iPhone 16 Pro > Pixel 10 Fold w/ GrapheneOS Questions

Composite0769

I ran GrapheneOS on a Pixel about 4 years ago but switched to iPhone for ease of use. I recently tried a Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 and loved the form factor, but couldn’t stand Samsung’s bloat and poor privacy practices.
My main question: how has GrapheneOS improved over the past few years? I’ve always enjoyed using it, but I’d be sacrificing some features:
∙ FaceTime (could replace with Signal)
∙ Apple Photos (I use Google Photos and have a MacBook as backup)
∙ Find My Friends for location sharing with my wife (could use Google Maps)
∙ iMessage
Security is my top priority, with privacy as a close second. Before jumping to a Pixel 10 Fold, I wanted to get the community’s input. Most of my banking apps and primary apps worked well on GrapheneOS last time, and aside from Microsoft Company Portal, everything functioned pretty well.
Thanks in advance!

N1b

Composite0769 I think you have a pretty good overview and experience. Both iOS and GOS will give you security (and while not as strong, iOS security is enough for the vast majority of threat models). Privacy however is barely possible on an iPhone as Apple can and will use a lot of what they get and there's no way around it.

Much of the iOS convenience stems from Apple controlling your system and having more agency over your data than you. You will make a lot of privacy sacrifices in the name of convenience and ecosystem with your Macbook, only you can decide whether that's worth it or not.

For a little deep dive I'd recommend this and this video by The Hated One. You'll have a good idea what you're in for and can make an informed decision afterwards.

N1b

Composite0769 regarding usability I personally love it. Haven't used iOS except for a few minutes on a colleagues phone, but the speed and intuitivity is much better solved on Android. GOS is not much different from the original Pixel OS, just without AI bloat therefore with new privacy and security options that are neither out of or in your way.

For example:

upon installing a new app you have a little checkbox to disable internet connection for this app right away
when an app tries to use DCL via memory or sensor permission (not available as a switch on Pixel OS) you get notified so you know whether it's needed or source of a problem
when an app needs storage access there's a nicely integrated storage scopes option in the list
Call recording (if available) is a one tap solution right there on the calling screen
other options like MAC randomization, duress/2FA pin or user profiles are where you expect them and out of your way if you don't need them.

The only thing that might feel "off" is if you use a different system language and many GOS options are still in English. Oh and right after installing or resetting GOS you're greeted with a very simple, boring, black and white interface (that never changed, and I like it that way).

horde

N1b MAC randomization is the default nowadays on modern OSes

N1b

horde That's only true at first glance. GrapheneOS defaults to per connection randomization which is unique and much better compared to pretty much every other OS either defaulting to randomization per network or none at all. I probably should have mentioned that extra info.

My point was that generally the additional hardening (such as better MAC randomization) is not in your way, but easy to find if you need to change it.

On poorly configured public Hotspots for example I constantly get disconnected and have to change the option to per network. That was never a hassle though, but rather a reminder that some tech around me is more invasive or insecure.

tux_

Signal can replace FaceTime and iMessage and also allows location sharing if you use Molly. The stock Signal app crashes if you don't have Google libraries and attempt to share a location.

Instead of Apple Photos I would use some self-hosted solution; I use Nextcloud to backup my photos and other content, but there are better tools like Immich for specifically intended as replacements.

starglider

I went from an iPhone 13 to a Pixel 10 Pro Fold running GOS and couldn't be happier. Everything that worked before works now; my only complaint is that the Android Oura ring app is sloppily-coded compared to the iOS version. Not GOS's or Google's fault.

The phone itself is great. Having a huge screen in your pocket is very cool, and it's the first foldable that's actually durable. The improvement to notification management and the quality of gBoard compared to iOS is mind-blowing. Apple's software team is just asleep.

Use BlueBubbles or OpenBubbles for iMessage; with them, nobody in my social circle even knows anything changed.

Oh, edited to add: you can do Facetime via Vanadium. Any iOS user can generate a link, and you can join via the browser. My wife and I use it all the time. BlueBubbles even does a clever trick of generating a link on the fly so they can just call you, it'll generate a notification, and then pop you right into a browser to join.