No, I got a pixel 7 and put calyx on it. Better than any samsung I’ve had. I don’t plan on going back to a closed system ever again.
Here here. After years of Nexuses and Pixels, I flirted with the iPhone for a couple of years. I finally grabbed a Pixel 5 earlier last year, and eventually a Pixel 8 to run Graphene. No play services, and I’m getting 3-5 days of battery life for a phone that I don’t feel constantly attached to.
That’s how I feel with my Pixel 7 Pro. I opted for GrapheneOS though. I did dabble with LineageOS with root and Play Integrity Fix, LSposed, and various other magisk modules but ultimately decided GrapheneOS was the route for me. I left GOS for LineageOS due to no Android Auto support, but it has been brought to GOS luckily.
Calyx is amazing for me, I love it. BUT android auto doesn’t work on it, which is lame. I’ve learned to deal with it and use waze instead.
What drew you into using Calyx over Graphene if I may ask?
I looked at my requirements of being stable and secure, and calyx seemed to have the most focus on that plus having a good outward image. Graphene’s main dev has had a troubled past with criticism.
I have seen rumblings about the people regarding GrapheneOS and some problematic behavior and such, but admittedly never looked to deep into it. However, everything that GraphrneOS fits the bill for me, so I never bothered looking into Calyx. From reading, GOS was recommended over calyx for my pixel 7 pro. I admittedly didn’t know too much about calyx.
Though totally and completely valid reasoning behind your choice. It was more of a curiousity for me as to why calyx over gos. Thank you!
Does Android Auto in Graphene still require Google Maps to be installed, or is there a shim? If not, I wouldn’t be surprised if Calyx writes one, once they implement whatever black magic Graphene devs came up with to make AA work.
As a related example, Calyx has a Google Photos shim, so you can use other galleries with gcam. I just added Calyx’s f-droid repository, and use that with my Graphene install.
For now, I’m happy using my Mazda CX-5’s built in navigation with bluetooth audio. It’s nice enough to tile both side by side, and it’s less fiddly than AA. But my next car might not be as favorable, so I’m glad to have AA as an option.
With AA on GOS you have to use the sandboxed google play services, and it will use Google maps. There however may be a way to use a shim for other navigation platforms. I admittedly don’t have much further knowledge of how all of the AA, Play Services, or other services are integrated.
That’s unfortunate, Maps is near the top of the list of Google code I want nowhere near my phone. But now that the first domino has fallen, I’m sure folks are working on some de-googling.
I would love if the EU finds a way to force standardization of screen casting.
Completely understandable. It does route location through GrapheneOS location provider, as well as geocoding I believe.
No, Samsung has lost the plot for the origins of their success - hardware supremacy and overwhelming features (e.g. SD card slot, headphone jacks). As I mentioned in another post discussing Apple overtaking Samsung for the first time in a decade in volume of sales, they removed everything that made their phones a compelling device, and decided to be an equally expensive iPhone clone. In an era where consumers are so starved for hardware features that Nothing Phone made a living out of glowing back plates, and iPhone got applauded for an action button, Samsung’s leadership has seriously miscalculated and failed.
100% this. The Note 4 from 2014 has a higher resolution Display than the S24 and if you go by Pixels per Inch it even beats the S24 Ultra! Not that Resolution is the most important thing ever but still just crazy they only went backwards from the S6 onwards in that regard.
Its this shift in mentality that I despise. From “how much tech CAN we put in” to “how much tech do WE NEED to put in”. Clearly Samsung’s phone devision is being run by bunch of beancounters instead of tech enthusiasts.
The Note 4 from 2014 has a higher resolution Display than the S24 and if you go by Pixels per Inch it even beats the S24 Ultra!
TIL, that’s crazy
Yeah it was the time where all these manufacturers were pushing each other. A few months earlier the LG G3 was the first mainstream 1440p Phone and not even 2 years earlier HTC released the first 1080p phone.
Personally, the main interest I have in this thing is how much lower it will put the S23 price.
Yeah thats all im hoping on,y s22 is in such bad shape because the stupid things are so flimsy. But i refuse tp pay the price for another one until they all come dow or this one finally shits its self for good
No. I stopped buying flagships the moment the battery in one of my old ones started swelling. At that exact point, the smartphone became just another utility device for me.
Honestly I really don’t care. Even new Android versions are pretty boring nowadays. The whole environment has settled down and Google now just pushes updates every now and then but nothing changes.
Same with Samsung. They have a good idea on how to create modern devices - but they have this idea since a few years now. Nothing really surprises me anymore in their devices.
Android’s restriction is getting tighter with every update thats the change they push.
Still the best mobile OS we have.
Take a shot every time someone mentions AI
We could have a bingo
As a language model I cannot endorse taking a shot and partaking in other unhealthy activities ...
Not in the slightest, as the main S-series has long left the price segment I consider valid for an everyday-use device like a smartphone.
I’ll watch what MKBHD has to say about it but that’s about it
Yes! My s20+ battery just sucks now, overall fairly useable, but only half a day just gets to me. Hoping to upgrade for the s24+ or maybe the s23+ depending on how it stacks out.
If you’re only problem with your current phone is the battery, maybe look into replacing the battery.
Either DIY or bring it to a reputable repair shop.
I just replaced the battery of my OnePlus 7 Pro (and a backup OnePlus 7 Pro also) myself. Was a lot easier than I thought and now the battery life is great again.
The SD865 in it is more than capable to tackle anything I do (no heavy gaming or other resource heavy tasks) so instead of spending $800+ on a new phone I spent $25 on a battery.
I’m also running a custom ROM (crDroid) so I don’t have FOMO on the latest software.
Interesting!
How is your custom ROM working with banking apps?
I don’t know about all banking apps, but the Bank of America app works just fine.
Thanks!
(it doesn’t)
I did some research, apparently some can out of the box, for some others you need Magisk. The better way is apparently to use GrapheneOS on a Pixel as you can relock your bootloader?
I can’t wait! I have the Fold 4, and it was great when I was a power user, but I’m just not using enough features to justify the weight. And the reliability has been mediocre. I nearly hopped on a Flip 5 but I want to see how the S24 lineup compares.
No I changed to Pixel phones, not going back.
I will be window shopping.
I got my S23U a few months ago and couldn’t be happier. The battery life and performance of a Snapdragon chip is miles ahead of Exynos, which my region used to be sentenced to before.
Now, there are rumors of Samsung going back to Exynos (or “Dream Chip”, as rumored) in the usual regions. Hopefully they stick to Snapdragon with the Ultras at least…
With how great my Ultra is, and how little changes there will apparently be, and downgrades from 10x to 5x, I really see no issue in waiting 1-2 more years before starting to consider an upgrade. Any AI chip buzzwords don’t work on me - and even if they would, it would be one of the first generations of such, so waiting is even more advisable.