Setting up a Pixel Tablet with GrapheneOS for My Mom

I helped my mom set up GrapheneOS on the Google Pixel Tablet. Are Android tablets ready now?
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👋 Outro: Khaim - Neon Lamp
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👇 Sauce:
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:05 Out of the Box
04:47 GrapheneOS Compatibility
08:25 Profiles
10:17 Android Tablet Oddities
11:15 Signal
12:44 OpenPods
13:22 Viki & Vanadium
15:25 Gboard
15:53 Should You Buy?

[@GainingDespair]

Its honestly surprising how much extra performance and battery life you can get out of a device when all the tracking, and background bloat has been removed. Pixel 6a battery life is better than ever, and on benchmarks I generally score 15-20% above default android on the same device. I rarely get calls/text so my phone always remains screen off maybe 2 hours of screen on time during a charge cycle. Went from 2.5 days from 100%-10% to well over 4-5 days now its honestly amazing how long my phone lasts without needing to charge it. As it seems like I only interact with the device to charge it.

[@user-dx7ej6cs5t]

custom roms for android devices have evolved so much

[@boodi1170]

It's not a Rom it's an OS

[@Sithhy]

@@boodi1170 It pretty much is just yet another ROM

[@runatrix]

@@Sithhy It's not Read Only Memory, it is an Operating System

[@JessicaFEREM]

Both me and my mom both prefer folding tablet phones so we both got the samsung galaxy fold5. Both me and my mom would never use a dedicated tablet but a phone that folds into a tablet is infinitely more useful to both of us. It's nice to see that Google is making a good tablet now instead of leaving it to the slop makers to make a good tablet.

[@Trafotin]

There is the Pixel Fold, but caveats are reliability is mixed (some reviewers are very positive, poor Ron Amadeo from ArsTechnica was thwarted by a grain of sand) and the privacy concern of a Google account to order it/real credit card and it is not available in physical stores.

[@wallofriogrande]

The pixel tablet does not use exynos. It uses the tensor g2, which yes you could argue is closely related.

[@richarddcrossley]

GrapheneOS has the same official support cycle as Google. However I’ve got it installed on some older pixels out of support and still getting security updates. By its nature with sandboxing even out of update support it’s still more secure. Curious if the tablet dock mode works because pixel stand doesn’t work with it. Can totally see why you’d go this route for a family member though!

[@VektrumSimulacrum]

My mom only uses a iPad. She needed to use a PC for something one day and was totally lost it had been so long (literally years). On that day I got second hand-me-down laptop to do whatever with. She went back to her iPad and made my sister do whatever it is she was trying to do on the PC. 👀

[@BrianWoodruff-Jr]

0:56 Ah yes, black gloves for safe tablet handling.

[@oladrolahola]

"an apple refugee" 😂

[@michaeljames4904]

Are there any tablet hardware options for Grapheneos that are cheaper than Pixel ones? I already use Grapheneos on an old Pixel ‘phone, and while imperfect to me, the keyboard interfacing especially in multiple languages I speak and spell-checking is infancy afaic, I still immensely value the baked-in privacy of the installation. There’s great peace of mind in not carrying around a spy device everywhere with you. So, to clarify, I do understand the booting issues that makes Grapheneos only deployable on a Pixel ‘phone. Just wondered whether there might be more option when it came to tablets, because, I would like to get untethered from my iPad one day. It almost seems counter intuitive when one routine mobile device is hyper privacy-conscious while the other isn’t. It’s merely the case that, price points of Pixel tablets are quite dear for my budget even secondhand.

[@Trafotin]

Unfortunately, Apple is just far too locked down for any kind of custom OS. Only real alternatives I can think of is a Microsoft Surface (hate Microsoft) and the Pixel Tablet. I want to do a video specifically on Android keyboards and not having specific languages is one of the criticisms I have for a lot of the OSS solutions.

[@michaeljames4904]

@@Trafotin Thank-you for the reply. Just looks like I’ll have to save up for a Pixel tablet. I do feel that Grapheneos is the leader of the pack. But the keyboard spell checker issue is a main gripe. I’ve seen that Side of Burritos my go to guy on graphene has installed GBoard. Can’t help but feel though that installing Google software kind of defeats the object.

[@mrcvry]

Perhaps a hardened Linux on a tablet is better.

[@mrtetillas7504]

good video

[@pablo96hoz]

Hello, I have a Pixel Tablet that I bought with Graphene OS installed. I would like to go back to Stock Android. It's possible? Thank you so much

[@wyleong4326]

Trafotin needs to do a reverse video. With his mom’s tablet. 😂

[@pablo96hoz]

@@wyleong4326 If you do, I would love you hahaha

[@Trafotin]

GrapheneOS and Google provide an online tool to restore stock Android. Check GrapheneOS's website under the install guide.

