The beginning here are the notes I took when I started considering making the switch back in early 2023.

GrapheneOS

Pros

• Easier file transfers
• Emulation
• Syncthing
• YouTube Vanced (or whatever active fork)
• Firefox extensions
• More system control
• Supposedly better battery life

Cons

• $300-$600
• Green messages
• Camera responsiveness
• No Apollo
• OEM support only guranteed for another 4.5 years

iOS

Pros

• Already have it
• Comfortable with system
• Blue messages
• OEM support since 2019

Cons

• No emulation
• No syncthing
• Little control

2023-03-15

I bought a Pixel 6a to run GrapheneOS. Immediately installed Graphene and ran it for a few weeks. Returned to Google’s official OS for a day or two but returned as I didn’t find the extra “features” worth the bloat.

Good

• I love the permissions control and transparency of GrapheneOS
• Fdroid is nice for open source alternatives alongside play store
• Custom launchers + plenty of configuration options
• File transfers are so easy relative to Apple’s ecosystem
• Plugging hard drives directly into USB-C for file transfers works well provided they’re formatted in fat32
• Widgets are actually good

Meh

• Life360 doesn’t update as frequently, which makes sense given the security/privacy policies that are baked into the OS.
• Emulation is nice but touchscreen controls suck

Bad

• MTP file transfers suck compared to direct access. Significantly slower.

2023-09-11

More good

• Syncthing runs constantly in background
• Termux
  • SFTP/SSH into desktop and laptop
• Green SMS actually good: filters shallow people

meh

• Custom launchers don’t run near as fast as the native launcher so I just stick with the native AOSP launcher over 3rd party launchers.

2025-06-26

After ~2 years of GrapheneOS, I’m glad I got away from iOS. Haven’t looked back since. Definitely after the experience of visiting an Apple store recently for my brother.

The GrapheneOS related cons I listed years ago no longer concern me. I don’t care about blue/green messages, I never had problems with the camera, and Apollo is dead (for the better anyways, Reddit is a waste of time).

I’ve been practicing on and off with thumb-key. I’m hoping getting good at that input method will make typing not so much of a pain in the ass.