Get a Pixel, install GrapheneOS and you’re done.

there is no android phone that I am passionate about,

Not what you asked for:

A phone is a tool which should enable you to do stuff. Be passionate about friends, hobbies, art, not a piece of plastic.

Being forced to use iOS (work phone) and Android (Samsung, also work), both suck IMHO but Android sucks less.

My next Android will be a Pixel, as others suggested custom roms are the way to go, but even vanilla Android is more functional/open/practical for my needs than iOS.

I would never buy Apples shit with my own money: Dumped down, locked down and in the end you are renting a device from Apple to pay fees for their Appstore and Cloud offerings and vendor lock in. No thanks.

Pixel Phone with GrapheneOS is simply the best solution available right now.

Sideloading apps on iOS has gotten a lot easier. I use sideloadly. It has to connect to your computer (wirelessly) once a week but does this automatically in the background. I’m still running Apollo, the best Reddit iOS app this way.

I have YT premium through Sri Lanka for $3/mo. Sponsorblock works in safari.

ROM apps like delta are in the App Store now. I have no idea about phone gaming otherwise.

Never ran into any content filtering.

If your gf uses iOS try it out there first and see how you like it.

New iPhones release on a pretty strict schedule each September so even if you don’t want the new model best to wait for older ones to be discounted.

iOS is probably the most locked down option you can pick. The EU even told Malus to open it up and Malus tried to fuck around. Now they might be in for some monetary justice, but that might take a year or two. Emulation was even only recently allowed, but only of old shit like Windows XP.

Android is still the most open, mainstream, phone OS out there. Get yourself a phone that can run a ROM like LineageOS, eOS, FairPhone or (if you want to give Google more money for surveillance) a Pixel to put GrapheneOS on it (easy process, you just need a browser and USB-C cable). That’ll get you more freedom to keep the phone alive longer and optionally become more private (if you can learn to live without Google).

To save money, you don’t even need to buy a new one. Get a refurbished phone. They are often 100-200€ cheaper than new phones and are sometimes as good as new.

iOS will lock you in, give you less options, and cost you loads to boot.

Anti Commercial-AI license

On mobile you have 4 choices :

• Stock Android, the worst you can get, simply not use it

• iOS, as worst as android but with better UI

• Degoogled Android, good choice, avail able on many devices 👍

• Linux phones, the best but in early development and only available on some devices only

Uuh. I wouldn’t do it. As far as I know iOS is still pretty locked down and that won’t change.

iOS is probably the worst choice if you want to sideload apps. I would recommend sticking with Android and run your Samsung into the ground (maybe flash a custom ROM?) before getting something like a Fairphone.

Besides, what do you want to be “passionate” about in mobile phones? To me, they’re just tools for browsing the web, playing games, and staying in contact with friends and family while on the go; anything extra is superficial.

my girlfriend has iOS, and every time I want to forward an nsfw gif she doesn’t see it

Say what? There’s no content censoring that I’m aware of. I’ve had no issues looking at all kinds of NSFW/NSFL content.

Regardless, you’re likely not going to enjoy the lack of modified apps and game piracy; I don’t do either of those. Maybe it’s possible but you’ve gotta jump through so many hoops IMO it wouldn’t be worth it.

Zero issues with NSFW though, that’s bizarre to me. There’s screen time web content filtering but I believe that only affects safari.

There are other mobile OSs besides Android and iOS. That being said, iOS is one of the most locked-down restrictive platforms on the planet, and any “freedom” you have now can be taken away in a single update as soon as Apple gets an angry letter from Nintendo or the RIAA or whatever.

Samsung is garbage IMO, and OnePlus has been getting worse for years. Pixels offer the smoothest experience. Nothing phones are really nice too.

Wdym about the gifs? there should be nothing stopping you from sending those on any device.

Sideloading is possible, but there’s more hoops to jump through than on Android. Plus an overall smaller amount of apps available to sideload.

Piracy depends on what you’re pirating. TV/Movie wise you’ll be fine, as well as ROMs for the few emulators iOS has (relative to android). I doubt you’ll have any luck with apps or mobile games.

Xiaomi. Or poco, redmi… Same stuff. For 200 bucks you get awesome phones and you can usually always remove stock and install LineageOS. They are all freely uockable and still under warranty after that.

Get a model near its end of market life, buy new the oldest you can find… Unlock, install LineageOS, enjoy.

I bought my Poco X3 NFC for 160€ 4 years ago and still rocks today with LineageOS 21 (Android 14).

(It usually take 6 months to 1 year for each new model to get LineageOS support, so don’t buy the latest model Also worth looking if there is official support on LineageOS before buy, or at least some unofficial ports).

Fairphone 4 with eOS, escaping Google and Apple’s duopoly is quite liberating and not as hard as I thought it would be. Yeah, eOS is technically Android, but deGoogled.

https://e.foundation/

Long time Samsung user. Get a Pixel 8. Install Obtainium. Use it to install Neo Launcher and 99% of the apps you probably use. Or just switch to GrapheneOS. You will be happy again.

I also found filly changing my layout helps. My daily calendar, task list, and clock are the only things on my first home screen.

You just keep buying the wrong phones, Samsung is shit and the China companies steal all your data. Try Pixel, nothing but good experience with them and if you want another OS there is GrapheneOS for the Pixels. IOS is a closed system and definitely The worst for piracy and privacy, even though they want to sell you their stuff with “privacy” in mind (its better than chines phones though)