I think you could reconsider your position re Pixel/Google phones. It is the one major maker that allows you to deploy an OS securely on their phone and GrapheneOS is grand. I have used it on a secondary phone for years.

May be check out other privacy focused custom ROMs:

LineageOS: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

DivestOS: https://divestos.org/pages/devices

/e/OS: https://doc.e.foundation/devices

I see two options here really. Either get a pixel phone and install Graphene on it (this allows you to run play services in a sandbox), or get any phone that supports lineage and install everything there and avoid Google.

It depends on whether you need Google services or not. Pixel phones support both operating systems.

Having run other rooms since about 2010, I have a lot of experience with this.

I've intentionally bought phones based on the ease of flashing.

I finally switched to Pixel this year because I'm tired of fighting. My last phone was a non-Pixel 2017 flagship, that was about as simple to flash as possible.

Only needed:

• ADB on a pc
• enable OEM Unlocking
• boot to fastboot
• fastboot flashing unlock
• boot the phone to ADB/sideload mode
• adb flash boot

The end.

Pixel works the same way. And, there'll be another Pixel model next year. So I should be able to buy a 2 year old Pixel whenever I want.

I've fought with flashing (and rooting) other phones, which require more effort, and it gets old.

Even with a Pixel I have a project plan with 130 tasks to restore a phone (many of those tasks occur in a single adb install script).

With the crowd here, I have completely de-googled my life, also hate google, and the data mining nightmare that comes along with it....but in the end. The pixel phones (with grapheneos) are the most secure and private out there, or one of the most should say, ya know seems odd that a phone by such a data hungry company, can be made into exactly the opposite. Have had 0 issues since running grapheneos on my pixel 6

A alternative to fairphone would be https://www.shift.eco/en/ They want to put killswitches into their new Phone which you can preorder for 535€ https://shop.shiftphones.com/shiftphone-8.html

It won't be as secure as a Pixel with GrapheneOS. Grapheneos won't support that Phone officially.

if you hate google, you could buy a pixel secondhand, right?

If you're comfortable with the pros and cons of an unlocked bootloader, you might consider phones on the LineageOS supported hardware list.

You can also look at supported calyxos/divestos phones

Keep in mind that divestos doesn't support any gapps

My personal choice would be just Graphene, without any gapps

So, I'm on a P7 with GOS, and truly it is a brilliant way to divest oneself from google services, alongside being probably the most secure ~~third party~~ ROM. I think, they're certainly very keen on it, and laudably competent, updates are around weekly, sometimes every couple of days, because there are some vulnerable (to state level actors etc.) users. It's been great, I have a primary profile that is google free and a secondary for google stuff that I want, and over time I find, at my own pace, FOSS things to move into my primary, so I don't need my secondary as much, until I didn't need it at all. It's great, and now I can move to any other ROM without google services and be (mostly, except for some bastard in real life requiring an app that I can't install in secondary on Lineage etc, at least last time I used it, which will come up) happy. Thankyou GOS. Also, being able to revoke network permissions on any random app (including google services) via OS is Gold.

That said, P7 has some issues, it runs hot (I recorded via termux), and if you live in a hot humid environ, don't expect longevity near the 5Yr security updates promised. Mine's spicy pillow at 16 months, enough to break the seal and accelerate degeneration. I live in a country with consumer protection for 24 months, so it's not so bad (I hope, batteries are special), but in the rest of the world it would suck. I do not want to replace my phone every year, assholes.

TLDR: Get a second hand Pixel (4-7), hence not giving money to google, replace the battery, install GOS. Learn, live, enjoy, at the end you will have learned to live free (if that's what you want).

If your not going to go with a pixel, the best alternative is a new samsung phone with Divest OS.

Samsung is the closest in terms of meeting GOS hardware requirements (it still doesn't) and Divest OS is the next best privacy respecting ROM.

I’m partial to the poogle gixel

I bought my sister a Motorola g52 which is compatible with calyxos and only cost 175€

I am rocking a Fairphone 4 with iodéOS and I am very happy with it. Though I am definitely not phone power user...

There is no better phone than Pixel. It's because Pixel has the support for the best alternative ROMs like GrapheneOS and LineageOS. I have a Samsung A53 5G phone, and I have to use Odin to flash stuff.