Pack it up, boys, the dream's over!
this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2026
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CAN anything be priced higher than pixels? Fuck me and my need to eat.
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with great cameras or more precisely great image processors for mid range prices to overvalued mid range phones with outdated hardware.
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.
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?
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
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
Clearly a killing feature everyone craves... ??
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.
> even this one is way overkill for what I want in a phone. Why can’t 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 £150.
My best buy was an Umidigi F2. Stunning device for £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.
Well I do want GrapheneOS on it so they aren't an option. I just wonder why noone is capitalizing on a ~200 bucks GrapheneOS phone for people like me who don't need the processing power or even lower-spec models for criminals who literally only have Signal on it. I mean which criminal organization or activist group or whatever wouldn't buy a box full of sub 200 bucks GrapheneOS phones?
First, phone makers need a strong market signal that a significant number of people do give a damn about security and privacy.
When "everyone" is on Whatsapp/Facebook/X/etc., it's hard to believe!
9a for 300 bucks
And the battery life of that thing is excellent
Yes, but like half the SoC power, half the RAM wouldn't change anything about how I use the phone. It's just not needed at fucking all, waste of money. I'd rather have even more battery life lmao
yay!
i wish they released mid-range phones
If they’re expensive but worth it that’s fine. Graphene powered Motorola is the only device I’d ever consider switching back to Android for.
I got a google pixel 10 in a panic earlier this year when I heard of the lockdown just so I can have grapheneos on it.
I would be happy to support any competition to Google.
The upcoming Moto devices won’t ship with GrapheneOS, but they will be fully supported by the project with help from Moto itself.
Doesn't unlocking the bootloader on a Motorola device void the warranty?
It can't in a lot of jurisdictions.
It couldn't, but it does.
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Show up to a repair center with a phone running a custom ROM and try to have the people working there give a single damn about what EU law says about bootloader unlocking. I'm talking from experience, because I had to.
Anyway, I'm not even sure that Motorola could sell a smartphone with Graphene OS as its stock firmware, because Google would probably get pissed off about it.
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.
And yet they're all the same
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
Imagine owning a laptop and not being able to install linux without the manufacturer permission.
Fairphone 6 ?
The exception proves the rule.
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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.~~
Fitting how the US part of the company does more survellance than the Chinese part
Or so we hope, anyway.
Different company?
Motorola was split into two independent public companies: Motorola Solutions (its legal successor) and Motorola Mobility (spun off), on January 4, 2011
Damn I guess most of us didn't know that, thank you for sharing.
They're keeping a low profile on their surveillance technology while successfully marketing themselves as a privacy alternative in consumer tech. Its pretty fascinating to watch. I wouldn't blame anyone for missing it.
It's also worth reading up on Aviglon, a subsidiary of Motorola specializing in surveillance technology.
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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.
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