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Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

motorolanews.com

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Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#471

Post by QuiEgo »

Zak wrote: post #350
neya wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just developer fantasy. The average consumer doesn't care even one bit. Is the phone smooth? Does it have a good camera? Does it have a good battery? Does it last more than 2 years? Go to some developing countries around Asia and you'll be surprised how people prioritise features when buying a phone vs developed ones. The developing countries account for most of the sales of most phone manufacturers. Phones t…

It's not just the average consumer. I continue to be surprised that so many developers and other tech nerds - the type who post on HN - chose and continue to choose the iPhone over Android when Apple dictates what apps they can install and locks third-party accessories out of certain features. Current times do present the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue though. App store bans for apps like ICEBlock, and v…

This reminds me of when people say “I can’t believe developers use VS Code, real developers use vim/emacs”

It’s a tool, a means to an end. I just want my tool to be easy to use and work.

Another analogy would be cars: do you tune and modify, or do you want a transportation appliance?

There is no wrong answer. Maybe your hobby is tinkering with your tools. If that’s you, more power to you.

I want a phone, editor, and car that are easy to use and “just work.”

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#472

Post by bombolo »

summm wrote: post #182
SyneRyder wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a Motorola phone (G Stylus 2025) while in the US after discovering my brand new Sony Xperia VII phone would not work in upstate NY. It's a great device, I loved using it. It had features I specifically wanted (still has a 3.5mm jack, a microSD slot, and wireless charging). It also looks fantastic with their Pantone colours, and it feels more comfortable than my Xperia VII. There's a wired fast charge feature…

Motorola omitted a magnetometer in some of their models. This was especially heinous as the "compass needle" can be emulated to some degree by fusion if gps and rotation/acceleration sensors, so the user wouldn't immediately notice the total lack of a compass. Since then I am always wary of what seemingly essential part of a phone they will omit this time...

[dead]

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#473

Post by emporas »

neya wrote: post #216
BatteryMountain wrote: post #108

If anyone from Motorola reads this thread; the market is beyond ripe for a good shake up. Going full open source and pushing updates & openness, user control and freedom, you will gobble up a good chunk of market share. Make MDM easy & first class (no third parties...), and a ton of corp will roll it out too. We need you more than you think.

This is just developer fantasy. The average consumer doesn't care even one bit. Is the phone smooth? Does it have a good camera? Does it have a good battery? Does it last more than 2 years? Go to some developing countries around Asia and you'll be surprised how people prioritise features when buying a phone vs developed ones. The developing countries account for most of the sales of most phone manufacturers. Phones t…

> What developers want and what the average consumer wants/needs are two different things.

This description of average consumer is so 2021. Nowadays the average consumer can vibe code stuff and share it with his friends. So he needs a package manager not only an app store.

I personally don't hold vibe coding in any high regard, I hate not knowing and controlling what code is running on my computer/device, but I can see the value for amateurs in just playing around and occasionally destroying the OS, installing it again and so on.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#474

Post by RobGR »

LtWorf wrote: post #262
RobotToaster wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The market for programs like revanced is pretty big, that's why Google is going to remove "sideloading". At which point there will be a large market for an open phone that allows the user to install what they want.

As long as the banking apps and such work.

This could develop into a chance for a crypto wallet to shine.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#475

Post by CivBase »

This is excellent news. Hopefully Motorola will soon produce a GraphineOS-compatible device that meets my needs.

Although I seem to curse whatever company I buy a smartphone from. My last three devices were from HTC, LG, and Sony. Hopefully Motorola doesn't share the same fate.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#476

Post by behnamoh »

emporas wrote: post #473
neya wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just developer fantasy. The average consumer doesn't care even one bit. Is the phone smooth? Does it have a good camera? Does it have a good battery? Does it last more than 2 years? Go to some developing countries around Asia and you'll be surprised how people prioritise features when buying a phone vs developed ones. The developing countries account for most of the sales of most phone manufacturers. Phones t…

> What developers want and what the average consumer wants/needs are two different things. This description of average consumer is so 2021. Nowadays the average consumer can vibe code stuff and share it with his friends. So he needs a package manager not only an app store. I personally don't hold vibe coding in any high regard, I hate not knowing and controlling what code is running on my computer/device, but I can s…

> Nowadays the average consumer can vibe code stuff and share it with his friends. So he needs a package manager not only an app store.

