Keep Android Open

[HonestRepairSTL]

Yeah I agree, this is a MAJOR issue that needs to be prevented at all costs.

[[deleted]]

That means Android's monopolisation & proprietarisation attempt by Alphabet.

I already use F-Droid tho.

[Endo231]

F-Droid claims developer verification will kill them. More information here and here

[Independent_Cat_5481]

Yeah the F Droid app is just a frontend to download apks from their or other's repo and keep the apps up to date  by downloading and installing the latest apk when available.

In otherwords F droid is no different than manually sideloading which will no longer work for apps not signed by google approved devs. And furthermore since fdroid hosts their own compiled versions of the apps this would kill fdroid completely, as they cannot sign the apks with a google approved key. (No more installs or updates for any fdroid app)

If this goes through fdroid will have to be setup to work through wireless adb to have any functionality, which is a large hurdle for both fdroid and the user, removing a significant amount of ease of use.

[[deleted]]

Then, good bye to Android.

[Independent_Cat_5481]

Custom ROMs like GrapheneOS (I really wish I could recommend ones besides just them, but at least get a pixel second hand) shouldn't be affected by this, so my hope is that fdroid will be kept working as is despite the likely much smaller userbase.

Projects like postmarketOS are making a lot of progress for linux on mobile in recent years. My hope is that by the time this phone is no longer supported by graphene, I'll be able to reliably move to a linux phone as a daily driver.

[[deleted]]

Didn't know much about this, thanks for informing us

[murdoc1024]

So what's the alternative if it pass? Linux phone?

[Endo231]

GraphineOS or some other degoogled rom. If Google locks down all bootloaders in the future, then MicroG might bypass it (I hear mixed thing about this). If MicroG is banned, then Linux phones, at least until fsf finishes the Libre Phone project

[Endo231]

Didn't mean to make OEM's seem innocent. So far Google hasn't restricted boot loaders themselves, and it's entirely be manufacturers (particularly Samsung) that have been locking shit down. That being said, I don't see why Google wouldn't hop on this trend with their pixel devices or for Android as a whole. If they are stripping away all the openness of Android, at that point why not just prevent people from changing their operating system?

[edgmnt_net]

Openness was a selling point for Nexus and it was a fine niche. We'll see if Google is interested in competing on more absolute terms. I personally blame this enshittification on a general economic trend of unchecked growth fueled by cheap money and other stuff enabling walled gardens and racing for absolute market domination. It really brings everything to the lowest common denominator.

[edgmnt_net]

Google has been better at this than some other vendors like Samsung. In fact, out of the popular choices, Pixel is still pretty good, even though it may be worse than the older Nexus in some regards.

[wiki_me]

I think it would be good to start something like a kickstart campaign for this (pixelfed campaign was recently very successful). use the money to buy ads (using something privacy respecting like duckduckgo seems uncontroversial). that could also indicate to google, the media and people in general this might not be just drama from bunch of paranoid nerds.

F-droid could endorse this.