I assume it’s possible, but it seems like a huge task and I’m not sure where to start. It seems like official support ended with the loss of upstream security patches, which makes sense. I plan on using my phone strictly on trusted wifi and with non-sensitive data, so I’m not overly concerned about device security, I mostly just want it as a test device for developing applications. A side benefit of porting the OS to the device will be getting more familiar with the OS and device interfaces, which I have been meaning to do anyway as I’ll need it for some of the apps I have in mind.
I guess my questions are, where should I start? Are there particular pitfalls I should look out for? Will the lack of modern kernel security have implications for the security of apps developed for that platform? Is such a thing even doable / feasible? Should I just use PostmarketOS instead?
PostmarketOS recently added support for the Pixel 3, and I’d recommend that instead of what you’ve proposed. That gives you a great way to tinker with it alongside an active development community, without being completely on your own.
That’s what I just did with my old 3a that was collecting dust after it went EOL, and it’s been a really fun project.
That is a good point, and PostmarketOS is definitely one of the options in the mix. I actually didn’t know it had official support, will have to give that another spin. I have Postmarket on another device but I’ve never gotten it running on a Pixel 3.