that's one I haven't heard of. how is it functionally?
not really. after enabling oem unlocking in developer options you just boot it while holding one of the volume buttons and you're able to unlock the bootloader.
root is not typically available and you don't need it for most uses besides development, but even then, I would recommend not using a phone you daily for that.
graphene sandboxes Google services so they don't run as root on your device. I haven't encountered an app I can't get running on graphene yet and having Google play installed as non root is a far sight better than stock.
my biggest problem with lineage was compatibility with banking apps so I reluctantly switched but graphene is a solid choice in operating system for privacy and security.
I would recommend buying a used phone from the most recent generation. I had my pixel 5 die on me about 7 months after I got it used due to a major Android update. Phone crashed hard and bricked, so don't get a 5 (even though it was my favorite design of the pixels). I have an 8 right now I bought it refurbished on Amazon. It works great and I know it will last a while being the most recent model. Also check FB marketplace if you have a Facebook account. People in my area are selling phones often.
I've been using graphene for years at this point and it's the best operating system I've ever had on a phone. Before this my favorite phone was a jail broken iPhone 5c. I even got a pixel tablet to take notes on for college recently and put graphene on it as well.
Only thing Google has right atm is leaving the bootloader on their phones unlockable.
whoever made that graph needs to learn how to properly space their horizontal axis labels
I've seen so many spins on this meme I don't even remember the original.
google pixel 5 bought used, unlock the bootloader and flash it with grapheneOS. download Firefox with AdBlock and use fdroid and aurora store (found on fdroid) for apps.
my go to method on reddit is sorting by subscribed and top day. this way if I've seen everything already I know I've probably spent too much time scrolling and should check out individual communities if I'm trying to kill more time.
you're already over my head but you can talk to the devs. they have a matrix chat they link on their site