So, there’s been ample discussion in the corresponding community threads and Samsung has gotten a lot of hate there.

Sadly the S23 looks rather tempting to me, since the pixel 7a I replaced my 5 with is too big for my liking.

How much Pixel-like experience can I achieve if I uninstall all the Samsung bloatware? What will I miss out on? Do I have to expect it running sluggish or unstable? Or will I get any errors due to missing samsung software components? Will all the apps reinstall on updates?

And since OneUI6 is around the corner: Will the ADB-debloat also work with the newer version?

Thanks!

  • Privacy AdvocateBEnglish
    11•11 months ago

    I think missing out is the wrong wording. The samsung has way more to offer, but it is a privacy nightmare. You can, however, remove a lot of bloatware and go with rethinkdns and their firewall by blocking most system apps you leave. Another approach would be combining the firewall with decloudus. I used nextdns for years and tried adguard as well, but decloudus get samsung and google pretty much eliminated.

    You won’t have the GrapheneOS privacy setup and will never be able to come close to that. Yet, it’s not the worth way to get a samsung phone behave and not calling home ;)

    • @SteWiOPEnglish
      2•11 months ago

      Thanks for the tipps! I love how on lemmy privacy is a big concern. Seems I’ll have to spend some time getting to know the tools mentioned.

      Given that I’m not at all interested in creating a Samsung account and use any of their cloud services what are the the additional featues I would get?

      • @[email protected]English
        2•11 months ago

        You don’t need a Samsung account at all to use any of the addition features.

        Some of the useful features off the top of my head:

        • Long-press power button for torch (customisable)

        • Edge panel, which allows quick launching of apps and shortcuts

        • Ability to directly record the screen, or a portion of a screen, as a GIF

        • Video out over USB-C, and DeX mode which provides a desktop-like experience (although I believe Google will be finally introducing video out with Pixel 8)

        • Various multitasking enhancements such as: open any app in a popup window, change its transparency levels, enable no-pause multitasking so your split-window/popup apps continue running even if they’re not in focus.

      • Privacy AdvocateBEnglish
        1•11 months ago

        Depends, the ultra has the spen. Modes and routines are also pretty neat… most of the stuff comes with samsung can be used without a samsung account. Sadly, secure folders need a samsung account.