LineageOS has their own implementation of gapps, which they have built into their sandbox system. I can choose to install Google services as a sandboxed app rather than a package that I have to flash to the OS at install time, as it is to my understanding you cannot flash gapps to an install that is not clean through implementations like microG.
Really? Every installation I've seen with Lineage is to flash microG or MindTheGapps separately
I've used lineage for a few years now with only Magisk as an extra zip (no gapps) and I have not seen any google activity.
https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play
I unfortunately can’t speak to what they mean by sandboxed Google Play being ‘close to fully functional’ as I haven’t used it yet.
I’ve also been trying to replace notification push servers for msg notifications as those are usually routed through Google services. This article has a short explanation of what I’m referring to: https://medium.com/@KaushalVasava/push-notification-in-andro...
Like others have mentioned, I was also referring to the connectivity checks as well. GrapheneOS maintains some servers to provide the same service which the Google equivalents do, just without actually talking to Google.
if graphene or calyx don't fit, then /e/OS is really the best option from all the remaining alternatives.