While I completely understand GrapheneOS has a major focus on the privacy and security aspect of development.. The AOSP app situation really needs to be figured out in my opinion.
These apps are very out of date, and the UX does not live up to what most people expect from apps. They are functional, they are not the prettiest, or consistent with modern Android however and have a handful of small issues.
This is obviously intentional, as Google wants users using their applications.
I really think GrapheneOS has potential to resolve this issue. Maybe it would be beneficial to setup a funding page or something specifically for work on creating and maintaining libre apps, that "compete" with Google and Apple's stock apps, to replace the outdated AOSP ones.
I have read that GrapheneOS is working on a new gallery app. I am hoping that it is in line with Google/Apple's apps feature wise.
SimpleMobileTools suite is a good suite of tools, however they offer the bare minimum.
The user experience Google and Apple offer in their suite of stock apps is excellent. Photos, Calendar, Phone, Contacts, etc.
Yes a user could download the Google apps on GrapheneOS, however this really is not ideal for obvious reasons.
Calendar and Photos are the two big ones in my opinion that we could use work on. If we can create something that closely mirrors Google's apps, design and feature wise would be amazing.
Of course there may be some minor limitations due to the increasing use of remote AI to deal with certain stuff, as well as integration between a users account (importing info from Gmail into Calendar for example).
Furthermore the ability to seamlessly integrate with services such as Nextcloud, WebDAV, etc. would be amazing.
And users who wish for a more minimal experience, can choose to disable them and use the more minimal solutions that others have created such as the Simple suite of apps.
For reference:
Google Calendar: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.calendar
Modern design, good with colors, typical simple but powerful Google design, nice font and layout, etc.
Personally, I do not think Apple's calendar app competes with Google. Google's just is significantly better, Apple's is a bit more minimal.
Google Photos: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.photos
Nicely layed out, with different layout options to suit different needs. Powerful editing tools, typical modern and clean Google design, good fonts and spacing.
A big feature is the search and face detection imo. Not sure if this is possible easily locally, I assume Google is doing some sort of AI based detection. But maybe I'm wrong. Being able to search for people, and have it linked to a contact is amazing. Also to search for stuff such as "Pet", "Dog", "Fish". Also locations.
Another feature is map metadata. This could be utilized using OpenStreetMaps and any metadata within the photo and provide a map layout of all the photos taken in an area.
Apple Photos: https://www.apple.com/ios/photos/
Apple Photos is also a very beautiful app. Lots of similar features, nice layout.
Photos and Videos are a MAJOR part of a user's interaction on an operating system, especially now that people use them in place of cameras. Being able to easily look through everything, find stuff, organize it, and view it is very important imo.
I have tried pretty much every libre app avaiable from Aves, to Simple Gallery, and nothing offers anything close to these two stock apps.
GrapheneOS would do wonders to the entire AOSP community by working on something like this. I have heard something is in the works, I hope that it is just not another bare minimum style app however.. we have plenty of those.
I do think in the future, Photos, Contacts, etc. should all be replaced as well. But right now those apps serve minimal functions. As long as they can do their job, I think we need to deal with Calendar and Photos first. File manager would be another big one.
- I know Camera has been in the works for quite some time.
- Google Messenger I use after Signal removed SMS. I dislike all the other Messenger apps, but if someone made something in line with Google Messenger I would use it. The only downside is the lack of RCS support. Messenger is beautiful though, has plenty of features too.
If not, I hope someone with time and experience in the community would be able to step up. I can't be the only one who wants stuff like this. Again, I'd be willing to donate a little to help with something like this as well.