I've been using iPhone for almost 15 years now, and mostly got really comfortable with the fact everything just always works, its stable, fast if you can afford to keep a recent model and all my data was always available to me.
My phone had been stolen once and I couldn't have been happier at that moment it was a iPhone with up to date backup in iCloud. I just logged into icloud.com, marked the phone stolen, purchased a new iphone, setup my apple ID and restored the backup with all settings restored as if it was the same phone.
From a security point of view I've been more trustful to Apple. Their phones by default imho are superior when it comes to security. That is, security for the average Joe.
I have a IT background, but even still it took my friend a while to convince me and give GrapheneOS a go. I kind off ignored it, he told me how not all the stuff i'm used to having will work, and everything becomes a bit more complicated then just installing an app and go. I felt like I didn't have the time for it..
It wasn't until i recently switched back to Linux form using windows for a while when I realized, I want to be back in control of my mobile device as well. Let's give this GrapheneOS thing a try.
At the same time there was a promotion, a good deal on a Pixel Pro 8 so I went ahead and bought it.
My first thoughts and experience were eye opening. Some of them are just Android things that are not possible on iPhone, and some GrapheneOS specific. I never realized how little control I had over the apps installed on my iPhone, and basically you really put all your trust in Apple and the apple app store apps to manage your life and all your personal data. Thats a lot of trust to put into a company. Although in my experience Apple has always been less focused on advertising and using data as its business model, it's shifting into the same direction now. Combining this with the new European law allowing 3rd party app stores on iPhone its becoming more important than ever we can control and see exactly whats happening with each app on our mobiles. I used to think Apple had us covered because we get these popups to allow or block access by default on iPhone but its really not enough and gives you a false sense of privacy / security.
When I started with the setup of my phone I decided to use two profiles. My private profile with only the apps I really need and are not depended on Google play services, and a second profile with sandboxed google services installed for those apps I consider necessary. In each profile each app I have tried to remove as much permissions as possible.
It really took a while to get out of the apple eco system, to learn how GrapheneOS's works and to try to set up my device as secure as possible while maintaining most functionality. You really have to learn what works for you, what doesn't, what apps do you really need, what apps you should not install anymore and just use a browser, and how to make having 2 profiles manageable. It's quite technical and definitely a lot of work to be able to say goodbye to Apple and get back in control of your own device, privacy, data and security.
The more secure it becomes, the less usable / user friendly it becomes. And coming from 15 years of iPhone usage, usability with my phone as my toolbox in my daily life both private and workwise has become a thing that I personally often value even more then security. I want all the security there is, but also, I do have a set of basic things I do and need on a phone on a daily basis that just need to work without too much workarounds.
After 3 weeks I decided to stop trying to do everything in two user profiles. A couple of apps like WhatsApp for Business (use it for work) Instagram (Sorry but I like the app), Outlook (Work..) and another work tool I have installed in the second user profile. All other stuff i decided to move to my main profile. It becomes really a hastle when you have your personal apps (tools) devided in two profiles and try to share data between them. I started emailing or messaging myself documents / phones / text and continuously was switching between the two profiles which became very annoying.
In the end, in a nutshell I opted for the following configuration which works best for me;
I only install the App if I use it a lot and if it has a significant advantage of not using a browser or laptop when I need the apps service, or if there's no alternative.
I have installed sand boxed google services to use things like my banking apps, Android Auto, and some smart home stuff like my doorbell camera that doesn't work without the factories app.
I have tested as much as possible to limit each apps permissions as much as possible which took a lot of time and often stuff didn't work.
The second profile i use mainly for work related apps which I don't want to mix with my private data.
I have learned I really had way too much apps and crap installed on my iphone that I really didn't need or should use better more secure alternatives.
The setup above works for me and the frustration of switching between profiles continuously is resolved. I love the fact I am in better control of my phone, but I'm also not loving the fact I cannot use two main things, my smartwatch and using my phone as a payment device. I did find a workaround for that though, I've setup my watch with nfc using another android device and not being able to use gpay i can just put my bank card in between my phone and phone case so I don't have to bring my wallet all the time.
The final thing I'm still trying to work out is how to manage my data / backups. At the moment I'm syncing data manually at home using Syncthing to another device so my pictures, notes and videos are backed up, but its a limited experience ofcourse if you are used to just always having your data available and safely stored to you anywhere you go without giving it any thought.
Some things I still need to figure out;
I used to use airtags for my keys and wallet. Looking for a safe alternative that works.
Trying to find a NFC payment solution that doesn't require gpay in Spain.
Getting my smartwatch to work without using a extra phone.
The turn screen when its automated its a bit slow and feels buggy compared to iphone, not sure if there's a fix and if its a GrapheneOS or Android problem
Does it still make sense to use GrapheneOS if all these things above are things I just want to keep using?.... :)
How to organize my photos better. iPhone has a way to manage this automatically and I was always able to find a specific phone I made under 30 seconds by just searching the date or topic displayed in the picture, I am lost now and all my data is more difficult to manage / needs to be re-organized somehow.
Getting the hang of using Android. Its very cool I'm able to do way more configuration stuff but there's also a lot of simple tricks and gestures on iphone or simple things that just work better. It still takes some getting used too ;)
All in all I'm till very happy with the switch to GrapheneOS, but its not for everybody. I have a technical back ground and still I was struggling to make the switch (it took a lot of time to de-apple and there's a learning curve for Graphene as well) average iphone user might not be comfortable switching from Apple to GrapheneOS, unless they only use very basic tasks on their phones. Allthough I do think everybody should have the experience to have installed and used a OS like Graphene to be more aware of their phones and apps and data. Even if I would ever switch back to iphone I would do things very differently now. A lot less apps and pro-actively monitor and configure as much security as a can. Probably also try to stay out of the icloud.