Above Phone — Making money off Graphene OS

niko-goso

I follow a couple people who promote Above Phone and don't promote Graphene OS. There is no reference to Graphene OS on the Above Phone website other that to say their phones are built on Graphene OS.

Above Phone do not discuss Graphene OS other than to say they use it. They do not indicate that they support the work that Graphese does, nor do they recognize the open source nature of the Graphene OS project. There is none of the usual expressions of good will and support from Above Phone that comes with an appreciation of relying on an open source project.

It doesn't look good. It looks like exploitation. What is the reality?

Graphene OS could create an optional subscription service for regular small payments without compromising their open source culture — they need funding to shield themselves from attacks against privacy and security [removed some off topic stuff here].

nandohyphen1

niko-goso There is no reference to Graphene OS on the Above Phone website other that to say their phones are built on Graphene OS.

I bought my first privacy phone from them. Yep, no reference to GrapheneOS. If I had known, I would have just installed GrapheneOS myself. I spent over $1000 for a Pixel 6a. I could have spent $750 on a 9 Pro and installed GrapheneOS myself. But I think they now reference GrapheneOS on their site

de0u

niko-goso Graphene OS could create an optional subscription service for regular small payments without compromising their open source culture [...] Independent financial security will give them options which means freedom to operate.

They have set up a variety of payment methods: https://grapheneos.org/donate

Eumenia

niko-goso I follow a couple people who promote Above Phone and don't promote Graphene OS. There is no reference to Graphene OS on the Above Phone website other that to say their phones are built on Graphene OS.

Do you mean them?
https://abovephone.com/
It seems like their are clearly saying that they use GrapheneOS.

nandohyphen1

But I can say that their customer service is very good, and I have had good experience with them. I just wouldn't pay that much for a phone again

xxx

nandohyphen1 But I can say that their customer service is very good, and I have had good experience with them.

They charge their premium like Nitrokey with their Nitrophones. Nothing wrong with that but pricy.

deskpop3248

Charging $999 for a pixel 9a 128GB with GOS preinstalled is highway robbery! Technically they do “reference” GOS in their logo for above phones which has a little A inside what appears to be the graphene os logo (when they mention degoogled devices on the front page).

gMan

deskpop3248 Charging $999 for a pixel 9a 128GB with GOS preinstalled is highway robbery!

WHAT!!! jeezes, you can get a 9a for free with Cape and have a worthy carrier in the process - that's crazy

0xC0DED0D0

Quick glance, and GrapheneOS is clearly mentioned — logo and all — on the product page: https://abovephone.com/

"Free software" is free as in free speech, not as in free beer. Above is doing nothing wrong here, in that regard. If they're being fair, they donate back to the GrapheneOS Foundation too.

Not sold on the idea of $999 for a Pixel 9a, sure, but apparently you get their support for that money. Worth it for some, perhaps?

To each their own, but I see nothing fundamentally wrong in their offer or business practice at first glance.

gMan

0xC0DED0D0 paying an extra $500 for support is insane in my opinion, but as you said, to each their own

nandohyphen1

gMan I can confirm that the support team is wonderful help. But from now on, I'm flashing GrapheneOS myself!

mercury

They are not the only ones selling Pixels with GrapheneOS already installed, with a huge profit attached.

AcclaimSublevel19

I wouldn't trust a phone preinstalled with GOS from anyone. It's always best to flash yourself.

Vomitorius

AcclaimSublevel19 it's like a some sort of a level test. If one is not capable to do this simple thing as install grapheneos from a browser, one is not yet ready for GOS...

Aubie

Why are you all upset about it? U can do your own research and flash yourself a pixel. There are enough people that rather give that money so it will be flashed well and function well. It's a smart idea if the business also donate to graphene for all the work.

mmobder

Aubie furthermore, it's a self-filtering - if the person doesn't do ANY research on the topic (risks, reasonability, justification, etc), then it's indeed OK for them to install/configure.

Those who are indeed committed to a requirement of security/privacy would never outsource such activity (and they probably install system clean on their laptops etc)

Also, I assume, there are businesses who would never do it themselves and buy from such service providers instead.

mercury

Vomitorius it's like a some sort of a level test. If one is not capable to do this simple thing as install grapheneos from a browser, one is not yet ready for GOS...

What a load of elitists rubbish,
You are just the type to make people not bother with GrapheneOS
GrapheneOS is for anyone, no matter what level of knowledge they have.

nandohyphen1

Eumenia thats the place I got my Above phone from, so yes, thats them.

Eumenia It seems like their are clearly saying that they use GrapheneOS

Yes, they do. And I've got nothing against charging more for a Pixel with GrapheneOS. Maybe there really are some people that just can't understand installing GrapheneOS or are older and don't have tech knowledge. I think this is good for them. But yeah, I'll be installing GrapheneOS myself on my next phone

niko-goso

Eumenia It seems like their are clearly saying that they use GrapheneOS.

Do they have a section that discusses the GOS project and how they support it? Do they link to the GOS repository or the GOS website?

If you read my OP you'll see that I indicate that they mention GOS but that is all.

I believe, based on the growing climate of aggression against privacy and Libre Open Source, GOS needs all the support it can get.

It is awesome that a company chooses to sell packages of GOS (and laptops) to reach a wider market but let's not forget why they exist — because of GOS.

I've donated to GOS and will keep donating because the project is SO incredibly valuable. But it doesn't help GOS when companies don't fully get behind them in their marketing and instead appear to just use the excellent reputation of GOS.

I could be wrong but they don't present a great picture of support — just "we use GOS".

niko-goso

FWIW, I found out about Above Phone from Derrick Broze who interviewed Alexander Ray, the former communications officer with the United Nations linked in my OP. Derrick is right on the money and has excellent scholarship in his journalism and reporting. And yet I still asked Derrick why he was not also promoting GOS for those in his audience who were more technical that Above Phone's typical market.

In effect I was critiquing his singular promotion of Above Phone.

Vomitorius

mercury no. If you have installed gos and afterwards installed gmail and facebook, you did a unhinged nonsense due to poor understanding and you don't need gos.
It is not for everyone, it is for those who understand.

Watermelon

Vomitorius no. If you have installed gos and afterwards installed gmail and facebook, you did a unhinged nonsense due to poor understanding and you don't need gos.

It seems that you're the one who misunderstands. None of the GrapheneOS features listed on the features page are undermined by any specific app being installed, and all of these features meaningfully improve security. You're spreading misinformation. Saying that installing any app whatsoever compromises the security benefit of GrapheneOS's features is factually incorrect, and quite rude.

wizoatk

Vomitorius It is not for everyone, it is for those who understand.

Elsewhere the project explicitly describes itself as:

GrapheneOS: The private and secure mobile operating system with Android app compatibility.
[...]
Security and privacy, designed for everyone.