Google: 'Your $1000 phone needs our permission to install apps now'". Android users are screwed - Louis Rossmann
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Probably they need to pay for an IMEI fee their government wants. I know because it's the same here. I got PinePhone for $200 and had to pay for $250 IMEI fee. What did I do? Changed the IMEI to my old dead phone's.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Nice, that makes sense. Doesn't is store more data than just an IMEI number though, like make/model, did you have to spoof that as well or was that easily ignored
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if this happens my next phone either will be a linux phone (if I can find a dependable one with banking apps allowed) or iOS out of spite
iOS
IOS already does this.
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They have to be user removable, not hot-removable. Take a FP6 as an example, you have to remove a couple of screw to get to it, then another couple to remove it. What are forbidden will be glued batteries and back panels.
That’s convenient to swap a battery but I feel like my phone is more likely to get soaked than need a battery swap at any time in the next two years. The FP6 is IP55 rated.
Looks like FP6 battery is £45 and iPhone 14 is £60-£90 depending where you buy it. I know I can get that done in the next hour or two where I live, so I don’t see it as a big deal.
The replaceable camera feature is more compelling because a broken front iPhone camera can effectively brick the device.
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There isn’t barely any good alternative for smartphones. Tech companies and CEO’s are now what the Church and the Pope were in the Middle Ages. Both keep the masses dumb, ignorant and hateful.
More important for your analogy is to keep the masses paying indulgences.
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It's time the community open source movement starting gaining a lot more traction on mobile. We need better hardware support and standards for a streamlined non-Google/Apple/MS platform. Something not beholden to any single company or country
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iOS
IOS already does this.
Yeah but he's doing it out of spite since the whole point of Android is freedom to do what you want. Take that away... Might as well go apple.
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This should read that google is screwed, as android users flock to alternative phones. But no, so many would rather just keep on bending the knee to daddy data scrap.
And are these alternative phones in the room with you?
Seriously, the alternatives to Google's Android are:
iOS: lol
GrapheneOS: Currently at the mercy of Google
Lineage: Same
/e/OS: SamePlus a bunch of half baked Linux distros that run on old or limited hardware.
We're in a duopoly because it doesn't suit the manufacturers to give a shit.
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Pixels are inferior to even the cheapest android phones out there. I have a two year old Motorola stylus that cost $100 and battery life is still over two days and I've dropped it a million times. Evey pixel I've owned had major issues with screen or battery life not worth the price when google can't handle making reliable hardware. Plus I have a headphone Jack.
I mean everyone has anecdotal evidence to "prove" their point... I have a Pixel 7a that still lasts 2 days and I've dropped it a million times and the screen hasn't cracked. It's also 2+ years old.
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Nice, that makes sense. Doesn't is store more data than just an IMEI number though, like make/model, did you have to spoof that as well or was that easily ignored
wrote last edited by [email protected]Normally, yes. As for my government concerns, I'm using Nexus 5X. They probably would notice if they investigate but as long as there are no more than 1 active phones with the same IMEI, they most likely won't notice.
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Removable batteries are coming back, as they become mandatory in the EU in 2027.
Or you can already get one with a Fairphone (which also has SD card slot).
As for the headphone jack, I'm afraid it won't come back. Bluetooth alternatives are far better these days (I got both, so I know from experience), and good adapters (like Apple one) are barely more than $10.I have a fp4 and it is VERY annoying to not have jack(I don't wanna use bluetooth because jack works, doesn't need a battery and is low tech), so now I only listen to music on my computer, but I'm planning on making an mp3 player with a raspberry pi pico.
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if this happens my next phone either will be a linux phone (if I can find a dependable one with banking apps allowed) or iOS out of spite
Take a look at SailfishOS, it's good.
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(non-Android) Linux phones aren't really ready for daily driving even for relatively advanced users - but it looks like we're gonna have to deal with it anyhow
SailfishOS os daily drivable IMO.
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Its like Microsoft and Google are teaming up to drive me closer to Linux.
Yes, learn the truth and be enlightened. Both Microsoft and Google have been secretly scheming for a while now, with the sole intent to get girthero closer to Linux
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Apple isn't a marketing company? Wow, if anything I would say that singularly defines what has made them successful. They put out solidly mid hardware, but are the best marketers in tech and always were.
Until a few months ago I was all-in the Apple ecosystem. iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV. Seeing them launch things like Universal Control was amazing.
Then I jumped out, got a Pixel, put Graphene on it, and started messing with Linux.
... Only to discover that Universal Control is essentially just Input Leap, which can trace its history back to 2001 and the launch of Synergy.
Apple are absolutely a marketing company. Don't get me wrong, they add some much-needed polish, but they essentially just rejig existing tech and lock it down so it only works on their devices sold in the last few years.
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The hardware is absolutely not mid. It is inflexible. Compare the entry level MacBook Air to any comparable Windows laptop and you’ll be spending much more to get close to the same performance/battery/build quality. The thing that makes them successful is creating a unified ecosystem that is hard to leave. People don’t pick Apple because they are a bunch of idiot clones who are enamored with TV ads.
Agree to disagree on that one. At least for a big proportion of folks who are snobby about having an iPhone.
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Sorry it took so long to reply, I was waiting for Gentoo to finish compiling on my phone.
Compling the message*
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Android users will have no idea it's happening because only a tiny minority even knows what sideloading is. I don't think I have done it in my last 3 phones, so maybe a decade or so. It's definitely not enough of a reason even for someone like me to switch, let alone an average user.
Well, I use Obtainium to install all my FOSS apps directly from the repository.
I also built a game for kids (available publicly) and then made a plugin just for my kid which includes some licensed characters, for obvious reasons I can't put that onto the Play Store, so apk installation it is.
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I use Debian as my daily driver and am disappointed to see that the best-supported devices under Mobian within my budget are the Pinephone (which has shockingly low specs) or the Pinephone Pro (recently discontinued, no longer sold. Also had poor specs).
I was toying with was getting an SBC with an LTE/5G hat & 7in touch screen, plugging it into a portable battery, and 3d printing a case for it.
Fairphone with PostMarketOS seems more practical.
I have the PinePhone Pro in a drawer somewhere. It's just a fun toy, not even remotely usable as a daily driver.
But I might have a look at it again and see how many tasks still remains before I could theoretically use Mobian as a daily driver. -
My main problem with linux phones is that many apps only exist only for android or ios.
Sure some apps are basically a website that you can acess by web browser but many apps cant be replaced able (banking, tickets, public transport, games)
Waydroid works really well to run
Android apps on mobile Linux, even for games. Doesn't help for banking apps though as they'll usually lock you out due to not passing Google safety checks. -
You're pissed about it? Visit here: https://opencollective.com/postmarketOS
IMHO that's our best shot. Totally Google free, mainstream Linux kernel.
