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Android. Google doesnt invest anything in AOSP it seems, GrapheneOS is the only really well made Distro.
Androids security model is a joke as every phone is bloated with malware that has full access over everything.
Banking apps need Google, map apps need Google.
There is no split screen in AOSP since forever.
No tools on the lockscreen. I am not talking about crazy ios like tools that are basically a seperate OS, its still a lockscreen. But camera and torch?
So many restrictions. RootlessJamesDSP is a good example of crazy workarounds that still dont work in the end. No FOSS appstore with autoupdates is also a pain.
Does GrapheneOS have microg or similar now? The last time I used it, it didn't have it, and some apps (Signal, I'm looking at you) had a constant notification. I went to CalyxOS, which I like fine, but it's more for the masses (gives up a little privacy for convenience) than GrapheneOS is.
It has sandboxed google play and services
Calyx is not hardened at all like Graphene. MicroG is supposed to be insecure, I miss UnifiedNLP though.
GrapheneOS has sandboxed Google Play apps, which are said to support all things. So they have the regular apps but with a compatibility layer so they work as normal apps like they should.
I dont use it though, and there is no Openstreetmap redirect or UnifiedNLP
That's a good addition to the ecosystem. I don't know if I want an official Play Services implementation on my phone, though. Even one without root access. I know microg isn't perfect, but Google has been removed as much as functionally possible from it. I may just deal with the persistent notification, once I upgrade my phone (on 4xl atm), because I really liked everything else about GrapheneOS and want to compare it to CalyxOS properly, not after only 2 weeks on Graphene. How do you like it? Have you noticed that you're missing anything important?
it has something called sandboxed google play services. they claim its more secure and private than microg. also in my experience notifications and location is more reliable with it than microg. also you can disable the constant notification for apps like signal and it still works afaik.
Their sandboxed implementation allows access to the entire profile. They even suggest creating a profile for those apps that require the Google play services. Microg at least removes Google as much as functionally possible in order to limit the data google receives. You lose some functionality, but not enough to cause any issues for me, even not with banking apps.
As far as the persistent notification for Signal: I can disable it, but won't receive notifications of new messages until I open the app; or I can hide it, but then won't receive any popup notifications at all (technically, they do come up, but they're hidden). Haven't found a way to hide the persistent notification and still receive popup notifications of new messages.
I think what GrapheneOS is doing with Google play services is amazing and, depending on your needs, may be better than microg. It's just not there yet for me. Additionally, google can suddenly decide that using Google play services like this is against their ToS and submit a cease and desist order against them, and GrapheneOS's implementation becomes illegal to distribute.