I’d have rather seen Google Pay support than Android Auto though I imagine it’s a lot less feasible.
Google Pay support
I can not comprehend this. Ditching Google is why I yearn for alternatives to stock Android.
Privacy isn’t a binary choice. Obviously I would love for there to be an alternative to Google Pay but no such service exists.
The most private form of payment is to use cash but that’s just hugely inconvenient in 2024. Sometimes it would be nice to be able to pay from my phone when I don’t have my wallet on me but custom ROMs don’t allow it.
Here’s an example and why I’m not on a custom ROM. My job has “restaurant credit” as one of the benefits. That’s 200 euros a month in a card that can only be used through Google/Apple pay.
So either I skip the money or I need a second phone with me all the time.
It may be possible to convince them to offer that another way, if you care about software freedom and they care about what you value.
Would they? Why? I’m asking as I’m unaware of what restrictions are in place for it to work.
Edit: i meant to ask: “would they have to approve it?”
They would not. Best case scenario is that you can trick Google into thinking your device/OS is legit. It’s of no benefit to them to in any way compromise the security of their highly sensitive payments app.
Because it requires full safetynet compliance
Is it easy to install graphenos on iOS? I got an iPhone 14. Does anyone have a good recommendation to help me through the process?
oh wow! i doubt im going to use that feature because android auto is insufferable but that’s still really neat!
What don’t you like about Android Auto? What alternative would you use to interface with a vehicle head unit if you didn’t AA?
That’s what I use (or Bluetooth) and I don’t see how you can get more consistent.
It could use passenger mode.
On trips I have to unplug, search maps, start directions, and plug in the phone again because the keyboard is locked out. The car interface sucks for finding and comparing data like gas prices or restaurant reviews.
I just use AA for displaying maps. I do all information gathering like gas prices and such before I even connect it to my car. My head unit I can type on, and when I pop up the keyboard in AA it also shows on my phone to type.
So the issues you mentioned, I guess I have lucked out on.
what baseless_discourse said. a windshield or dashboard mounted phone clamp. it is far cheaper, easier, and downright better, for myriad reasons. viewing angle is better, music playing is unspeakably easier, system resources are almost guaranteed to be better, software compatibility is better, etc.
I am curious why you think that? My reasons for liking it are the fact that it essentially just works, and gives me a consistent UI across multiple vehicles. What are your issues with it?
I’m just fundamentally against those tablets in cars. I’ve never seen a single good implementation of it. This first question I always have is… what can this do that my phone cant do easier, faster, and better? And 100% of the time I’ve had to ask this it has been nothing. I just use a phone grip on either my dashboard or my windshield and that accomplishes the same thing without having to use the massive, clunky, and usually dysfunctional tablet stuck on my console. Another enormous complaint is that most cars that work like this also remove aux/tape/cd and then BURY the bluetooth audio option underneath a bunch of finnicky android auto shit that has so many different problems all of which wouldn’t exist in the first place if i could just set my phone in a clamp and plugged in the aux cable. The only benefit android consoles have i can tell it has is being big if you have bad eyesight.
If you’re talking an Android tablet/headunit, separate from Android Auto, that makes sense… But Android Auto is essentially a simplified interface for specific apps installed on your phone, and is generally quicker and safer than using the phone interface. No one here is arguing for a separate android console interface, so I’m not sure we’re talking about the same things. The whole point of Android Auto is to take a separate interface and OS out of the equation and to allow you to use your phone as the brain.
I really hope google pay is next, but safety net makes that hard
I’m still iffy about grapheneos after the rossman issue. Any other good alternatives?
I generally like Louis Rossmann, but his arguments in the GrapheneOS video were beyond stupid. He says that he can’t trust GrapheneOS because it’s developed by Daniel Micay. I guess he doesn’t understand that GrapheneOS is open source and anyone can see the code. Then he switched back to the proprietary Google ROM. So he’s trusting proprietary software that’s filled with spyware over privacy-respecting open source software that can be audited by anyone.
You don’t seem to understand the situation either and you blindly follow some YouTuber. I’d advise you to overthink your opinion on this topic.
Daniel Micay says he will retire from lead developer and move on to management role, yet I think he is still committing a lot of the code https://github.com/GrapheneOS/platform_manifest/commits/14
However, I do believe he is very devoted to improving the privacy and security for all users, despite his communication issue. So I personally still uses grapheneos.
Similar alternatives are divest and calyx, but it seems like graphene is still the best for me and probably for most beginners and experts alike.
If you need Android Auto, the closest thing you’ll get is LineageOS with some sort of GApps, but those are far from the “privacy and security first” goals of GrapheneOS.
If you are looking for something private/“FOSS-focused” and don’t need Android Auto, I like CalyxOS a lot, and have heard good things about DivestOS.
