We won't know for sure until they actually drop the code, but I'm more optimistic now that they've clarified that adb will still work to sideload. That means there's still some code path in the package installer that doesn't do this bullshit, so it should be pretty easy to remove it for the people used to working on custom ROMs.

linux phone

I know that given this community, a lot of people are going to be on a Linux phone already.

But there are some very real drawbacks to Linux phones in 2025. It won't be a practical replacement for most people.

• The hardware is not remotely-competitive with high-end hardware that Android can run on.

• Everything I've seen has suggested that power usage isn't as good, probably because Android has had shit-tons of engineers working on cutting power usage for many years.

• Some of the reason that I'd want to use a phone in the first place is for access to the Android app ecosystem. Like, that one app that your employer or bank insists you use or you want to use to update firmware on some Bluetooth device because the vendor doesn't support fwupd. Maybe it's possible to use Waydroid and a Linux machine for some of that; I don't know about all.

• GNU/Linux has a large software library, but a lot of it is not designed around a touch UI.

• One major benefit of Android is that it does a lot to help eliminate a couple things that the general population has had trouble with. The harm from installing malware is mitigated by more-or-less isolating apps. A lot of users just don't understand the concept of managing memory usage; Android just suspends apps transparently. A lot of users apparently don't have a great understanding of a filesystem, and the Android app ecosystem tends to hide the filesystem.

And you may not care for your own use, but without scale, it's hard to get support from hardware vendors and such.

That being said, I remember 25 years back or so when Linux was "never going to be a real server OS", when it was never going to have games, when it was never going to make it big in the embedded world, and so forth. It often took time, but it inexorably showed up. And the kernel, at least, made it big on smartphones. GNU/Linux can be pretty hard to stop in new markets. But...it can also take a while to get there.

I believe they confirmed uncertified devices will not have these requirements, so technically degoogled Android should still be fine.

You don't get Google services, but then again that's also true of every other alternative.

It's all jumping the gun for now. We'll see where this goes.

I love your stance!

Go SailfishOS! Ironically enough, you can sideload apks there even though it's not Android.

As long as you don't go to iOS, sure. Hopefully Linux phones will get a much needed development boom.

So, what is your alternative suggestion?

Google will ignore this unless there's an absolute fuck-ton of backlash over it (and with so much currently under Republican control, even that's quite iffy), so get everyone you can to give it to them. If you have any ideas on how to get even the corporate boot-lickers against this, please spread it far and wide. Quickly.

The verification is supposedly not linked to play protect at all. Presumably Epic will be a verified developer even without being on Google Play and therefore their apk's will remain installable regardless of distribution method. If Epic were blocked then I imagine they'd absolutely have grounds to sue.

The Republicans have managed to insert enough of their sycophants throughout the American legal system - most notably including the Supreme Court - to ensure corporate interests will always win in the end going forward. The invasion of the Supreme Court is especially insidious because those are lifetime appointments, and they've ensured their recent additions to it are young enough to stay in place for a very long time.

This has already had effects in allowing Trump get away with literal murder by them expanding the power of the Oval Office to absurd amounts with recent "decisions."

Why do they even think that's a good idea?

At some point becoming a "registered developer " will become a source of profit for Google.

Probably the 3rd party app stores, the rules the judges gave them in America.

Without rooting, there's Shizuku for some limited rights access. Otherwise I know there (was?) a way to connect another phone via USB to act as a the "development PC" to issue ADB commands from, but I've never personally done it so I can't tell you much more than that.

ETA: Wireless debugging is a thing, too. It being enabled (along with actually being connected to some kind of Wi-Fi) is required for Shizuku to start up (& can be shut off without ill effect once you've started Shizuku).

I admire the generosity you're giving Google here, but even if fascism wasn't on the rise globally, I could see them doing this just for the all-important purpose of making more money. Rent-seeking by way of requiring an account (and soon after, a credit card) to access a feature that was once open and free.

Google has been killing free services for over a decade now, I have to imagine they've long decided to monetize and advertise on every possible channel and wavelength.

Then why pre-comply? Fight for the user and be seen publicly being forced to suck. Instead it’s obvious that they actively choose to suck.