[@fruitcake4910]

2:28 Isn’t it Tensor G2?

[@Trafotin]

Exynos is the family of chips that Samsung and Google make together. Tensor is one of them.

[@fruitcake4910]

@@Trafotin I didn’t know that. Thank you.

[@RarefiedError]

How does this compare to the FydeTab Duo

[@Trafotin]

I don't know much about Linux tablets

[@RarefiedError]

@@Trafotin sposedly runs an andriod flavor as well

[@haze6277]

what about security updates?

[@Trafotin]

4 more years from time of recording, ends in 2028.

[@snowwsquire]

signal does not work, you will get signed out on ur phone if you use it on an android tablet

[@Trafotin]

Not right now. My mom uses an iPhone and the Pixel Tablet just fine with Signal and Molly.

[@snowwsquire]

@@Trafotin yes if you use molly on the tablet, its fine. but if u use the official signal client, you will get signed out.

[@idcrafter-cgi]

i also got a Pixel tablet but put CalyxOS on it to give it to my sister. i chose CalyxOS for it's a bit better privacy due to microG(which does the Google play services thing open source and more private).

[@Trafotin]

microG's devs seem so sus after the whole KZbin Vanced situation, but I would like to make the argument if you don't sign in, it's fine and even if you do, wouldn't you rather sign in first party with Google and get the convenience of the Play Store if your sibling will just sign in anyway? That was my logic anyway.

[@TheDuckPox]

​@@Trafotindid the youtube vanced situation have any connection to microG? the reason to choose microg is because it is a reimplementation of google apps, which means it is fully open source on the client side, apart from the Google Play Store (one can just use a fake store and use microG solely for the Google Play Services). However, microG leaves their "gapps" to behave just like gapps, where it and the patched google play store still have almost all system permissions. They also have a lot of unimplemented features of google play services which means more broken apps. At the end of the day, both implementations are open source. One can read the code if they want, making it more trusted, especially since they are well-known like GrapheneOS's Google Play Sandbox and the microG project.

[@youngblood4826]

​@@Trafotincould you please explain to me the situation with youtube vanced? or at least link me to it?

[@mrcvry]

Graphen‘s sandboxing is better than microg.

[@Trafotin]

@@youngblood4826 The creation of KZbin Vanced is incredibly suspicious in the realm of copyright given they stole KZbin's Android APK and tweaked it. It's flagrant violation of copyright and other projects exist that don't have to be this sketchy.

[@DeyanKostov]

The support that the custom ROMs give, can't be longer than the official support from Google. It's all based on the Open Source Android Project + proprietary drivers. Google adds more, on top of that, The custom ROMs may or may not add more. But the basis is the same. And, if there is a vulnerability found, but Google has EOL-ed that version, who will patch it? Nobody. The custom ROM projects don't have the resources for it. The end result is 5 years is the maximum you can expect, with the proper flagship phone, not the cheap stuff.

[@experiment54]

7years with pixel 8

[@DeyanKostov]

@@experiment54 Sure, but the base OS and the drivers are not patched for bugs for the last 3 of these 8 years. I know people on Windows 7 still. :)

[@experiment54]

@@DeyanKostov how do you know. Google only just announced it. We haven’t had 7years yet

[@DeyanKostov]

@@experiment54 Don't they promise 3 new versions and 2 years of security updates for every version = 5 years total? That's the usual promise with Pixel phones. If they said that they will support the phone for 7 years, then OK, I was wrong. That's a great deal! I'll buy 7a when it comes this summer then!

[@IfritBoi]

The whole point is that pixel is losing support for their drivers so Trafotin installed GrapheneOS for his mom instead and she sees satisfying results. Even though the support might end it won't be deprecated entirely so if she or Trafotin wanted to swap their custom ROM or switch to a different OS entirely, they can do it a lot easier since it's through a custom ROM

[@MaNameizJeff]

I don't understand the fully free in the thumbnail. the pixel tablet is far from free cost wise and being google.. you are far from free from all of googles telemetrics.

[@Trafotin]

Did you even see what I did in the video or read the other part of the title...

[@runatrix]

He replaced Android with GrapheneOS

[@MaNameizJeff]

@@runatrix from what I understand, its android without googles apps. But still androids telemetrics.

[@WildMidwest1]

@@MaNameizJeffDo so basic homework on Graphene OS, then come back here and discuss things knowledgeably.