As a service to the team, and, as always, to help others but at the same
time to find others who know more than I do who can help me too, I propose
people who want non-Google apps perhaps consider testing this FOSS dialer.
*Right Dialer* by Goodwy (warning: In-app purchases)
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 4.4 in 2.59K reviews at 500K+ downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.goodwy.dialer>

As all here know, one by one I replace the Google apps with better
non-Google FOSS apps, where a "dialer" is a fundamental component.

Keeping in mind the confusion that a "dialer" isn't a "contact manager",
although most perform both tasks, what you set in the Android defaults
is a "Phone" app (which can be either a dialer or contact manager or both).

Right Dialer by Goodwy has a few nice options, particularly for the keypad,
where it can be made larger & with letters & it can be the default screen.

I like that it has options to make the call screen transparent and it can
replace the obnoxious swipe with a simple click to accept incoming calls.

Since I tend to pocket dial lately during my testing, it can force a
confirmation dialog before initiating calls. It has a missed-call
notification, and it can turn off the proximity sensor during calls.

You can separately turn on touch beeps and clicks independent of the
settings in the operating system, and the call history display is
particularly nicely customizable, e.g., it can group like calls together.

Like most dialers, it contains a contact manager, which, for me, is empty
since I keep the contacts.sqlite database empty for reasons of privacy.

Unfortunately, unlike the Simple Mobile Tools apps, Right Dialer does not
have a concept of importing/exporting its own vcard/csv contacts database.

That means I still need to maintain my contacts outside of the contacts
default sqlite location inside a specific contact manager app (that's ok).

I had tried the Simple Mobile Tools dialer app, which works fine alone, but
it didn't play nicely when calls came in while I was doing stuff &
therefore I wanted to easily switch back and forth between dialer &
whatever I was doing. Still, it's a nice privacy-aware dialer by itself.
*Simple Dialer* by Simple Mobile Tools
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 4.2 in 8.51K reviews at 1M+ Downloads
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobiletools.dialer>

In summary, I'm testing out Right Dialer by Goodwy, which, if others are
seeking a better non-Google dialer, might work for you - especially as most
of you fall prey to putting your contacts into the default location for the
app to access.

But if someone knows more than I do who can add a better dialer, please do.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to suggest a better yet non-Google dialer.