Leaving iPhone after 16 years for Android
For 16 years I’ve used an iPhone. I’ve owned maybe 4-5 models and my current one is an iPhone 11. The battery is knackered and I started to think what I’d do if I needed to replace it. iPhones are getting bigger and more expensive. The cheapest model, the iPhone 16e, starts at £599. I don’t want to spend that much money on a phone.
Lately I’ve become uncomfortable with Apple’s control over what I can do on my phone. If it’s not on the App Store, then I can’t run it, despite having bought the hardware. I used to find genuinely useful apps, but I can’t remember the last time I downloaded something like that. Nowadays it’s full of low-quality apps designed to extract micro-transactions from users, including children. Apple makes a ton of money from their commission.
Apple has the ability to remove apps from the App Store, including ones already purchased and downloaded, so oppressive regimes can force Apple to remove apps that they don’t like. In the UK, Apple has disabled end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, so the government – or whoever manages to compromise Apple’s key management – can access the data of users in iCloud, including all device backups. This is hugely invasive. I can’t even switch to another provider because Apple locks iOS down.
Let’s not forget Apple Intelligence: I don’t want generative AI crap on my phone or computer.
Overall, I don’t trust American tech companies to do the right thing anymore. They operate in an authoritarian regime. I can only see the situation getting worse.
So a week ago I switched to a Pixel 8a running GrapheneOS.
GrapheneOS is a privacy and security focussed mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project. One of its features is sandboxed Google Play, so you can download things like banking apps that don’t work or are unreliable on other Android OS like /e/os and LineageOS.
I chose a Pixel 8a because it is a device recommended by GrapheneOS and comes with 7 years of support from launch (May 2024). Wirecutter also recommends it as their budget pick. It’s also well-priced. I paid £349. I’d have preferred a Fairphone over a Google device, but they’re more expensive and unsupported by GrapheneOS.
Installing GrapheneOS via WebUSB was easy (and really cool). Overall, I’ve found it intuitive and easy to use. Perhaps it’s slightly less polished than iOS, but it’s fine.
It was easy to find replacement for apps. I already use Fastmail, so I downloaded their app for my email, calendars and contacts. I downloaded DAVx5 to sync my Fastmail contacts to the Contacts app. For now I have some calendars shared with my partner on iCloud. I’m accessing those via Fastmail too.
I simply stopped using iMessage. Everyone uses WhatsApp or, better, Signal anyway.
I replaced iCloud Photos with Ente. It uses end-to-end encryption. I’ve not uploaded my whole library yet, but it’s working fine so far.
I swapped Overcast for AntennaPod. I have noticed the absence of volume normalization, but I can live without it.
I’ve used Things to manage todo lists since ~2008. But really I have simple needs. So I’m trying out a plaintext todo list in Obsidian, with end-to-end encrypted sync via Obsidian Sync, and simply putting date-sensitive items in my calendar.
The only niggle so far was some lag on the GrapheneOS camera app when pressing the shutter button. I downloaded the Google Camera app and disabled network access. It’s much faster.
I’ve not tried out device backups yet, but since my data is either in Fastmail, Ente, 1Password or Obsidian, I feel comfortable with the risk. I might try backing up to a USB stick.
I installed Obsidian and Tor via .apk files. You just download and install it! I got Organic Maps from the Accrescent store. I might try out Obtainium.
Overall, I’m really happy. It’s been much easier than I expected to switch. I’ve probably spent 3-4 hours on it in total. Go for it!