Questions to GOS users from someone considering switching from iOS:

avalanche

How long does the battery last on a heavy day? A number in hours I could use to compare with would be great.
What's the app opening speeds like? I've read that some people have unreasonably long app opening speeds.
Why use Vanadium over Firefox? Could I use Firefox instead if I wanted to?
How difficult is it to get 'bad' apps, like Snapchat? I literally would be unable to communicate with some of my friends without it, so they are non optional unfortunately.
How is password management integration like? Could you configure it like iOS so that logging in is as easy as pressing a prompt in the login screen, and the info is autofilled? I use bitwarden.
If you migrated from iOS to GOS, how did you like it? Was anything unexpected or hard to adjust to?

If I end up switching, I'll probably get the Pixel 7 Pro, or whichever is the flagship when they release. Many thanks in advance for any answers!

Standardwaste

avalanche

I switched from a iPhone 12 pro to P6P with GrapheneOs.

Battery life is much better on Graphene, a full charge will last me about 1.5 days. A heavy day I will have around 50% battery remaining. I do have almost all apps limited to no background data, and switched battery setting from optimized to restricted so they are only active when opened, aside from signal, email, and maps.
The apps do open slightly slower but its not noticeable enough that I consider it an issue, its a VERY slight difference. You can look up app spawning on the Graphene website, they explain how its part of a security improvement.
I am not qualified to answer that, I use Vanadium and have had no complaints. But yes you can install Firefox, Brave, Bromite, Tor or any android browser as far as I know.
You can install snap, insta, FB, twitter, whatever you want. You have more control over individual permissions or installing in a separate empty profile to not show contacts, call history, messages etc.
Bitwarden auto fill is completely functional.
I did and wish I had sooner. Nothing unexpected and not looking back at all. I found the stock camera underwhelming but completely functional, so I installed Google Camera and revoked all permissions. There are many ways to still use Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, twitter, Reddit, WhatsApp, etc that you don't need to lose communication with friends, family or communities that insist on participating in surveillance capitalism. You can always buy a unlocked Pixel of your choice and usually have 2 weeks to try Graphene and return it if its not for you. It did take me some time to find replacements for a lot of the apps I used daily on IPhone. I realized I didn't need many of them, and found suitable, privacy respecting replacements for the ones I do need. You can look up privacy guides, privacy tools, thenewoil, and eff.org for good recomendations. Good luck!

spiral

avalanche I switched from iphone 13 pro to p6a.

Battery life is great, similar to 13 pro
apps "taking a long time to load" is a total non -issue
I use Vanadium and Firefox and five other browsers too. Use whatever you want
The only app I can't get to work is Grindr. Every other app is fine. Every banking app I've tried works perfectly.
Password manager integration is so much better here than on iphone, this is one of the best parts of Android (for me). Bitwarden on iphone is totally mediocre compared to bw on gos. The only caveat to that is that bw and keepassxc are not currently playing well with Chromium-based browsers on gos, which I've been told if I remember correctly is an aosp issue. These pw managers work flawlessly on Firefox
of course there are things to get used to when coming from iOS to Android/gos - the entire thing is different, the feel is different, typing is different, the ability to engage in depth with the OS is totally different. iOS is amazing, gos is amazing, they're on different planets. Just relax and try it out, you can always change your mind and get an iPhone if you don't like gos

spiral

avalanche the only thing I really dislike is the very bright fingerprint sensor when in dark room, like when in bed at night. The white leds are obnoxiously bright if you're thumb isn't totally covering (blocking) them.

Standardwaste

In response to #2: https://grapheneos.org/usage#exec-spawning

lcalamar

just do it

lemonadehabitat

Please read the Usage guide. Vanadium is recommended and Firefox is recommended against due to security reasons.

I love how I can customize most things and still manage apps with bad behaviors quite well (e.g. cut Internet), install FOSS apps from the tap, have a reasonable file system, have a bunch of privacy enhancements not even iOS has, and I am no longer constrained to an ecosystem I could care less. I dislike how apps can detect and talk to each other on Android, and I have to use multiple profiles to mitigate this (GrapheneOS enhances this experience, but it's still worse than iOS). Also backup is broken as of today, and the PDF reader is very basic.

unwat

I've never had a problem with my battery life (P6). I usually keep the battery between 20-80%. I can use my phone before work, regularly at work, then at home before needing to charge, all using just 60% of the battery. And this is with a VPN always running, always on display, and Google stuff running on my main profile.
For the most part I haven't noticed any difference in app launch time from my old P5 running stock. The website says slower devices can take up to 500ms, but my P6 is not slow at all.
As another commenter has said, they cover that on the GOS website, but nothing's stopping you from using Firefox if you want to!
I haven't had any issues with any apps I want to use. Haven't tried Snapchat, but WhatsApp, FB Messenger, etc. all work fine for me. I even have a profile for work stuff which is basically all Google things like Google Docs, Drive, Google Meet. Also, no issues with them with sandboxed Google Play stuff.
I also use Bitwarden and autofill works well for me. You just need to set it up for auto fill.
I did iOS -> Pixel 5 running stock -> Pixel 6 running GOS. Only real pain is moving everything and getting used to subtle differences.

Overall, the way I feel after installing GOS on my phone is this phone with this OS feels like the first real phone I truly own, along with the data on it. I won't go back to iOS or use another Android OS.