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Which option would you recommend: Pixel with Graphene OS (cheapest new phone is $500) OR A Cheap Mototola Budget Phone (new at $200, sometimes on discount at $140) running Lineage OS? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 5 days ago by DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works to c/privacy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/45425575

I mean we all know about the sideloading restriction thing. So I wanna explore alternative OSes, just gathering info, not sure if I'll even end up buying another phone (currently have a Samsung as a main phone, and in North America they are bootloader locked).

Like I know Graphene OS is supposedly more secure, but is it worth paying so much more for a phone? And used phones are kinda sketchy btw, most originate from a carrier so unlockability is in question (I'm not playing the buy/return "lootbox" game lol, so much hassle and its never guaranteed when a seller would even accept a return).

The moto I was looking at apparantly was on CalyxOS's supported list, but they suspended development for some reason, so Lineage is the only Custom ROM left other than Graphene.

Graphene seems cool, but idk if its really that much better. Getting a pixel is directly giving Google the most money, and I don't feel so good about that after they closed sourced Pixel device tree codes (or whatever that thing was called that they closed sourced), and then they killed sideloading, feels wrong to be buying a pixel right now. So that leaves me with just Lineage. And I could get a much cheaper phone too going Lineage.

So TLDR: If you were to recommend a phone to someone, which would you recommend? Expensive phone for Graphene, or Cheap phone and just use Lineage? Or something else?

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[-] thax@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 days ago

I had a similar dilemma recently when my old xperia broke and needed a new phone in a hurry. I rolled the dice on a Moto G '25 model. It was $200 bucks carrier unlocked. It's not yet supported by Lineage and doesn't appear to be supported by CalyxOS. This year's model moved from snapdragon to a mediatek soc. I can say, however, that it is easy to root. If you root it and then scrub it carefully with debloater, it can be a solid phone. I imagine it will eventually be supported by Lineage and/or Calyx.

I have fiddled with graphene a bit, and it is nice, but meh. I don't need a powerful phone, so it's budget for me. I just want reliable GPS, good battery life, termux, and a headphone jack. Rooting had no negative effects save for allowing me to remove all the bullshit.

this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2025
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