This is also developer fantasy for two reasons:

(1) Most vibed apps suck in unpredictable ways.

(2) Most avg consumers don't even know what Claude is, let alone Claude Code, let alone being good enough at vibing to produce anything of value.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#477

Post by nhubbard »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #423

A Moto phone with GrapheneOS and the "chop / chop" gesture[0] to turn on the flashlight would be a dream. I'm, shamefully, an adherent to Moto hardware now because of that silly gesture. I use it multiple times a day. I had a friend with a late model Pixel try to replicate the functionality and he couldn't come up with a way to do it. It's silly, but it's too handy. [0] https://en-us.support.motorola.com/app/answers/…

One of the important reasons that it works so well is because it uses the Hexagon DSP in the Snapdragon processors to catch the events. That's why it's so hard to replicate. It's possible to do it entirely in software, but it chews through battery if you do it that way. I can't find it now, but there was an article a few years ago that explained how the feature worked.

And there's no way to program the DSP without being the creator of the device because Qualcomm requires DSP programs to be signed, as far as I'm aware, and the key has to be trusted by the device vendor.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#478

Post by the_real_cher »

neya wrote: post #216
BatteryMountain wrote: post #108

If anyone from Motorola reads this thread; the market is beyond ripe for a good shake up. Going full open source and pushing updates & openness, user control and freedom, you will gobble up a good chunk of market share. Make MDM easy & first class (no third parties...), and a ton of corp will roll it out too. We need you more than you think.

This is just developer fantasy. The average consumer doesn't care even one bit. Is the phone smooth? Does it have a good camera? Does it have a good battery? Does it last more than 2 years? Go to some developing countries around Asia and you'll be surprised how people prioritise features when buying a phone vs developed ones. The developing countries account for most of the sales of most phone manufacturers. Phones t…

The average consumer WILL like an OS that isnt overly cluttered and simpler and cleaner.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#479

Post by saltcured »

bayindirh wrote: post #246
neya wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just developer fantasy. The average consumer doesn't care even one bit. Is the phone smooth? Does it have a good camera? Does it have a good battery? Does it last more than 2 years? Go to some developing countries around Asia and you'll be surprised how people prioritise features when buying a phone vs developed ones. The developing countries account for most of the sales of most phone manufacturers. Phones t…

If this translates to longer device retention (if you enable battery changes, a current gen device can easily last a decade), people will care. $200 phone that you can use for 5+ years without handicapping the user will be a much bigger hit. This translates well to the boots paradox. This can change "cheaper is much more expensive in the long run" to "cheaper is a bit more expensive on the long run". This, of course,…

The cynic in me thinks Motorola somehow won't really enable that since it would cut into their recurring sales too much..?

But, I agree. I used several Motorola phones and those were the main two reasons I replaced them. They either ran until the battery was misbehaving or I became concerned about the state of the software. The other reason would be actual tech changes such as LTE/5G and the transitional period where not all models supported all the important radio bands for my providers.

A few Motos have stayed in the family and had amazingly long lives as home devices (no SIM). I'd love for the balance to somehow come out in favor of your hopes. I.e. they decde they can save so much on OS maintenance costs that they don't mind the effect of users holding onto phones longer.

Re: Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS

#480

Post by mckenzba »

rangestransform wrote: post #418
sho_hn wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so many developers and other tech nerds - the type who post on HN The average developer stopped being a "tech nerd" around 2010 or so. I think older developers sometimes don't understand how the ranks have swollen and how many, many more people are in software now that don't have the "I was a nerdy kid in the 90s, loved computers and chose the career" upbringing. The average developer now has a MacBook, went to a b…

I used to be a custom rom guy in high school, and I also used to develop apps for my nexus 5. Now I have an iPhone and I save the tech nerding for work hours. I definitely would not have gotten this far without my custom rom days, but now my phone just needs to do phone things so I can work on robots instead.

This. I was heavily involved with the Maemo community back in the day and even made an Ubuntu 9.04 port to the Nokia N800/N810. These days I'm juggling multiple responsibilities and I need to conserve my mental energy for work. I certainly credit my career on that tinkering, but these days I just want something that works so I can put my energy elsewhere.
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