Hey privacy folks!
Thoughts on this device from Rob Braxman?
Seams like a really low cost entry device. Linux option Ubuntu Touch.
#BraX3
Discussion
Familiar with him, but not his phone or iode OS. It seems to be a cheap Chinese phone with the firmware flashed. The specs seem decent except for the price but I have no idea about the SoC.
I'd recommend just getting a Google pixel and putting grapheneOS on it. Probably much better security and its much more reputable than iodeOS. If you don't want to spend the full price buy a used one for very cheap.
Appreciate the feedback!
Can you link me to the actual model and sales page for it?
So in general, Rob Braxman and GrapheneOS have a huge debate/dispute. In general, the privacy and security community seemed to have sided with Graphene, against Braxman. The objective complaints I've seen are that he sold many phones with the same IMEI device IDs, which caused some customers to have issues with service.
Unrelated to phones, I personally dislike his use of Big Tech. For example, He used Amazon to host his "private social media". Indiegogo uses google and such. While this is not directly related to the phone, it makes me question his ability to remove all Big Tech telemetry with his apps, when he could not do so for his own website WhattheZuck.net or brax.me (check them out with uBlock Origin)
Regarding Ubuntu Touch, please see this article from Madaidans on the downsides of Linux Phones for security:
https://madaidans-insecurities.github.io/linux-phones.html
Regarding his new operating system advertised here, it's an Android skin without Graphene’s advanced security features.
Regarding his hardware, as far as I know, it's from the same company that does the SimplePhone, which is not that competitive hardware specs wise.
In summary,
The only plus side is that the hardware is not manufactured by Google, but much weaker security at the OS level.