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Google Is Closing Android: And Taking Your Freedom With It (pixelunion.eu)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/technology@lemmy.ml
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[–] [S] 19 points 1 month ago (12 children)

That's basically what GrapheneOS is, and why I'm hopeful that Motorolla and other vendors start releasing devices using it. The main risk is that Google will cut off its services and store from it, and if there are official vendors making devices then it'll be harder to do that.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 month ago (6 children)

    From my understanding, Graphene is still extremely dependent on upstream development of Android so they can focus on their security improvements. I don't think they have the manpower to properly fork it.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    There is a solid basis though, and it wouldn't be unthinkable to create a foundation around it that could take it forward on its own. And if there are vendors shipping it, then some money might get thrown at the effort too.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    I unfortunately think you underestimate the workload here. Developing an OS is a massive undertaking, and it would require a huge community of developers to come forward and take up the job. I just don't see it happening spontaneously. In my opinion, if they ever lose upstream support, Graphene just dies.

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  • [–] [S] 7 points 1 month ago

    I'm not saying it would be easy or would happen spontaneously, just that it's not impossible. There is already a solid base to work off and there is a lot of interest in having an open mobile platform. I reject the notion that only large corps can do such things.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    And Android piggybacks on Linux. Turtles all the way down, until you get the actual developers committing real effort. And no one is talking about spontaneously, rather realistically 0.5-20 million euros in funding from the EU. Is it viable then? If not, realistically, what would be the threshold for viability?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

    What is an OS? is Android an OS or just an application layer? Because most of its deep close-to-metal components are not maintained by Google.

    What is "developing"? is keeping things stable "developing"? I actually wish Google stopped releasing breaking changes..

    IMHO, I actually think Android would be a better off if Google stopped experimenting with it, "developing" it, and adding stuff nobody asked for.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago

    At some point we're going to want to ditch Google's services entirely. This is simply a trust/societal problem, not an engineering one. Most proprietary apps rely on Google's app attestation. The main hurdle I see for an Android fork becoming mainstream without Google is establishing a 3rd party root of trust, like how SSL already works. It is actively against Google's interest to allow this to happen, so they will push as much closing of their OS as they can without "boiling the frog" so to speak.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    True, Graphene would be a good start.

    China don't have Google PlayStore, but only their own apps market, also Amazon and Samsung have their own app stores.

    It's not impossible to have a different apps market, it there's an user base, and developers will follow the market

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago* (1 child)

    Yeah, I'm waiting for the same thing, and even if they cut off their services, so long as the phone can be degoogled and replacements installed I wouldn't really care.

    Banking apps could be the only problem I foresee, but then I guess I'll just go back to debit and credit cards.

    Also, if someone releases a working Linux phone with some extra polish that has actual global distribution that would also be a good option for me.

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