- cross-posted to:
- android@lemdro.id
- cross-posted to:
- android@lemdro.id
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Can someone ELI5 me what’s so special about Google’s SoCs that no other manufacturer could do (preferably citing sources not involved)?
I still find it weird that a major manufacturer would bother with a ROM.“Hello Moto” (iust my first, unfiltered thought)
That’s nice, but how much will those phones cost? Will GrapheneOS be an option on the low end devices or will they only support “some” devices, which happen cost as much as a Pixel anyway?
great
While the Motorola/GrapheneOS news is interesting, it’s a shame that GrapheneOS’s lack of root access continues to be a significant limitation. For users who prioritize data ownership and the ability to create full, local backups (Swift Backup being a prime example), it’s simply not a viable option. Security is important, but so is control over your own data.
I think most people here don’t really understand what’s going on here. Graphene OS is an Android mod with some extra security features designed to run on a hardened hardware. The main goal of Graphene OS is to protect users from some very specific attacks like some devices police uses to unlock phones or some targeted hacks by state actors. Unless you’re worried you may be targeted by such an attack and have some date you need to protect from them you don’t really need Graphene OS. You can run any of the other deGoogles Android mods on any hardware that supports it. You can already buy phones with pre-installed /e/ of iode ROMs. Many other phones support Lineage OS. Also, let’s keep in mind that GrapheneOS only supports Pixel because they don’t want to allow people to run their OS on hardware they don’t think is secure enough. It’s their choice not to support other phones.
Also, Google still controls AOSP so this does not solve any of the bigger Android issues. Motorola forking AOSP and providing the resourced needed to keep the development going would be amazing news. This is just one phone maker promising to fulfill the security requirements of Graphene OS. It’s basically like Dell offering Ubuntu laptops. Good news but it will not have a big impact on the ecosystem.
This is nonsense. Everyone needs the most secure phone possible, especially considering it’s the only device some people will ever own. None of the other de-Googled offerings come close to the security features that Graphene offers, some of which are custom built solutions. They go above and beyond what the typical ROM does, which is why it even supports a lot of banking apps that would normally be blocked.
There’s a good reason people talk about GrapheneOS a lot lately, and not any of the many alternative Android ROMs that exist.
Also, let’s keep in mind that GrapheneOS only supports Pixel because they don’t want to allow people to run their OS on hardware they don’t think is secure enough
Obviously. That’s the point: Graphene isn’t just any de-Googled ROM, it’s specifically a product designed for security-conscious users. If someone doesn’t care about security and just wants to dick around on an old Android device, they can use one of the many toy ROMs out there (like iodé)
The main goal of Graphene OS is to protect users from some very specific attacks like some devices police uses to unlock phones or some targeted hacks by state actors.
That’s simply not true. It does do those things, but that’s not “the main goal”. Not sure where you got that from?
Nice try officer.
It’s not just degoogling is the reason for using grapheneos. There are many other user friendly controls. For instance, you block apps from network use, so your click farming game doesn’t track everything about you.
iode has a build in app that let’s you automatically block trackers for each app. You can manage internet connection and allow specific trackers separately for each app. I think internet access is a basic Android permission, any ROM can just block internet access for apps. I’ve used iode before, I’m using Graphene OS now. If restoring all the apps wasn’t such a pain in the ass I would go back to iode. It also had a nice ‘long press’ navigation button shortcut feature, pattern unlock for the lockscreen and automated backups to self hosted ownCloud instance. Graphene OS is good but it’s not a game changer.
Reproducible builds and lack of telemetry, plus hardening against compromise (by any actors) is my personal use case. I only run free/libre infrastructure privately, and hope to move on to open/libre hardware in future.
If you live in the united states, then you DO need protection against police and state attacks.
Let’s see if it gets released before GrapheneOS and unlockable bootloader get outlawed
That’s the point, right? Google is trying to lock down Android even more, and third party vendors can see the increasing risk. If they fork now, they can maybe undercut the increasing monopoly efforts.
I am sure they are also seeing a growing demand for more privacy, the only reason own a pixel is because of GrapheneOS. If I could buy a phone with the OS pre installed I would, don’t know if they are going to do that. Also, by patterning with GrapheneOS they don’t has the development cost and they can trade on Graphenes name
OEM, they can lock the bootloader. So at least there’s that
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Any non Google phone running graphene would be epic.
Having a vendor explicitly supporting it…epic is an understatement.
Motorola Mobility belongs to Chinese Lenovo but headquarters are in Chicago. Not sure if that makes it better or worse regarding privacy and surveillance compared to USA only.
I had completely forgotten Lenovo bought Motorola from Google some 10 years ago. Honestly haven’t seen a Motorola phone in at least that long …
Been using motorola for a long time. I bought Moto Z in 2016 and it booted with “Motorola company” text in the end of the boot video. After Lenovo acquisition, phone updated and video now said “Motorola, a Lenovo company”.
Thankfully, Motorola haven’t entshittified over these years. Still a solid phone. Almost no bloat.
maybe my next phone will be a Motorola.
My last few phones have been Motorolas and I’ve been very very happy with them.
My only issue was that back then, I wasn’t really paying attention to alternative OSs like Graphene, Lineage or e/os and was therefore not really too concerned with ROM support/chip set. When I switched over to e/os, two of my Motorola’s (including the one I WANT to use with it) has no ROM support because it’s running a Mediatek chipset. So I’m using my second to last one while my nice new one collects dust.
Moving forward I’ll be paying more attention to Qualcomm vs Mediatek.
yeah i might focus on Android phones that have Good ROM/ support
i think their graphene OS powered phone will have bootloader unlocking.i hope Google does not take away Sideloading. (but i think graphene returns it)
Me too. I’ve always bought Google Pixels but I don’t want to give Google my money anymore.
So I’ll probably buy a Motorola if this deal gets through.
Me too. I’ve always bought Google Pixels but I don’t want to give Google my money anymore.
what about used?
What phone do you use now?
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I’m on a Google Pixel 9A.
But at least I didn’t pay for it, Google paid me, thanks to a clever mix of a big 9A launch discount, a trade-in discount and the fact that the older Pixel I traded in had already been partially refunded because of the infamous battery problems.
i bought a mororolla 3 years ago and it still lasts 2 days on a charge. id say go for it.
i gotta see first if Motorola/Lenovo will actually ship graphene OS and other factors.
they dont sound like bad phones and even better with this collab
This is great news. While I still think we should make a push towards Linux phones being mainstream so that we don’t keep this duopoly on OSes, it’s nice to know that at least one manufacturer is currently defying googles obvious goal of suppressing third party ROMs and marketplaces.
Thanks for the reality check. While this a good development, I share your concern and we should not stop,or even slow, developing any fully free as in freedom OS. I tried PostmarketOS on an old Oneplus 6T recently and I estimate we have one or two more phone replacement cycles until I think it’ll be ready for me to switch.
I have a 6T and was thinking about getting postmarketos on it, what didn’t work for you? Which “desktop” did you choose for it? there’s like 5 options for that and I really have no idea what to do.
I used KDE because that’s what I use on desktop. I hear some of the others are further along. Flashing was easy. I could not set up my SMB shares in dolphin and if it wont talk to my NAS, it’s not terribly useful to me. I will play around some more with it sooner or later. I believe I used Android- tools on Linux to send the partitions via fastboot commands. It was a 2 gen old phone for me (had the OP9 after it) so I wasn’t worried about anything going wrong. Feel free to shoot me a DM if you get stuck and have a specific question. I will try to help.
Volla phone (has choice between ubuntu touch and android rom) seems pretty cool.
Guess I know which brand my next smartphone upgrade will be.
If they did some nice 7" tablets too, that would be perfect.
Lenovo/Moto is weird about that… The android phones and android tablets have next to nothing to do with each other.
I do have a couple of their tablets and like them well enough, but you might as well consider them an entirely different vendor versus the Moto phone part of the business.
Well that’s a shame.
I’ve been looking around for a replacement to my aged Samsung A6 (which has been given an extended life by replacing the factory ROM with something with less bloatware, but is still pretty limited in terms of memory) which is not a Surveillance Outpost for just who knows how many nations and just about any companies willing to pay the 3 cents of whatever for the data, and all the Linux and degoogled Android makers only have 10"+ ones, which are too big for my use case which carry a tablet on a coat or trousers back pocket when I’m going to be sitting down somewhere and waiting for something so that I can read books and maybe browse the internet on their free WiFi.
Personally I would LOOOVE a small Linux tablet, but I’m OK with some kind of privacy respecting Android which isn’t riddled with backdoors mandated by governments which have Information Courts issuing Secret Bulk Information Collecting Orders, like the US and the UK.
I remember my original Moto G. It was a good phone for the time. I will follow Graphene wherever they go until a Linux phone is ready.
Hello Moto!
SailfishOS runs in Jolla phones (linux) and PostmarketOS is doing strides.
Unfortunately, SailfishOS is not FOSS, and FOSS must be the basis of all trust, or else you have no idea to tell what kind of software (spyware) the vendor is operating on your phone. At least Jolla is starting to open-source some traditionally proprietary components.
I looked at their latest phone on their website. The specs look better than some of the other Linux manufacturers. They finally ditched the 720p display that was holding back the Pine, Jolla, and similar Linux devices for an FHD panel. I appreciate that they are differentiating on user-benefitting hardware features like swappable batteries, SD cards, and headphone jacks seems like a smart strategy as these are things mainstream manufacturers largely refuse to implement but are popular among a good chunk of users. Sure, there will be a mainstream phone with a brighter screen, faster processor, better “features”, but it looks like the hardware is finally on par with the rest of the market. I’m really happy to see this!
If I can get GrapheneOS + headphone jack + SD card slot, I am in.
I’d really like a removable battery as well.
I’d add “less than 15cm tall” too. I’ve had enough of stupid giant phones that don’t fit in pockets and where you can’t even reach the top or other side with your thumb.
That would be like a dream come true. I’m about to become excluded from mobile technology as my phone seems to be starting to present hardware failures, and I can’t stand to use large ones.
SD slot would be great. Fuck every major company getting rid of it, so you have to use their cloud provider.
I didn’t even realise “no SD card” was an option. That’s shitty and awful.
+1 for the headphone jack
They spotted an opportunity
Good. Now if only they could make the Edge+ with the same relative spec sheet and ditch the curved glass in 2027. I’d buy it in a heartbeat for Graphene. My next phone WAS going to be a Pixel for the broader case/screen protector support, but that would make me reconsider cause I would really miss the chop chop flashlight.
Chop chop flashlight?
Motorola phones have a feature that allows you to “chop” with your phone twice to turn on/off the flashlight. It sounds super mundane, but it is way more convenient than you can imagine. Especially for me as an athletic trainer when I’m testing pupil response during a concussion evaluation. They also allow you to twist your phone twice to open the camera, but I don’t find that as convenient since double tapping the lock button also works.
That’s pretty cool. Did you ever find it activating accidentally?
No. You have to be pretty deliberate about it. Honestly, its pretty impressive how well tuned it is.
Now I need to try it somehow
If you have tasker on Android or GOS there’s a download for it called ‘chop to flashlight’ and can adjust the sensitivity so it doesn’t turn on in your pocket or bag.
Just tried it on my razr, had no idea it was a thing but that’s not surprising given I don’t really set up accessibility features on my phones. You do have to be quite forceful with it, kind of whipping it back once at the end of a swing. Neat.
Well, fuck. I really hoped they would pick FairPhone. Motorola is… Okay. I guess they made the Nexus 5 ; which was one of the best phones ever.
I hope they make a SMALL one, I am so tired of this GIGANTIC pixel 9.
Fairphone isn’t available everywhere while Motorola is. It’s pretty easy to understand why they chose them.
That’s not the reason, the real reason is Fairphone doesn’t take security seriously. The GrapheneOS devs have called them out numerous times on that.
Also a good reason but you can’t get Fairphones in North America which is a huge market.
But if they partnered with GrapheneOS, there could have been a concerted effort to remedy that.
Depends on if Fairphone wants to take security ‘seriously’ by Graphene OS opinion.
I don’t know the details of these specific folks, but sometimes a security team can be wholly unreasonable and advocate for breaking useful capabilities. E.g. there are some security folks that would say the entire possibility of unlocked bootloader is an unforgiveable security no-no. They can even argue with each other, I know a security team that says password managers are a no-no and humans should remember every credential that they would have otherwise put in a password manager, while most security folks would agree a password manager is totally worth it for using randomized passwords.
So I tend to reserve judgement on disagreements between a ‘security authority’ until I hear nuance of specifics on both sides. I could easily believe GrapheneOS wants some things that are fundamentally at odds with what Fairphone wants rather than just Fairphone being sloppy about it or something.
An unlocked bootloader that can’t be relocked IS a major no no since in that case it’s impossible to verify the integrity of the operating system and prevent malware from loading during boot up.
Who haven’t the gosdevs called out? Not even OpenBSD are as callous and their work is rock solid.
Actually LG made the Nexus 5, Moto did the Nexus 6, developed while Google owned Motorola and released a few weeks after Lenovo bought them.
Depending on your definition of ‘small’, your only hope might be if they did Razr and you used it folded up. That’s credibly small, though I don’t know if Graphene would be game for bothering to do that sort of multiple display work.
Motorola gets a little bit of love from me because they were (maybe still are?) the only ones who allowed me to shout “COMRADE MOTO!” to wake my phone up
I will not say “Hey Google” in a million years. I refuse.
SOVIET ANTHEM PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND
That’s definitely worth a fair few points. Always rubbed me the wrong way that you couldn’t change it to whatever you wanted.
I think LG made the Nexus 5, though.
