Your phone is about to stop being yours • Hacker News Board

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#251

Post by walthamstow » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

empyrrhicist wrote: post #141

pngwen wrote: post #68

This change has served me well! I have been a Mac OS X users for years who used an android phone. As soon as google announced their impending walled garden status, I went out and bought into the ios eco system. I have really been enjoying my iphone, ipad, and apple watch. You see, the only value that Android really offered me was the ability to run my own code on my own device. Since they are taking that away that ju…

> the vastly superior apple experience After switching away from GrapheneOS to iOS after RCS stopped working for me, I can safely say my experience has been the opposite. The camera is the only thing better for me on iOS - everything else is buggier and worse. A few of my favorites: 1. Safari is buggy as hell, and requires installing apps to run things like ad blockers. 2. The settings are ALL over the place and very…

Agree and many more. I had an iPhone 15 Pro for about six months last year and one of the most infuriating things was that you can't get to Camera settings from Camera, you have to go out to Settings.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#252

Post by 627467 » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:36 PM UTC

The level of panic here feels totally out of proportion. While these restrictions are a sad reminder of where personal computing is headed, the shift toward appliances over computers isn’t a new trend at all.

What’s more frustrating is the "your android phone will stop being yours" narrative. Where is that supposed to lead the reader? Moving to iOS to escape restrictions is a total contradiction, as the situation there isn't even comparable. The people who actually care - the F-Droid users and independent developers - are already used to jumping through hurdles and bypassing "install anyway" warnings. They won't be deterred, and new users will learn.

Honestly, you have to wonder if the goal of these dramatic campaigns is just to scare ignorant users into the Apple ecosystem or maybe to prop up emerging Linux phones.

But has anyone actually tried a mainstream Linux phone that isn't a nightmare to use? Compare that experience to the dozens of Android models that work perfectly with LineageOS or other variants. Those are 100% daily drivers with the power, cameras, and battery life fully working. Instead of helpful criticism, these headlines feel like they’re just herding people away from the only practical "open" hardware we actually have.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#253

Post by ethbr1 » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:38 PM UTC

mvdtnz wrote: post #211

gslepak wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or choose freedom. I've been enjoying GrapheneOS for a couple of years now and recommend it.

Graphene sounds great in theory. Until you read the device compatibility page and see you're still at the mercy of Google. In order to support graphene you must first pay Google for one of the most expensive android devices on the market. Oh and Google never sold this device in my country so I guess I'm out of luck even if I wanted to do that.

> Until you read the device compatibility page and see you're still at the mercy of Google.

Alternate take: good. I'd rather the GrapheneOS team pick standardized (if limited) hardware configurations to support and then spend their (many multiples less than Google) resources on the platform rather than device compatibility.

The Android OEM diversity mean the time/economics of supporting every phone with a non-Google OS were never going to work, and I'd rather have it working well on a limited number of platforms than poorly on more.

Firmware engineering and patching sucks and delivers little value to the user, because best case (you solved the issue or patched the hardware errata) something basic that a user expects is now working.

Nobody is going to switch to a platform because a phone can now make calls. Even if there are 1000+ human hours in patching some cheap clone LTE chip it uses.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#254

Post by l72 » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:38 PM UTC

gruez wrote: post #25

jnovek wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but there are issues. You can’t use stuff like banking apps on a modified device and losing access to normal android devices would be a big blow to the momentum of the F-Droid community. GrapheneOS might not be a big enough community to sustain work on the projects delivered by F-Droid.

>You can’t use stuff like banking apps on a modified device IME such apps are few and far between. The most trouble I ran into is play store refusing to show apps because they claim the app isn't compatible with the device, but that can be worked around with aurora store.

My Android is running Lineage without Google Play Services (no microg either).

I had an app that I needed to use, and the only available log-in method was via firebase's SMS. Firebase flat out refused to allow me to login because of Google Play Integrity, and there was no web only option.

I ended up having to use my spouse's iPhone...

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#255

Post by vrganj » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:39 PM UTC

sunaookami wrote: post #117

vrganj wrote: post #48

This feels like something where the EU Commission should step in. This is directly counter to the Digital Markets Act, it's Google abusing its gatekeeper position.

It's not because you can still install apps outside the Play Store. The EU commission buys these "safety" arguments (also worked for Apple, they don't care that you still can't install IPAs) and the DMA is made for businesses, not for end-users. I once wrote them about the Chrome Web Store monopoly but they insist that everything is fine because businesses aren't impacted. They are of course also interested in centra…

It feels like you can draw a pretty clear comparison to the Google Shopping case: https://www.stibbe.com/publications-and-insights/google-shop...

It's not enough to provide some crappier way for competition. Just using your dominance to influence the market at all is already monopoly abuse.

And of course, businesses are affected. App developers are frequently businesses.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#256

Post by 627467 » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:46 PM UTC

apt-apt-apt-apt wrote: post #209

Does this make Android the same as iOS now, in terms of how locked down it is?

Can you install different firmware/OS (tweaked and developed by others not sanctioned by apple) on your iPhone?

Can you install unlimited unsigned apps on iPhone?

If answer is "No", than No, android is still very far from as locked down as iOS

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#257

Post by bloppe » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:46 PM UTC

vfclists wrote: post #218

Cider9986 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should switch to GrapheneOS instead.

You mean buy a Google Pixel? How many people can afford one?

If you're considering buying an iPhone, you can definitely afford a Pixel

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#258

Post by karlzt » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:47 PM UTC

This is the most important part:

>> Developers

Do not sign up. Don't join the program by signing up for the Android Developer Console and agreeing to their irrevocable Terms and Conditions. Don't verify your identity. Don't play ball.

Google's plan only works if developers comply. Don't.

Talk other developers and organizations out of signing up. Add the FreeDroidWarn library to your apps to warn users. Run a website? Add the countdown banner.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#259

Post by supern0va » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:47 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #161

kodablah wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Saying there is no opt-out is just false I can't see where one can opt-out of this new behavior and into the existing behavior, only a description of the new behavior's bypass (which is not the same thing at all) > easy to bypass the cooling-off period with ADB I don't think this is a reasonable use of the term "easy". I should be able to give my non-technical friend an apk and they can use it right then, with the…

> . I should be able to give my non-technical friend an apk and they can use it right then Unfortunately that is the same vector that scammers use to drain people's bank accounts

>Unfortunately that is the same vector that scammers use to drain people's bank accounts

Is the solution really that no one can use a computer without special permission and inspection of government issued identification? If we wouldn't tolerate this with our desktop/laptop OS, why is it suddenly okay for our mobile computing platforms?

If Microsoft required this to run software in Windows, there would be riots.

Re: Your phone is about to stop being yours

#260

Post by gslepak » Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 6:49 PM UTC

muwtyhg wrote: post #182

gslepak wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or choose freedom. I've been enjoying GrapheneOS for a couple of years now and recommend it.

Do you run into issues with apps not supporting it? Things like banking or auth? That is the main complaint I see for alternative phone OSes, and I don't know if that has gotten any better.

Whatever issues I've run into I've been able to work around. I don't use tap-to-pay with the phone at all so that's not an issue. The things I get in return for using GrapheneOS all outweigh any downsides.