> but still I'd like to choose my hardware and software separately interoperating via standards
This is why I can’t do GrapheneOS. Pixel devices do not suit my needs (& aren’t available). 2 of the big appeals for my going Android was 1) device options 2) ability to customize (appearance, apps from other sources, root access). Google has basically done everything to prevent #2 & GrapheneOS prevents #1. …This is why I also have a Linux phone to just leave these restrictions.
The success of an OS is inevitably linked to the availability of apps. A "smart" phone today is basically useless if it can't run either iOS or Android apps. Projects like Waydroid can make Linux phones viable, but since there are approximately zero native Linux apps for phones, you might as well use Android as a FOSS base. This is precisely what Graphene and Lineage do.
What kind of Linux phone setup do you have, and what kind of experience has it been? I want to make the leap sometime, but not quite there yet.
I have an Xperia with Sailfish OS. The Android app support ironically ends up what makes it usable, but the new patch isn’t released with kernel support that actually makes the IO work properly. Its own app selection is pretty small. It would be cool if all desktop Linux didn’t need an entirely new skin to work at this form factor, else I could get what I needed. I also use Nix to smooth over some of the repository shortcomings.
Sailfish OS just takes the wrong approach, to be honest. It makes more sense to have the more secure OS at the host (Android) and the less secure as a guest for compatability (traditional Linux distro). Its also problematic that the app compatability delivered via the Anseood support uses an outdated Android version etc.