Google: 'Your $1000 phone needs our permission to install apps now'". Android users are screwed - Louis Rossmann
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That has just always been the case as long as the app in both stores uses the same package string. (Like org.blitzortung.android.app or org.videolan.vlc)
Wasn't always the case (I think it changed within the past two years), but upon doing research on when it changed I stumbled on this gem.
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You're pissed about it? Visit here: https://opencollective.com/postmarketOS
IMHO that's our best shot. Totally Google free, mainstream Linux kernel.
Does this also work with android tablets? Or is there a separate os for those?
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- they are cable-less, thus need to be charged separately
I'll give you that, but my bone conduction headset lasts a few days with the amount I use
- they are cable-less, thus it is easier to lose them
Meh. I've put corded earbuds in my pocket and probably worn them out faster that way. Bluetooth headsets I tend to leave on (much to my wife's annoyance) and that makes them last longer in my experience.
- bluetooth implementation is a potential security vulnerability
Aha, that van outside must be tapping into me listening to The Dandy Warhols! I knew it! (In all seriousness, if security is that critical you probably shouldn't be doing whatever it is over WiFi, which is pretty much unavoidable with a phone)
- transmission by radio will always be less energy efficient than transmission by wire
Are we really talking about saving energy here? That's like... Moisture in the bucket levels. Not even a drop in the bucket
wrote last edited by [email protected]I agree with you, even if you are downvoted. I've wrecked more in-ear buds by (non-replaceable) broken cable than i can count, while i'm on my 3rd bluetooth headphone in about 10 years - i lost none of them, and the second one is still around as backup.
The security is a thing that can be patched if it pops up and is only an issue if your OPSEC differs strongly from the common citizen, and the energy argument comes across like a purity test - the light in my fridge probably uses more energy.
I would never go back to cable, especially since noise cancelling doesn't work without a battery anyway - and i am very unhappy without noise cancelling.
Also, i have a power bank where i can use 21600 Li-ion Battery cells as power source (and it doubles as charger for those cells) - on travels i take a few batteries with me, and even if i find myself for weeks without power, i will have it whenever i need it.
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Just give google more money, no thanks.
Fairphone with lineage OS is a better option in my opinion.Easy. Refurbed phone. Google didn't get a penny.
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Does anyone know anything about Furi Labs phones? I saw a comment about them on another post about Android alternatives https://midwest.social/comment/19568664
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Does this also work with android tablets? Or is there a separate os for those?
Here you can see current state: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
In theory it will just be another Linux able to run on everything Linux supports + Android hardware. Honestly I don't know if it will ever run on common modern phones but it should at least be possible to run it on more "open" phones like Fairphone or PinePhone.
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This defeats the entire purpose of me having android
Like I'm just going to switch to an iPhone now. Not because Apple is any better, but because I have more family with them.
They took away our SD cards, they took away our removable batteries, they took away our headphone jacks. Now they're taking away side loading apps, and that's it. I'm done. The death of android.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Tbf, you can a very cheap android phone for around $100 USD, the cheapest iPhone starts at around
$400(edit: Actually I got curious and looked it up, apparantly the iPhone SE is gone and the cheapest new iPhone right now seems to be the 16e which start at $600). Also, Apple developer account cost $99 per year, Google developer account cost $25 one time fee, so the cost is gonna trickle down to the user, sometimes you find free apps on google play and then you look at apple and it cost a few dollars, its most likely due to the recurring costs to maintain a developer account.Also, Apple doesn't allow torrent clients, You can't use firefox with ublock origin on iOS.
(But then again, these advantages could also go away in a few years...
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Nearly 100% of the development for handheld Linux is Steam OS / Steam Deck. If Valve moves to ARM at some point then you might see useful improvements that benefit the mobile use case.
Can a steam deck be turned into a phone?
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What is blocking it? I haven't done much research yet but was hoping to find a new OS if this goes through. Wouldn't it be the same as putting a sim card into a tablet/laptop? Or is there something specific to your country that stands out?
