FF with uBO was the killer app that kept me on android. If Apple let me run that, I'd have bought into it years ago.

Have you considered messages.google.com? I think you need to use Google's messages app (not the Samsung messager or equivalent) but it does as you describe and supports RCS.

Can i share my history and bonus with my desktop, ie linux?

Oh, it's closed source ios/macos only? Yeah, no thanks.

I also kinda doubt it's compatible with most firefox addons, addons can and do rely on details of firefox that ios does not provide the ability to emulate.

Still not as good as full fat ublock origin.

or kdeconnect/gsconnect?

The consent-o-matic extension is also incredibly worth it on mobile firefox. Automates clicking through almost every cookie banner I've come across, which is much more annoying to do manually on a phone than on desktop.

uBo has a filter list for blocking out cookie popups, why not use that instead?

I have the Easylist one enabled, is there a more reliable one?

It doesn't catch them all, especially more niche sites that do more custom stuff to prevent you using the site until you interact with the notice. e.g. screen overlay, prevent scrolling using css rules.

I have the 3 default "annoyances" listed enabled, ublock, easylist, adguard. I rarely see cookie popups. Notably, youtube's cookie popup still appears, but probably there's a reason for it. So, you're right, however for me it's good enough.

I've been using https://messages.google.com to get something like the desktop iMessage experience with Android- does that work for your use case? (I don't use iMessage so I could just be missing some killer feature it has, or something.)

I've been doing this too! You can install it as a PWA and get a nice desktop experience.

If you can live with SMS instead of iMessage: KDE Connect on Android works very nicely for messaging from the desktop (the Desktop application is available for Linux, Windows and MacOS. Functionality varies per platform but SMS works on all of them). https://kdeconnect.kde.org/

I spent years laughing at other people’s autocorrect fails until I switched from Android. The iOS keyboard experience is unspeakably bad. There’s a point every day where I think, “maybe I’ll just sell the iPhone and get another Pixel, despite Google’s creep factor.”

If its the difference-maker for you: Google Messages has a web experience, and in my not-recent experience it works great.

The iOS 26 keyboard (public beta) is the biggest regression I've ever seen Apple make, and they're a company infamous for regressions. It for me has been the tipping point.

[1] https://messages.google.com/web/

What did they change on iOS 26 in the keyboard?

Something significant changed about the spellchecking and swipe to type algorithms. Significant performance degradation, especially in those "i just need to get a quick message out while walking" situations. Hopefully we see some improvement by GA.

They moved the emoji thing to where the globe is and gave you a bigger space bar. Also changed the font slightly.

> Firefox on mobile with full-fat uBlock Origin

I think uBO is not disabling PPA, does it?

- June 2024. Mozilla acquires Anonym, an ad metrics firm.

- July 2024. Mozilla adds Privacy-Preserving Attribution (PPA), feature is enabled by default. Developed in cooperation with Meta (Facebook).

- Feb 2025. Mozilla updates its Privacy FAQ and TOS. "does not sell data about you." becomes "... in the way that most people think about it".

I will second Google Messages, your SMS messages go to your phone and your desktop at the same time. Easily respond from either. I don't know if SMS messaging gets to iMessage, because I don't use Apple products.

I think it bounces thru your phone since if your phone is off you can't use it on the web.

>It's just too dang nice to respond to chats from my Mac during work so I don't need to pick up my phone.

I've been doing this on Signal for years.

I use brave on ios, the built in adblocker works fine as a substitute to ff + uBlock imo.

> it's iMessage that has me chained

No Apple hardware or software/service (when it comes to Apple software/services they deserve a LOL) has me chained.

It's just how disgusting Google has kept Android for anyone who wants privacy, safety (both usage and data safety in case of loss etc), and reliable updates that people stay in Apple ecosystem even though software/services wise technically they are miles ahead.

If someone ever even proceeds to tell me that "something in apple's stable is technically comparable/better than Google's.." I might rudely ask them to get their head examined.

I just can't reconcile with the fact that Google would track me every milisecond and then use my data for ads and I can't do anything about it. The good news is very soon Apple will start doing the same, if they have not, because they are already an ad company now.

As far as ditching iMessage is concerned - the last time I ditched WhatsApp in my country, I ditched it and after I didn't feel a thing. And WhatsApp in my country is not only instant messaging - it's literal-bllody-ly everything. Everything!

PS. Signal should launch a "Import from iMessage and WhatsApp" :D (Oh, but then how would they prioritise crypto ;-))

if you also switch your phone, messages.google.com has you covered.

Wake me up when someone makes a better Reminders, Calendar and Photos app on Android...

I'm using AdGuard for blocking ads in Safari. Works fine.

I do have a GrapheneOS pixel 7a as well but I'd rather not let Google near my shit.

I can relate to not wanting any of the tech giants near my shit but may I ask what your Google concerns are on GrapheneOS?

I also have an iPhone as well as a GrapheneOS phone. They are different but I'm quite happy with those alternatives to the apps you mentioned:

Etar as a calendar frontend app. DAVx5 for syncing CalDAV and CardDAV (so calendar data, contacts and optionally also tasks). I manage tasks within my notes, so I do not really use a todo/reminder app at all but there are different options. tasks.org plugs into DAVx5, for example.

Depending on your server-side setup and your willingness to compromise on open source, are also other options. For example, if you work with an Exchange server, there is the "Nine - Email & Calendar" app which is a very powerful all-in-one-client similar to traditional Outlook on the desktop.

For photos, there are quite a few solid options, depending on what you want. I use the Fossify Gallery with only my Camera folder visible for day-to-day stuff and also have Aves Libre installed for a more advanced interface to my pictures and videos.

I've tried most of that. It's really nowhere near any of the basic Apple stuff.

I have no issues with GrapheneOS just stock android.

Interesting. Can I ask if you use Apple's cloud services? If so, I understand. I don't use those, even on Apple devices, so to me, the whole setup is similarly annoying on both platforms with maybe a very slight edge towards the iPhone because it has most things I need out of the box. Other than that, I really don't think I miss anything on the "basic stuff" front on my Pixel compared to my iPhone (I use them both daily, with the former being my personal phone and the latter the job-issued one).

I've been doing the dual-driving iPhones and Android devices for a long time and times were definitely worse, in my opinion. The last thing I remember really annoying me on the regular was the lack of AirDrop but with alternatives like LocalSend and KDE connect, that's fixed as well.

I use Apple's cloud services yes. And I have ADP turned on. It just works.

(I have offline backups of everything of course)