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Oh come on with these prices!! This is BS.π This is why I got my Teracube 2s. Its around 350 getting the degoogled version and thats it.
Your getting scammed paying over 1000+ for these phones, people, don't do it. Linux needs to come on already and make resonable priced phones.
Pack it up, boys, the dream's over!
hey now. hey now.
There isn't freedom within
Honestly, I'd replace this fuckass Google device in a heartbeat, but I will never in my life understand why people want flagship phones. I got a b-ware 9a for 300 bucks and even this one is way overkill for what I want in a phone. Why can't there just be a low-spec one instead of ones that cost more than an entry class laptop?
Ask Qualcomm. Only the highest level Snapdragon chips have the hardware security that the Graphene folks demand.
I will never in my life understand why people want flagship phones
It's easier to compile Rust programs and emulate Wii games on phones with higher RAM/CPU/Storage
Yeah, I'm still holding out hope for a "convergent" device I can dock and use as a PC. I've used Samsung's DeX a bit, and it's okay but I really want a Linux phone with something like a high end flagship Snapdragon SOC that gives me a normal Plasma desktop when docked. Samsung was doing Linux on DeX for like, a month or so, then discontinued it.
cool, does it ship with a OS that lets me actually use it like a general purpose computer that it is? No, I am not fighting with android, I want a proper OS
> even this one is way overkill for what I want in a phone. Why canβt there just be a low-spec one instead
Exactly this.
My solution is: dirt-cheap bargain-basement Chinese phones.
They do the job and you can get a lot for under Β£150.
My best buy was an Umidigi F2. Stunning device for Β£125. I have bought dinners that cost more than that.
*But* you'll never get an OS upgrade, they're unsupported by all the alternative OSes, and there is the everpresent risk of spyware.
For me, that's worth it, but I get that it's not for everyone and so I do not unequivocally recommend them.
One thing I really dislike about the Mobile ecosystem is how much different each device is to each other.
Imagine owning a laptop and not being able to install linux without the manufacturer permission.
They really messed us up with how they created the phone architecture, so closed and restrictive.
It used to be the same with x86 computers, but over time a standardized interface was developed.
ARM is already getting something similar, but most companies aren't interested, precisely because they're perfectly fine with the restrictions.
The ptoblem is that all the phone manufacters don't release any drivers, neither close or open
nor document their hardware at all
Capitalism
I would have liked an affordable midrange device (like Pixel 4a) with the option of graphene os preinstalled. That would unlock it as a device recommendation for my family members: Everything still works, and the device is good enough for all expected workloads. And with a growing user base comes mainstream relevance for graphene os.
Avant-garde nerds hacking their phones with custom roms may clear the path, but the normies can bring the necessary financial volume.
The base Pixel is 1K Euro this year. Are they really thinking of releasing a 1K+ phone? That's absolutely insane.
Pixels used to be mid range phones with great cameras or more precisely great image processors for mid range prices to overvalued mid range phones with outdated hardware.
Pixels used to be mid range phones with great cameras or more precisely great image processors for mid range prices to overvalued mid range phones with outdated hardware.
Pixel is now (and arguably always was) an overpriced piece of garbage, fact. Googlebet realized selling Nexus units at basically cost for developers was a missed opportunity for more profit, no question.
Comparing these to Pixels though, which are actually complete garbage, makes no sense - the only similarity is that they will both support Graphene, and have the hardware to do so.
These lastest-gen Motorola devices are better compared to Oppo and Xiaomi - absolute TOP OF THE LINE TECH that we barely even get to see in the west unless we import stuff from China (as I did for my two phones prior to my current Pixel). So yes, they will cost more, but they are going to be REAL flagships, that will EASILY last 2-3 years. I think my last Xiaomi got me through three before I even thought about an upgrade, the way it used to be with the 'western' companies before they realized they can release garbage and get people to buy new practically every year.
CAN anything be priced higher than pixels? Fuck me and my need to eat.
For me the most interesting piece from the Mastodon thread is the fact that the Motorola partnership was born out of Google making it more difficult for non-OEMs to get access to AOSP source code (emphasis mine):
Google replaced pushing Git tags for certain source code with obtaining source code via Google Drive after making a request through Google Forms. It's completely ridiculous and they've gradually become very slow at handling requests. They're in clear violation of the GPLv2 now.
[...]
These changes won't negatively impact GrapheneOS on upcoming Motorola Mobility devices. In fact, it's a major part of why our partnership exists. It only negatively impacts Pixels and hurts Google more than anyone else. Google wants to make Pixels worse for no apparent reason.
This also means that in the future Motorola devices will get faster security updates on GrapheneOS than Pixels.
If theyβre expensive but worth it thatβs fine. Graphene powered Motorola is the only device Iβd ever consider switching back to Android for.
Gonna buy one, gotta support the cause. We need this phone to do well.
Edit: @plyth@feddit.org pointed out that Motorola is in fact split into two separate companies. The phone company is effectively Lenovo, so Chinese, and not related to the American surveillance technology branch.
Not sure I'd trust Lenovo/Motorola Mobility either, but that's a different story.
In June 2026, Motorola bricked its whole line of routers without any explanation, leaving their customers with broken hardware.
~~The main thing you're supporting is Motorola, the second biggest provider of surveillance technology in the US after Flock. Deflock lists 5% of the cameras as Motorola, but the share is increasing as backlash against Flock is growing and Flock cameras are replaced with more low key competitors.~~
~~404media has reported on how Motorola cameras are used by ice.~~
~~"Gotta support the cause" is one hell of a dangerous sentiment under capitalism.~~
Different company?
Motorola was split into two independent public companies: Motorola Solutions (its legal successor) and Motorola Mobility (spun off), on January 4, 2011
I would be happy to support any competition to Google.