!

burner42004224d ago

I'm sure the enthusiasm is appreciated but Graphene is very different even from stock Android. It's not simple enough for mainstream, and UI is odd.

I'm typing this on an iPhone and my pixel 10 graphene is just to my left. It's my favorite Android distro but I wouldn't daily it.

I love how boring and quiet the OS is though. It doesn't try for engagement. Battery life remains very good. The distro is close to being what the Microsoft phone wanted to be.

palata24d ago

> It's not simple enough for mainstream, and UI is odd.

It's exactly the same UI as Stock Android on a Google Pixel. If you find GrapheneOS' UI odd, then Android is just not for you, I guess?

burner42004223d ago

This response lacks thought and is argumentative.

The UI is not the same nor are the app defaults. Combined they create a different UX from stock Android.

The default graphene App Store, and expected apps found there are different than Google Play or what you'd find on Google Play.

The default permissions of each app are restrictive, most notable when you start mixing App Stores.

F-Droid culture, and the app options, are their own thing.

Vanadium, the graphene messaging app, the lack of forced updates and nag buttons.

Exploit protection compat mode for banking apps.

Motorola isn't selling to you or the other person that responded. For that market graphene will have an unexpected learning curve.

1 more reply

yellowapple24d ago

> I'm sure the enthusiasm is appreciated but Graphene is very different even from stock Android.

I'm daily driving a Pixel 9a with GrapheneOS and I strongly disagree, at least from an ordinary usage perspective. Yes, you can make it very different (by not installing Google Play), but with the sandboxed Google Play it's exceedingly rare for me to notice any differences; it feels very close to any other stock-ish Android. The only big differences were RCS chats failing w/ T-Mobile (but that's been fixed) and some apps being mean about Play Integrity or whatever (but that's gonna be true of any custom ROM, even if it's entirely unmodified from AOSP).

fsflover24d ago

Librem 5 runs an FSF-endorsed operating system, PureOS.

branon23d ago

I want so badly to try one of these but it's been out for a while and I'm terrified they'll announce another one immediately after I make the purchase...

fsflover23d ago

It's unlikely that they release a new phone soon. They didn't even upstream all drivers for this one yet, and the OS is currently based on an old Debian version:

https://forums.puri.sm/t/when-and-how-to-jump-to-crimson/300...

https://puri.sm/posts/pureos-crimson-development-report-dece...

Also, they are expected to release two new laptops in the near future, which was postponed a few times:

https://forums.puri.sm/t/is-the-librem-16-cancelled/22269/11

https://forums.puri.sm/t/2026-february-15-16-newsletter/3028...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse