I don't care if anyone has a Xiaomi, Oneplus, Samsung, etc. Each brand is using a modified version of Android, and they chose to be compatible with each other. But for example the "blue vs green bubble" drama is a thing specifically because of Apple locking their unsuspecting users into a closed ecosystem. And it sure isn't Android's fault for not being compatible with it.
The more power a company like this gains, the worse will it be for the whole industry.
I have used a number of android phones and iPhones, and I can say that the experience on an iPhone is vastly superior to anything android has to offer. Until that changes, this problem is going to continue.
Companies can keep pumping out dogshit all they want and slapping a different coat of paint on it, at the end of the day it’s still dogshit.
Someone needs to build an OS superior to apple’s that is designed exclusively and optimized for the hardware of the phone, and it seems unlikely that will ever happen. Also that fact in and of itself is the reason iPhones are and will always have a superior user experience than anything android has to offer.
I would love to see something similar that is more secure, more privacy focused, and still has as good of a user experience as an iPhone, but this is an accessibility vs security problem.
Apple has leveraged what they once touted as a safer option because they would look after the security part on behalf of the user and twisted it into a more sinister business model (or perhaps that was always the M.O.)
You are describing GrapheneOS. Privacy and Security focused and built to run on Pixel phone hardware only.
If what I read is true that does sound promising, but still leaves consumers with a number of issues.
You still need to support google to get this phone, (if part of the goal is to not support companies with questionable business practices) and while GrapheneOS does look promising I still have my doubts on the user experience.
From what I have read I believe you would need to install this OS yourself on the device. That to me is more of a workaround than a solution.
The typical user isn’t going to want to install a custom OS. This isn’t a product that is readily available to consumers to purchase through conventional means as far as I can tell. (I may be wrong on that, but it doesn’t appear that I could walk into a carrier store and purchase one ready to go).
Yes, the Pixel has specific hardware and security which makes it ideal for a private/secure phone. So it is unfortunate that a purchase supports Google, however the pixels are cheap so I assume Google is taking a profit loss to gain market (and data).
Graphene does have a web installer, so rather than the old days of connecting to a command shell and typing cryptic commands( for the average user) you connect your phone and click the web install buttons in order till you reach bottom of webpage. it gives you an instruction how to boot the phone into certain modes with volume and power buttons. While my mom isn't going to work with this a 9-10 year old could do it.
/e/ OS was selling preinstalled phones, I haven't seen the same from GrapheneOS yet...but I have not checked in depth to see if somebody is offering this.
Preinstalled is where it needs to get to though.