From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

I've been a heavy iPhone user since 2007 but with iOS 26 I feel like I've
had enough with Apple messing around with the GUI, AI and simply changing things for the sake of changing them.

So I've been looking for an alternative that's privacy focused, free of
any AI stuff and just gives me a smart phonw with doing what I want it to
do, when I want it. I found GrapheneOS and looking at it and what devices
it supports it seems like the Pixel 9 is a good fit.

I have questions though:

1. Battery life - is it any good?
2. Camera and apps for it - can I still take decent photos with it?
3. Can I connect a WearOS watch to it? I use the Apple watch today and
have no problem replacing it with a more Android compatible product.
4. Any other thoughts/advice you may have?

Thanks.

--
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I
also keep handy.

W. C. Fields


--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Joakim Melin wrote:

Pixel 9

[snip]

Camera and apps for it - can I still take decent photos with it?

Pixel phones have tended to rely more and more on "cloud AI" features to enhance the photos they take, I doubt any of that works on a de-googled
phone.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Joakim Melin <joakim@sklaffkom.se> wrote:

I've been a heavy iPhone user since 2007 but with iOS 26 I feel like I've
had enough with Apple messing around with the GUI, AI and simply changing things for the sake of changing them.

So I've been looking for an alternative that's privacy focused, free of
any AI stuff and just gives me a smart phonw with doing what I want it to
do, when I want it. I found GrapheneOS and looking at it and what devices
it supports it seems like the Pixel 9 is a good fit.

I can only speak for a Pixel 7 Pro with GOS, but here goes:

I have questions though:

1. Battery life - is it any good?

It's fine - I get a day after charging to 80%, on a 3 year old phone with a battery at 567 cycles (ie pretty worn).

2. Camera and apps for it - can I still take decent photos with it?

Yes. The GOS camera app is basic but if you install the Pixel Camera app
the photos are just the same as the stock OS. (I think Pixel Camera
requires installing Sandboxed Google Play but not sure. You can remove
network permissions so it doesn't go chatting to Google servers if you don't want that)

3. Can I connect a WearOS watch to it? I use the Apple watch today and
have no problem replacing it with a more Android compatible product.

No idea, but as long as it works with non-Samsung phones I expect it to
work. Other Bluetooth stuff does. I would ask on the GOS forum to
confirm. From a brief skim of the forum (https://discuss.grapheneos.org/ )
it seems that people have them working with Google Play, 'nearby devices' permission and maybe Samsung browser installed, but some of those threads
are old.

4. Any other thoughts/advice you may have?

For the most part, 'everything works'. The main exceptions are apps which
use Play Integrity and block it for being a 'rooted' OS (it isn't). There's
a list of the status of banking apps (most work, a few don't): https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compatibility-with-grapheneos/

and it sometimes infects other kinds of 'money' apps (eg I had a taxi app
that refused to let me create an account).

Also a few apps don't like it if you sideload them or use an alternative
store app like Aurora Store rather than installing from the Play Store.

Theo
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Andy Burns, 2025-10-29 10:35:

Joakim Melin wrote:

Pixel 9

[snip]

Camera and apps for it - can I still take decent photos with it?

Pixel phones have tended to rely more and more on "cloud AI" features to enhance the photos they take, I doubt any of that works on a de-googled phone.

To test this, try the "Open Camera" app. This will give you an
impression how the camera works without any "AI" optimization.

See:
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera>
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Thank you Theo! Great info! Seems my banking app will work with
GrapheneOS.
--
I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I
also keep handy.

W. C. Fields

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2