Comment by jenadine
15 days ago
> The end of any really open phones.
One could argue whether Phones with the Google android were ever really open.
As for the really really open phone with alternative OS or Linux based OS, they will continue to exist as before. Perhaps even become more popular after this?
> One could argue whether Phones with the Google android were ever really open.
In recent years, you can argue that android has no longer been open. In the early years of Android that argument would be much harder to make. To be clear, I am not talking hardcore FOSS libre open. But meaningfully open for the end user to do what they want on their device without much restriction. Early android didn't have sandboxing, had no permission system, was easy to root, etc.
Certainly with Nexus devices you had pretty much the freedom to what you wanted.
Could it have been more open? Sure, but I feel like it is almost disingenuous to say it was never if we are comparing it to the real world situation we find ourselves in today.
Early android did have sandboxing and a permission system. It's just that you had to accept all permissions on app install. (Which is still a lot better than common practice on the contemporary desktop.)
That didn't make the system less open though. The user gets to make an informed (or not) choice.
What was different is that the Play store back then was basically a free-for-all. There was no meaningful approval process. This did contribute to making the system as a whole more open, but at a cost...
Doubling the number of people on a custom ROM dose not nearly balance the loss of options for those that remain on a stock ROM. I do not want my less technical family to have to give away all the genuine (though imperfect) safety the Play Store currently provides.
tbc I think F-Droid is much _more_ secure than Play. What I am saying is I have many family members who can just about follow the rule "First search F-Droid then search Play". No, they are not going to use a phone with only F-Droid software*. Most will probably take the deal with the Devil; and those that won't, even if they chose a great ROM, will end up using apkpure.com and be substantially less secure.
* Guessing you have to search for Fennec to get a relatively respectful Browser is one thing; no banking, doctors, taxi apps rules out anyone who has ever run stock.