My feeling is that this whole silliness will backfire spectacularly! Huawei will develop their own OS. It's hard but not impossible. Who cares if there's buy-in from the entire developer community...nowadays people don't use apps that much anyways. Apps are just another way of consumption. Most apps can probably be replaced with webviews with little lost of functionality. I don't know enough about the technical difficulties they'll have in developing a brand new os, but it's been done multiple times. In any case, this sux for all parties.
The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
191–200 of 355 posts
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#192Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder at what point it makes sense for Samsung, HP, Huawei, LG etc. to get together to make another OS... they sell a lot of phones across the globe. Hell, even include Microsoft in there too.
If those companies were interested in investing the billions required for such a venture, they wouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place.
I don't think it's that. After network effects kick in, the chances for creating a viable OS are extremely slim. They could have invested three times what Google has invested in Android and still fail.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really? Do you think Samsung and LG would be more likely to develop not to mention support an Android competitor? This ban is the best thing that happened to Korean mobile phone manufacturers for years. Huawei was breathing down Sammy’s neck things are looking much bright for them now.
After this fiasco, I'm more than ever willing to change to Huawei. Best yet if they change to a platform not based on Android. I'm done with Google (and Android soon) in every possible way.
As first step I switched from terrible Android TV to WebOs and it's absolutely amazing OS. I wonder why nobody is using it in smartphones.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
Everywhere from Nigeria to Lesotho basically. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35288650-the-next-factor...
Those stories are exaggerated. Using Ethiopia as an example, there is no infrastructure, unreliable electricity, widespread crime, no direct sea connection, and a literacy rate of only 55%. Average IQ is 69. If you build a factory there, you have to also build the power plant, the roads or rails, train and educate the workforce, and secure everything. Contrast that against somewhere like Indonesia, where you have lit…
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Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#195Earlier quoted context omitted.
Huawei could make their own Play Services, API-compatible with Google, then all apps would work the same. Maybe that's what they actually do now.
As the article says, Amazon spent _years_ trying this approach and ultimately failed with their phone project. So sure it's possible, but it's not as easy as you perhaps think?
Amazon's phone failed because it was a new product in a very crowded market that didn't offer anything new of significance.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, microG exists and is amazing — but even it is only replacing an absolutely tiny part of the APIs, and even those it can’t replace fully yet and a lot of work is still to be done. I remember days when Android was still open, nowadays I’m fighting against the ever-increasing restrictions with my open source apps with every single OS update.
No, no, no - GP isn't saying replace the bits that support the proprietary Google services. They're saying that there's easy and simple drop in replacements, app and service wise that can hook into better services/ones you host.
There are? Now that’s interesting, because I’ve spent the past 5 years developing open source Android apps and such projects. (And e.g. my app Quasseldroid is also on F-Droid)
I’d be interested in what existing, working solution for a FCM replacement there is? Replacing the apps is simple, replacing the services is the hard part.
If there is a working open FCM alternative, please link it, I’d immediately add support for it in my apps.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#197The article links to an interesting view on how even AOSP is a no-go for Huawei: https://www.xda-developers.com/analysis-huawei-aosp-google-b... What I find interesting is that Apache Licensed software can be relicensed even in proprietary form (as long as you make it a derivative work, with your derivative bits with a proprietary license), thus the easy way out seems to be to have a non-US entity make a proprietary…
I think that article is taking the wrong approach. If Huawei doesn't have a US presence, which they won't after this, and if they really are an arm of the Chinese espionage complex then what's to stop them from just downloading ASOP source and doing whatever they like with it, based on ARM's reaction is unlikely other western countries are gonna allow Huawei much longer so it really only has access to the Chinese mar…
That's my thought, why would Huawei even care about licensing? They've certainly stolen plenty before (Nortel and Cisco). Any discussion about licensing and contracts is meaningless when you're dealing with an entity perfectly ok with just stealing the product.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#198I have a few comments on this. First, Google as a money making corporation would probably not like this restriction enforced by the US government. Second, I used to use Android and when I did I avoided installing any apps, preferring to use web versions of the services I needed. The Huawei phones could be functional with some thoughtful default setups, home screen icons linked to appropriate web URIs, etc. The big ki…
I concur. Google ws forced to force their hand for almost no value. If anything they will lose client/data base.
Also google product lost trust, as a business platform in result. So imho they lose double time here. Because they are forcing out 3rd biggest phone seller to competition.
The fact that this competition is practically non existent makes things even more unpredictable imho, which businesses doesn't like.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#199My feeling is that this whole silliness will backfire spectacularly! Huawei will develop their own OS. It's hard but not impossible. Who cares if there's buy-in from the entire developer community...nowadays people don't use apps that much anyways. Apps are just another way of consumption. Most apps can probably be replaced with webviews with little lost of functionality. I don't know enough about the technical diffi…
Let's be honest, if Huawei (sponsored by the Chinese government) creates their own open/shared OS together with other Chinese manufacturers, Chinese people will switch eventually.
If WeChat is ported to the new OS, other apps will soon follow. The result: a Chinese OS that's completely independent of American manufacturers.
It's also possible that this will cause Huawei and the Chinese government to pour funding into Chinese chip designs. Eventually, China will become less dependent on the US and the US will lose another point of influence.
Is this bad for Huawei in the short term? Of course. But is this hurting the Chinese economy in the long term? I don't think so.
Re: The Huawei Disaster Reveals Google’s Iron Grip on Android
#200Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would assume any regulation will need to be vendor neutral so yes. I am just pointing out that Europe is not powerless even though I think the odds isn't high that they will do something like this.
So basically making the mobile OSes more windows like in easily allowing people to install malware?
This is an intellectually dishonest argument as it conflates the definition of "malware" between platforms.
Mobile application permission systems don't cease to exist in the absence of a sanctioned app store. The only thing that disappears is the ability for Google or others to completely remove an application that is abusing the permissions a user granted: but the permissions are still there.
Even in the worst-case scenario, malware on modern phone operating systems is substantially more limited in disruptive and destructive power than what one can achieve on Windows without a UAC grant.