"I tried completely de-Googled Android -- here's what happened." "De-Googled Android basically means that the OS is just the raw elements of Android itself without any of the Google flavorings thrown in. That means no Play Store, no Play Services, and no Pixel-specific features. It's actually the purest form of Android."

"I picked up a Zenfone 8 (one of the most powerful supported devices) and tried to get /e/OS installed. Things did not go well." Installation was super hard, I'll skip quoting any of the technical details.

"But once I got the Pixel 4a up and running, the experience smoothed out." "The highlight is the new App Lounge, the place where you install applications. Not only does it mirror many of the apps in the Play Store, but it lets you install Progressive Web Applications (PWAs) and open-source apps like you might find on F-Droid."

"Now GrapheneOS is interesting. It's based on AOSP, not LineageOS like /e/OS technically is. The developers for Graphene have gone to ridiculous lengths to harden the system against security threats. It's barebones and simple, and the stock apps seem pretty good for the most part. The Vanadium browser (a hardened version of Chromium) is quick to load pages and switch between tabs."

I got a kick out of the name "Vanadium". Vanadium is right to the left of chromium on the periodic table (one less atomic number).

I tried completely de-Googled Android -- here's what happened

#solidstatelife #cybersecurity #opensource #android