Google: 'Your $1000 phone needs our permission to install apps now'". Android users are screwed - Louis Rossmann
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Hell, even the juggernauts of Microsoft and Amazon tried, and they got crushed out of the market.
Honestly I think they could if they actually invested in it hard enough but they just half ass it and are surprised when it fails
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Well the assumption is that the Graphene team will be able to maintain non-store app installs. There's recent news that Google is no longer providing update packages the way they used to which will make it harder on Graphene to update stuff too.
We can't assume that Google's next update will not functionally block the ability for GrapheneOS as well.
I believe Google plans to use Google Play Services to block side loaded apps. By default, GrapheneOS does not come with Google Play Services installed. I am not sure how things would work if the sandboxes version of Google Play Services that GrapheneOS provides is installed.
The issue about maintaining/updating GrapheneOS is a separate issue from side loading apps. That was due to Google shifting the development of Android to a closed source model and only open sourcing the final code. This limits the Grapheme team's ability to anticipate changes and make any required adjustments until after the release of Android.
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I've quickily looked up Sailfish and am shocked that we haven't been hearing more about it. Why is so? Where's the catch?
We currently sell and ship Jolla C2 within the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.
From a cursory glance, they don't ship to any of the largest smartphone markets. That's likely why you don't hear much about them as opposed to any of the global distributors.
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Hell, even the juggernauts of Microsoft and Amazon tried, and they got crushed out of the market.
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.
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Soon privacy minded folks will have a burner phone for calls and sms (I need those for work) and carry some sort of phablet for smartphone functionality (gotta have my navigation app, for sure)
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just installed lineageos with root because of this, so thanks Google i guess
how is it so far?
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With this shift and other control based decisions Google has been making, does Apple devices start to make more sense? Neither platform offers true control over there device you "own", but Apple at the very least isn't a marketing company.
I can't believe a company hasn't swooped in and eaten Apple and Google's lunch.
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.
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TFW more than half of my phone's applications is getting thanos snapped and it's also carrier-locked
real question, you can't install another os if you have a carrier phone? how come? just asking bc i have one and want to switch to another os
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I've quickily looked up Sailfish and am shocked that we haven't been hearing more about it. Why is so? Where's the catch?
wrote last edited by [email protected]It actually looks decent, and their C2 phone looks reasonable though not premium (8GB RAM, 4G LTE, a 1600x720 screen and no fingerprint reader are not brilliant specs, though they'll do the job and it's a nice looking phone). The OS subscription might put some people off though: you get one year of updates and then have to pay about €5 per month.
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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.
Side loading will still be possible but the apps themselves will need to be signed by the developer through Google, so Google ultimately still controls what can be installed. Maybe someone will crack it.
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C2 works on sailfish linux
What's C2?
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Same, though I think this will be the push the community needs to really launch a good Linux phone. It'll suck for awhile, but I'm looking forward to debating phone distros with all of you.
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.
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What's C2?
From the link I pasted https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-community-phone
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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.
I'm pretty sure that was implemented a while ago. My install of VLC from F-Droid started showing up in Play Store's update list.
It couldn't update since the signature didn't match, but Google knew about it and included it anyway.
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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.
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I'm pretty sure that was implemented a while ago. My install of VLC from F-Droid started showing up in Play Store's update list.
It couldn't update since the signature didn't match, but Google knew about it and included it anyway.
I think that's how it works when you have apps with the same name from different app stores, I noticed it with a different app like two years ago.
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Same, though I think this will be the push the community needs to really launch a good Linux phone. It'll suck for awhile, but I'm looking forward to debating phone distros with all of you.
Sorry it took so long to reply, I was waiting for Gentoo to finish compiling on my phone.
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Side loading will still be possible but the apps themselves will need to be signed by the developer through Google, so Google ultimately still controls what can be installed. Maybe someone will crack it.
It's a great way to workaround them being forced to open the ecosystem a little and allowing alternative stores and that stuff. It only took more than a decade, they obviously not happy about it, so gotta screw people in another way.
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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.
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.
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I know it's not really ready for it yet, but I guess I'm gonna be looking into a Linux phone before I thought I would.
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)
