I installed GrapheneOS so it's been quite an experience! But it works well. On paper it's an upgrade from the Samsung S10+ I had, but I think real world use isn't that different.

The Samsung killed everything and so the battery was quite good, while GrapheneOS isn't as bad so apps stay running in the background when I want them too, but also occasionally kill the battery. I've had to be more careful with which apps I allow to run in the background.

I've noticed the battery life is similar to the Samsung despite the bigger battery on paper. I did buy used, but the phone self-reports battery health as "good".

All in all it's a similar phone to my old one I think (despite the old one being about 5 years old). But I don't regret it, it's quite nice not having to have a Samsung account and a google account logged in. Apps from Google Play all work even though Play store is sandboxed and has no special OS privileges.

Occasional bugs and crashes that are most likely due to using a custom launcher (home screen).

[–] eagleeyedtiger 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Hmm yeah I’ve read about it not having that great battery life, however coming from the S9+ that only has a 3500mAh battery, I’m hoping it’s a bit better than what I use currently. It is a pre-owned phone with supposedly 100% battery health, but it’s also from one of those physical stores that primarily sells second hand and refurb phones/tablets with a 1 year warranty. So hoping there’s no major issues.

Is GrapheneOS worth using if you do use a bunch of google services? 🤔

[–] Dave 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Oh you should hopefully notice the battery jump!

Is GrapheneOS worth using if you do use a bunch of google services? 🤔

I would say not. Android, and especially Android on Pixels, is a Google ecosystem. When you don't use many Google things like me, it's hard to get away from them on a normal Android install. The OS is endlessly sending data about you to Google you're forced to have a Google account, etc.

When you are already using a bunch of Google services, Google already has all your data and you're gonna like how your Google account is integrated into everything. So unless you are doing it for fun, I'd probably stick with the stock OS and get the experience they worked hard to design for Google users.

[–] eagleeyedtiger 2 points 9 months ago

Thanks, I suspected so. I'll see how it goes!