Gonna save You a click:
“LineageOS says Google’s new developer verification system will not affect devices running its custom ROM.”
*directly
Several projects have already announced sunsetting in light of this announcement. It’s hard to predict what will come of even major projects like F-Droid, but there will absolutely be a major cooling effect on the entire platform.
But why? As far as I know these projects make money from donations and surely the people that donate would have a custom ROM or root, speaking of which, there are app installers that work with Shizuku
There’s been app whose developers stopped after no longer being able to publish to the Google Play Store, even though they also published to F-Droid.
I don’t know why, but the “cooling effect” is certainly real.
Yep. In some cases, Google play sales subsidize FOSS users. In other cases, if the user count is not high enough through all sources, it’s just not worth it for the devs to keep working on a niche project. F-Droid users are a tiny fraction of users, and ROM users are a fraction of F-Droid users.
The sun always sets. But which projects are shutting down?
Here’s the real thing. Without custom ROM you are not only at Google’s mercy but at the mercy of the carrier, who gets paid to install loads of junk you can’t remove. Adware and surveillance is the goal here, and the ability to remove it is the target.
This is not true at least here. There are no vendor locked phones AFAIK. Idk why, maybe another EU boss move. You need to start regulating this shit across the pond.
You can always buy your hardware.
From who? I’d really love to know as I’ve tried.Motorola direct purchases come with junk installed you can’t remove. Samsung direct, even worse. Ironically Google has the cleanest Android image. Fairphone et al. aren’t available in the US as far as I know.
The funny thing is this will kill the premium android phone market harder than any other move Google could make.
Incompetent losers, Google is such a massive waste of resources.
I feel like you’re overestimating the number of people who buy a Google or Samsung device because they want to install third party apps. A lot of them buy an Android device because they just don’t like Apple. Most folks don’t install anything from anywhere other than the Play Store because they don’t even know there are other choices.
In general, people’s preferences are most often born from whatever their first device was, and nothing more, with little interest in what they can do with it other than what’s required of them.
This isn’t going to move the needle at all. Most normal people don’t give a shit, and unfortunately the normal people out number us by a lot.
I do not understand this statement.
You mean if it’s not possible to easily sideload apps, people won’t buy premium android phones?
Because if that’s the reason, iPhones would be a massive failure.
If everyone in the world was like me and you, yes, the most popular phone would be the fairphone and maybe they would even sell it with a Linux ROM, while iPhones and other phones with locked bootloaders would be impossible to sell even at 95% discount, but we account for the 0.0001%
This won’t even dent the premium phone market.
People are too fucking stupid. Honestly, why even bother if we’re a small fraction of the community.
I wish that were true. But most consumers buy a phone based on a few metrics - the screen (large, bright, vibrant), fast CPU/GPU (mobile gamers), cameras, storage capacity, software support longevity, battery life, general bling (colors, shiny), and pre-chosen platform/cult (Android, iOS).
Techies like us care. But we’re very much the exception, not the rule.
And if sideloading can be unlocked and available after a 24-hour wait - as Google suggests - then it’ll matter even less.
Frankly most consumers only consider screen size from specs, brand and price (not value necessarily).
Tech sucks now. Nothing I own is truly mine anymore. And things are getting more and more locked into vendor platforms where you actually rent stuff instead of own stuff
Claw it back.
Can you still install Lineage OS on a flagship modern phone?
You’d need to check for a specific device in their wiki but I’d be rare if they don’t support ir or that they aren’t working to port it to a device
Oddly I’m yet to own a device they do support.
I suppose it’s mostly my fault as I’ve not proactively searched before purchasing.
If you own a Samsung Galaxy the supported devices are pretty grim.
That’s odd, I can remember back in my day that Samsung-s were like the first thing they poked with because pretty much everyone used Samsung phones. Maybe they did something to their bootloader or something…?
I won’t blame you for not knowing, though, but now that the writing is on the wall, better be sure before buying another phone about compatibility for third party OSes, if not one that comes with one already installed
Samsung no longer has unlock able boot AFAIK
Yes absolutely 👍
I’m also courting the idea of using a Sailfish OS phone.
Yeah you really need to check the Wiki before shopping. OnePlus is a pretty good choice. That’s what I had until switching to GrapheneOS (Pixel devices only for now, something from Moto next year).
I run it on my Oneplus 12, a couple years omd but I’d consider it a modern flagship.
Calyx on a Fairphone 6 perhaps ? allows you to lock and unlock the bootloader for anal apps that need it
What about huawei phones?
Annoying, but it’s a once only thing to have to wait 24 hours, as soon as they bring this in, I’ll try and install something I don’t need immediately to start the process, then I’m ready to install stuff when I need it.
Is it a slippery slope? I hope not.
When you buy a device you fucking own it. Not Google. Not anyone else. I don’t need permission from Google to do what I want, with the device I own.
Seriously folks. Google set out to solve the problem of scammers tricking normies into installing malicious apps, and they found a solution that both does that and barely inconveniences power users. It’s an ideal and elegant solution that they arrived at after soliciting user feedback and listening to it. What more do you want from them?
Could this have been way worse? Absolutely. Will they try something worse in the future? Absolutely. They probably only chose this solution because so many of us provided feedback and pushback. But take the win and fight a different battle. There are so many problems and attacks on ownership privacy and freedom right now, so stop wasting your effort on the one fight we already won.
Seriously folks. Google set out to solve the problem of scammers tricking normies into installing malicious apps
That must be why I can’t find malware in the play store, right?
RIGHT?!?!
