Aphyos?

Klingerman01

I was reading the Wikipedia article on grapheneos and I found a reference to this os. It seems to be a suit of software built on top of grapheneos. You can't seem to download it and it needs to be bought on their own hardware? Are these guys legit? And are they good neighbors sharing big fixes and such? https://crackberry.com/what-aphyos I might be uncharitable but this article over them seems to sing their praises for breaking free from Google and other companies but it's something I've been doing for years

GrapheneOS

Klingerman01 It was initially heavily marketed as using GrapheneOS or being based on GrapheneOS but it turned out that wasn't really the case. They used a bunch of our code but merged it with LineageOS and then lagged far behind on updating to new Android versions, meaning they weren't using current GrapheneOS code anymore. They were never using all of our code and seemed to use the update client from LineageOS rather than ever using ours. They stripped out most mentions of GrapheneOS and stopped marketing it that way. We don't know if that's due to us complaining a few times about it being marketed as using GrapheneOS when it wasn't the case. It's possible they just removed it entirely on their own because they realized it was not true. We don't think they ever had any ill intent towards us and it seems they wanted to help us but we couldn't figure out a way we could really work with them due to what they were making and a focus largely incompatible with ours. They reached out to us a few times and we responded, but it didn't really go anywhere. They weren't trying to scam people but the way it was marketed was problematic.

NetRunner88

iirc grapheneOS devs told us that MediaTek SoC aren't good for security,
Plus on official Punkt site there is no mention of a security chip or any other requirements satisfied regarding GrapheneOS or similar, like no explanation.
If it is another scam phone, even if build on GrapheneOS, if there is no hardware stuff to protect data like iommu, mte, security chip, etc, then it is like having a bunker with a no roof

I believe if one day there is an alternative to pixel, gOS will tell us and there will be support for it..

argante

I strongly do not recommend.

Subscription-based model

They sell a phone and services like email and VPN. All locked in a walled garden, but this time from them.

Neutral OS with Swiss-based services

Yeah.

area51

Punkt and AphyOS are out of their depth with phones, they make other trinkets that work well, but having experience owning a Punkt MP02 4G, dumb phone for 9 months, it did not go well. The first one I had USB tethering could not be turned off, so the battery lasted a few hours, not days. Phone returned, and about 3 months later the software fault was corrected. I foolishly tried again with a replacement phone and within weeks the key pad became unuseable. I got a replacement again, and it still works. It was used as a voice only 4g phone, texting was a nightmare. The phone suffered from dozens of software faults that were being continually updated, it was haphazard to say the least. Now Punkt have proudly delivered to the world their MC02 smart phone, given the history and fragility of their MP02 I did not purchase this MC02 smart phone. Its not a Pixel device so their fork of GrapheneOS, called AphyOS cannot hope to achive anything near to security of privacy of GrapheneOS on a Pixel device. worst of all after a year you have to subscribe to their software, on your phone. I will steer clear of Punkt MC02.
I do have to thank Punkt for one thing, it was because of the text nightmare on their MP02 dumb phone, I bought a smart phone again to be able to text far easier, a secondhand Pixel 6a, and then I found and installed GrapheneOS...

argante

area51 Punkt previously cooperated with Blackberry and it was BB that was responsible for software audit and security. Unfortunately, every error, imperfection required BB's involvement and this took time. Pigeon (Signal) stopped working because of some error - too bad, you have to wait weeks or even months for a fix. As a result, Punkt withdrew its partnership with Blackberry. And currently, when you buy this phone (MP02), you get a phone without a security update. Pigeon (Signal) is still being updated, but the question is how long it will be supported.

Punkt MP02 is a cool phone and has its niche in the market. In my opinion, the company's strategy is flawed. They should unlock the bootloader, publish the sources of this version of Android and focus on selling the niche hardware. The hardware itself could also be improved. It would be good if the battery was replaceable and you could buy a spare battery. USB does not work properly with USB headphones and that's about it.

MC02 is a continuation of this flawed strategy. This phone is worse than Pixel, and at the same time they sell it with GOS plus their own services as part of a subscription. Where is the value here? It makes no sense, because it is much better to buy Pixel and install GOS on it and not pay for any subscription.

There is still a key issue: ethics. GOS is developed by a foundation and is supported by donations. Now we have some company that takes GOS and starts selling it for its own profit. Sorry, but no! If anyone has money to spend, please, instead of buying AuthyOS and their paid subscriptions, please donate to the foundation developing GOS.

Xtreix

argante and at the same time they sell it with GOS

These devices doesn't run GrapheneOS, the Punkt MP02 is just a scam, it's not a way to get GrapheneOS.

argante

Xtreix That's even better. This article says GOS.
btw. MP02 is not a MC02. MP02 is a niche phone, good as a dumb phone because it is quite small and light compared to current smartphones. MC02 is a smartphone.

Xtreix

argante That's even better. This article says GOS.

Yes, it's been presented that way by a lot of media coverage, but that's not the case.

argante btw. MP02 is not a MC02. MP02 is a niche phone, good as a dumb phone

Yes I confused the two names, I saw my mistake but I couldn't edit my comment anymore, the MP02 is indeed a kind of dumbphone.

Klingerman01

GrapheneOS good to know.

brookie229

I believe Kevin Michaluk aka CrackBerry Kevin has a stake in Aphyos hence the CrackBerry articles and interest on that site. Pretty much a bust, however, but I agree with @GrapheneOS that they did not intend on causing problems with Graphene OS. Their business model is just not acceptable to the vast majority of interested people.

argante

I also don't think they have bad intentions or that it's a scam. I think their strategy as a company is bad. They made a pretty niche phone MP02, which has its fans. The phone is good quality, although I would improve a few things in it. And in my opinion they should publish Android for MP02 as open source and make a bootloader similar to how it works in Pixel. This way users could get involved in maintaining this operating system, testing and fixing bugs. This would give a chance to port solutions like hardened malloc etc. to MP02. And the company would focus on delivering a niche phone. Meanwhile, it's currently a nice phone, with a version of Android that is no longer supported and probably most users live in the belief that at any moment they can lose support for new bugs and be left with a useless phone.

As for the MC02 smartphone, I don't know what they're trying to achieve. They don't have a real niche here, because what they're offering can be achieved in other ways (e.g. Pixel+GOS). The costs probably force a subscription model, but I don't think anyone would want to pay for that when they have better alternatives (GOS). And finally, Switzerland will be one of the worst places for privacy.

area51

the Punkt MP02 is just a scam, it's not a way to get GrapheneOS.

Wrong. Your just wrong..
The Punkt MP02 is a small dumb phone, with 4G connectivity, USB tethering etc. Nothing what so ever to do with GrapheneOS. Its not a scam at all, a genuine, but irritating to use, little phone. Weighs next to nothing and can be carried in a pocket all day.

Dumdum

area51
Xtreix has already said it was a mistake with the names.

Xtreix

area51

Yes I confused the two names, I saw my mistake but I couldn't edit my comment anymore, the MP02 is indeed a kind of dumbphone.

area51

Xtreix so to clarify, what actually are you calling a scam, I am interested to find out?

Xtreix

area51 I was referring to Punkt MC02, but it seems that it's not really a scam, but that the marketing around the device was bad, Punkt removed mentions of GrapheneOS but the media kept falsely repeating that the MC02 uses or is based on GrapheneOS, which is not the case, Punkt seems to have good intentions and they tried to collaborate with GrapheneOS, it didn't work, anyway, if someone asked me, I wouldn't recommend the MC02 because you do much better with GrapheneOS on a supported Pixel, and the marketing around it isn't misleading.