Posted by to3k 18 hours ago
I am probably going to switch back to a used old iPhone for "phone appliance" tasks, but keep around the Pixel for other things.
My main takeaway from the experience is that iMessage is an even bigger weapon than I thought.
As an aside, from the latest release notes: Sandboxed Google Play compatibility layer: add toggle for granting Play services access to ICC auth in order to support RCS with carriers requiring it for RCS in Google Messages including T-Mobile (see RCS usage guide)
The best thing would be to switch to Signal (Molly) for texting.
If anything, iOS seems buggier and less reliable, but I know (and am related to) a lot of people who insist on using iMessage/RCS, and I can't be missing messages.
Also, people looking at GrapheneOS want technical excellence, so better not rush it :-).
It's just so damned convenient. And the recording of transactions on the phone saves me having to collect paper receipts.
Is it really "breaking free" from a company if the method of "breaking free" requires continued cooperation from the company
This is not to suggest using a modified version of Android isn't useful. This comment is not about GrapheneOS. (But there will be HN replies that will try to redirect focus to it anyway.) This comment is about claiming it's possible to "break free" from something while still remaining inextricably tied to it
In addition to using a custom ROM, there are methods of stopping the Pixel's attempts to "phone home" to the company that work even with the version of Android pre-installed by the company intact. However if a method requires software, e.g., drivers, or is "based on" software controlled by the company, then ultimately the company holds the cards. IMHO, this is not what it means to "break free"
Perhaps the most reliable method of stopping these connections to the company is one that does not rely on cooperation by the company. This is because if the company decides to stop cooperating, the method still works
It’s cool it’s possible, but it’s not practical for most people.
Oh the irony.
I prefer to use intermediaries like Kagi Assistant, thanks to the strict privacy conditions of the API and the mixing of queries from thousands of users.
> It’s thanks to them that we even have the option of at least partially freeing ourselves from Google (Android) and Apple (iOS)
partially. And I do think they successfully did this. Asking Gemini questions when you really have something to ask is very different from integrating your whole digital life with Google.