I'm using a 5 year old OnePlus Nord that needs to be replaced and all of a sudden I see I have no options but Samsung, Motorola and Google.
Not sure what I'll do. Does Asus still make a phone?
Keep Android Open
11–20 of 72 posts
Re: Keep Android Open
#12It feels like there is a wide open opportunity for some new OS's to enter the mainstream marketplace. I see nothing but dissatisfaction with the incumbents.
I want what you say to be true, but realistically it's not because of the "security" features available to app developers, and the fact that so many companies (even government!) have moved to mandatory apps. I don't know how we ever get past that with a new OS.
Re: Keep Android Open
#13Somewhere along the way, installing became side-loading and the rot started taking hold.
I've been following "hackery" spaces like the console homebrew and Android custom ROM scenes for almost 2 decades now.
There has long been a culture of deliberately making the installation of certain types of free and libre software needlessly complex and using deviancy-coded language simply because it makes the in-group feel cool and elite.
This whole idea of "sideloading" and related terminology being Google FUD only came about in the past couple of years. For the decade before it was people on xda-developers deliberately throwing words like that around because they wanted to prove they were true 1337 h4xx0rz.
Re: Keep Android Open
#14We need a financial way to reward the resistance. Big corps do not care, as we saw them cave to Apple. Anyway, I did my part, basically I only use FDroid. I filled this out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3UQeNspQsZCO2ITk... >Combat astroturfing: when you encounter suspect posts on community forums and social media in support of the policy (“Well, actually…”), challenge them and do not be shy. Someone co…
Well, actually I've long held the view that accusations of astroturfing, shilling, being a Chinese/Russian/CIA/MAGA/Soros/Martian bot, etc, are just people being too lazy to take on arguments they dislike with well-reasoned arguments of their own, but needing some sort of a quick "exit strategy" out of a conversation. Maybe this isn't true on Facebook, but here or on Reddit it is always far more likely that you're talking to an actual, possibly very wrong/bad, human being.
What is perfectly reasonable and rational is to only respond to clearly written arguments with some evidence of thought and time invested in them, and to consider others to be too low-effort or spammy to invest time in responding to. But guess what? Real humans spam for free, they're mostly not paid to do so by the PRC or George Soros.
Re: Keep Android Open
#15> it will no longer be possible to develop apps for the Android platform without first registering centrally with Google
This is inaccurate. The enforcement is through Google Mobile Services. The article fails to point out that some manufacturers build versions/forks of Android that do not include GMS, but these are still technically Android.
Re: Keep Android Open
#16The detail that keeps getting lost in these threads: the "advanced flow" for power users is delivered through Google Play Services, not the Android OS. That's the whole game. It means the safeguard is not part of AOSP. It ships as a closed component that Google can narrow, gate, or remove in any Play Services update, with no Android version bump, no OEM coordination, no user consent beyond the usual auto-update. "Ope…
What follows is the "advanced flow." I feel like there should be a class action lawsuit in response to this as when I purchased my device I had an expectation that I could install apps without this insane limitation
Enable Developer Mode ↗ by tapping the software build number in About Phone seven times
In Settings > System, open Developer Options and scroll down to “Allow Unverified Packages.”
Flip the toggle and answer a scare screen confirming that you are not being coerced
Enter your device unlock pin/password
Restart your device
Wait 24 hours
Return to the unverified packages menu at the end of the security delay
Scroll past additional scare screen warnings and select either “Allow temporarily” (seven days) or “Allow indefinitely.”
On the next scare screen, confirm that you understand the risks.
You can now install unverified packages on the device by tapping the “Install anyway” option in the package manager.Re: Keep Android Open
#17Question. How will this play with distributions like graphene that allow for no Google play services?
Re: Keep Android Open
#18We need a financial way to reward the resistance. Big corps do not care, as we saw them cave to Apple. Anyway, I did my part, basically I only use FDroid. I filled this out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3UQeNspQsZCO2ITk... >Combat astroturfing: when you encounter suspect posts on community forums and social media in support of the policy (“Well, actually…”), challenge them and do not be shy. Someone co…
F-Droid really does have some great stuff, and you can know that the default posture is user respect rather than the opposite situation of the Play Store. I've started almost exclusively using F-Droid, excepting only for a few core apps that aren't available there (much to my disappointment). If you haven't searched/browsed F-Droid in the last few years, do it . You'll likely be pleasantly surprised.
F-Droid is amazing. I basically wont install anything from the playstore unless its my bank or something.
Video games on F-Droid are how Android games should be. They have the spirt: No ads, no micro transactions, etc..
Kids educational games are the same. I have been using those games only for years and I've had 0 issues. Playstore games, you get an update and now your progress is frozen unless you pay.
Guitar tuner? same
File explorer, image viewer, etc... Same
Everything: same
Re: Keep Android Open
#19This initiative is well-appreciated, but - are we not barking up the wrong tree? Should the effort really be focused on pressuring Alphabet to modify an ecosystem that they already partially closed, and that they already have overall control over - rather than promoting a properly free alternative? I mean, non-Android Linux phones are already a thing, albeit clunky and not very popular. Would it not make sense to get some non-US entities (NGOs, phone manufacturers/vendors, municipalities or even states or multi-state entities) to form a consortium and invest enough in finishing up the engineering work necessary to make that a viable alternative? Without any single party controlling it?
Re: Keep Android Open
#20I've had to deal with google's review process for docs add-ons and play store apps. It was a demotivating experience, disrespectful, inhumane and unfair. The idea that this will be the only way to be allowed to create things for android is so depressing. Putting hundreds of hours of effort into an app to hear back a vague "does not comply with some rule" is such a let down. This has been my main motivation to degoogle.