With whatever Google’s been doing lately to android, and the general decline in custom ROMs, I’m wondering if custom ROMs are even worth the hassle anymore or if just tweaking settings and using ADB on any phone is enough these days. Thoughts and suggestions?
I was recently wondering if I should try GrapheneOS on a second-hand Pixel, or PostmarketOS on a Pinephone… Any experience withe these ?
You 100% should.
I bought a second-hand Pixel, installed GrapheneOS the moment it arrived and never looked back.
I recently installed Curve for contactless NFC payments. Their support is terrible but, after some teething issues, it works without any problems.
GrapheneOS
Depends what you are looking for.
If you need a specific Android app that does not work on Waydroid, sure, go for GrapheneOS (or another deGoogled AOSP solution) but if you do no need that (and don’t mind carrying a rather larger phone with limited battery) then PmOS on PP is very interesting to explore.
GrapheneOS 100%, it’s a really good Android experience, unless you really want to root your device without much bother. You won’t find as much customisation as in other ROMs but it’s a very solid ROM and sandboxed play services is really nice.
GrapheneOS is great, but this move by Google may make it difficult for Graphene to continue to offer major updates. Only time will tell. But for the short term it’s a great option.
Happy with my 2nd hand pixel / graphene OS. Avoid Verizon models- they hate everyone they can’t control & make the boot loader impossible to unlock.
Linux on mobile, like pmOS, is great for tinkering, but I wouldn’t use it as a daily driver. The OG Pinephone also has quite weak hardware for the modern age. Pinephone Pro is a bit better, but still slow compared to even something like a OnePlus 6, which also supports Linux on mobile quite well, albeit, still with issues.