2 things: First, Windows 12 being subscription only has been “debunked” multiple times, as the source for the article that shouted that from the rooftops was code for Windows 11 - which MS is currently working to have a subscription cloud-based version of for enterprise customers. Second, MS is 100% working on and going to launch cloud based Windows for enterprise customers “soon”. It can be largely cloud based, and all that has to be installed local is instructions for how to log in and access the cloud during boot, and likely won’t be able to do anything itself if the internet is disconnected.
My biggest hurdle is honestly that GrapheneOS only supports Pixel phones… I had one once and hated it and honestly don’t know how much of that was because of google’s android or the phone itself and am reluctant to buy a new pixel phone to try GrapheneOS and find out I still hate the hardware. I’ve had a much better “out of the box” experience with Samsung phones (and love that my current one has an sd card slot and headphone jack - but I know that’s pretty much non-existent on new phones) but am finding they are so locked down and closed off by Samsung you can’t really put anything else on it and have it work properly as far as I can tell.
It’s time for a new phone, and I’m honestly not sure what to do… The easy route seems like getting a pixel and putting GrapheneOS on it before doing anything else, but I just don’t super trust that the hardware isn’t going to drive me nuts…