Look up Australia's whitelisting system.
If you phone isn't manually approved, it won't be able to connect to a cell tower, not even for emergency calls.
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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
Lol, that's like saying "my country became a dictatorship, so I'm gonna support another country's dictator out of spite"
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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 still have a headphone jack. Rare but Androids with them exist if you go out of the mainstream bullshit.
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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.
wrote last edited by [email protected]We had a 4a (battery life) and 5a (sudden screen failure). Both failed just after warranty lapsed. The 5a made it just outside the extended screen warranty period. These are well documented issues and I've read about issues with newer gens as well. It just doesn't make any sense not to support cheaper phones when it comes to custom roms because you're voiding the warranty on it. With the pixels track record of poor quality I'd rather not risk $1k+ just to run custom firmware.
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how is it so far?
very seamless, official lineage builds work amazing.
only hiccups ive had are play integrity, i really didnt want to root but i have to in order to hide authy and similar apps that throw a fit. ended up installing magisk and im all green for now
other issue is losing sony sidesense, since i have an Xperia 5 III and it's 21:9, being able to pull down the notification drawer without reaching all the way up there was great. ill live with the alternatives that come with android for now though until i find out what is a real replacement
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Their arguments are kind of lame. To install APKs from outside the store is already an involved process that generally makes it harder for the uninformed to sideload. Make sideloading a bit harder, but possible. My xiaomi makes me wait and read warnings before installing APKs, for example.
But this process impacts other stores, too, like FDroid.
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$1000 USD for a mobile phone...no thanks.
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Bluetooth alternatives are far better these days
Disputable.
- they are cable-less, thus need to be charged separately
- they are cable-less, thus it is easier to lose them
- bluetooth implementation is a potential security vulnerability
- transmission by radio will always be less energy efficient than transmission by wire
I have two devices, one is my phone, and one only plays music. I only ever use my phone as my phone, and my music device as my music device in my car, and both run over Bluetooth.
It is a crapshoot as to which role my car will assign to which device. Sometimes I have to put my phone in airplane mode so that the car won't try to assign it the media player role in Bluetooth settings. I'm not impressed.
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Something kind of concerning I just found - there's an option for "limited distribution" which is "Intended for 'students, hobbyists, and other personal use.'" One of the differences is the following:
Has "capped number of apps and installs"(specific limits not disclosed)
Doesn't this imply there's going to be global tracking of what apps people are installing even through sideloading or APKs? I can't think of any other way to enforce this. They would have to know how many times people installed an app even when its not through any kind of app store or even from the internet at all.
Presumably that will work like test flight does where you can only install the app through an invite system
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Microsoft was already an established player in the smartphone market when the iPhone came out. It was Apple who came into the market and ate the lunches of MS and Blackberry.
I kind of feel like MS tried three distinct times, first with their WinMo products pre-Apple, then with their Nokia partnership, then finally with one last push through the mid-10's before Intel finally made x86 on mobile an impossibility (nuking the Atom line, selling their 5G modem business to Apple, etc) and before there just weren't any paths forward for MS.
Amazon and FB having their own phone product lines felt like the weirdest me-too-also-ran Android reskins to extend their own walled gardens, but also felt like both threw in the towel after like 18 months?!?
MS had to be a loser for more than a decade before they gave up. They were really great at being a big loser.
It's just .. apparent that nobody is going to do this for the love of the game, and that they can only get minimum market presence by financing their way to launching yet another walled garden ecosystem. Which is exactly what we all want to avoid in this group.
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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.Phones that run Linux and have a headphone jack:
2026 will be the year of the Linux phone!
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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.
They aren't a marketing company; they're a tech company that knows how to market. Hate them all you want, and I do, but let's be honest. Also, the M series SoCs are technological amazing. They are efficient and powerful whereas in the standard PC world Intel is just pushing more electricity through their chips to try and keep up with IPC and AMD isn't far behind, plus ARM outside of Apple just isn't nearly the same.
