So pissed off with google. I’ve had google phones since my Nexus 4. I’m not a power user by any means and I’m now only on my 4th phone since then - a Pixel 4a. It’s perfect for me - nice and small so it fits in my pocket, headphone jack etc. and all day battery! For my usage pattern I never had to think about battery even on such an old phone - I’d just charge it on my nightstand each night and never give it a thought.
Since the recent update - it’s now 09:26 and I’m already down to 50%.
I know they say it’s for my safety, but I simply don’t believe them. I can’t afford a new phone now, don’t live anywhere where I can get the battery replaced reasonably and it’s out of stock where I’ve looked for a DIY replacement. I’m stuck with this.
Update - typing the paragraph above took me down to 48%
FYI, GrapheneOS no longer supports the Pixel 4a. The oldest phone they support is the Pixel 6.
GrapheneOS basically matches Google’s support window, because they consider it critical to include firmware and driver security updates, which they cannot reverse-engineer. Once the hardware is out of support, GrapheneOS drops support as well. Security is their top priority, and they will generally remove something entirely if they cannot implement it securely, rather than ship it half-baked and potentially leave users with a false sense of security.
LineageOS has a different philosophy, and will continue to release new software with OS-level security patches beyond the hardware support window for as long as it is technically viable. This is obviously better than running outdated software on outdated hardware, just be aware that there is nothing the LineageOS folks can do about firmware/driver-level security vulnerabilities.
Both approaches are totally valid, and it’s great that we have the choice! Just wanted to explain that for anyone unfamiliar.
Oh, interesting. I was going to try Graphene once Google stop updating for my current hardware, but I guess it’ll be Lineage instead.