I'm considering buying a pixel 7(a/pro) or pixel 8(a/pro). I was wondering if the longer updates for the pixel 8 impacts grapheneOS, and if that means I should go for the pixel 8. And have any GrapheneOS users here had any issues that they wouldn't have had on Android.
I've used graphene for over a year, and it's been solid. If you have the sandboxed Google play installed all apps will work fine, and as long as you don't rely on heavily commercialized apps everything will likely work without play services as well (sans push notifications for apps that rely on firebase). RCS will work if you have Gplay services and the carrier services app installed.
One in a while there will be a slight hiccup in the UI, but I've experienced far worse on stock android, so I'm assuming it's normal operating stutters. All in all it's very reliable.