For the past 15 years, F-Droidhas provided a safe and secure haven for Android users around the world tofind and install free and open source apps. When cont...
If this comes to pass, f-droid might get closed as the userbase dwindles. Many apps will also cease to be developed and be left without updates. You will not get out with just updating to LineageOS. We should be looking at Linux phones at that point.
Linux Phones have a few software hurdles to pass through to get usable.
The biggest problem right now is adoption and contribution to the ecosystem, but there’s a few things in the way of outright using Linux apps on a phone. One is that most Linux apps aren’t made to be verical. Some newer ones can adapt to it, but many of the apps you likely would depend on using a Linux laptop are almost unusable on a Linux phone, like… vlc, for instance.
The network stack isn’t as beaten to death for 4G and 5G as Android’s is. I work in a slightly iffy area, and on Android I’d have times where I’d lose signal, but it would always come back within 5-10 minutes or so. There’d be times on Linux when it wouldn’t until I’d missed two calls and three texts and an hour and a half had gone by because the system was choking on a comma or a misplaced semicolon it found somewhere in the background and wouldn’t reset until I forced airplane mode off and on. If I was at home, or in the city, I’d never notice this problem, but the second I hit a road trip or went to work, boy.
Also, and this is just my phone, my OP6T had iffy microphone and earpiece settings. Pulse Audio was at the forefront of this audio stack almost entirely unchanged from its appearance on gnome or kde and on a phone it’s just confusing and obtuse as to what app is using what and what even is what. If you got it right, it was fine, then the next call it wouldn’t be, or would change back, again, probably more the 6T being a 6T than anything else.
I think right now, in this interim period, I’m going to buy a hotspot that I can just slip a sim card into and tether a Linux phone to it. I can use Conversations on Waydroid and use JMP.chat to send phone calls and texts over XMPP. I did fine on my OP6T for my actual use of a phone. I was browsin’, I was textin’, I was sendin’ messages, I was doin’ terminal stuff, administratin’ my servers, readin’, listening to musicn’. It was fine. Will do some experimenting.
Very insightful and interesting. Thanks. I am using GrapheneOS at the moment and only have read about the Linux phones. Of course an open android system that is decoupled from Google and their shenanigans would be great as well. But I am not very hopeful as Google has started a battle on several fronts…
I’ll run my own copy of the F-Droid servers, before I bend my knee to Google. So will others.
Edit: But yes, you are correct that Linux phone is the long term solution. Android is a pile of corporate Java. Linux is a lean sleek set of mature highly optimized tools. Once the big show-stoppers are cleared, my Linux phone will be the envy of all who see me use it.
The big problem is, I think many apps will cease to get updates as the devs stop developing on Android. Just running F-Droid is not going to solve this.
Most of those on a Google ROM isn’t moving to GNU/Linux, its either Lineage, Graphene, etc…, or just give up on these non-google apps. “Linux” is so broken and dysfunctional compared to Android ROMs.
What should happen at this point is EU and European governments (and why not others) doling out money to do it.
The risk of the phone duopoly to Europe (among others) is too great now with the US already having succumbed to outright fascism and it’s tech sector running around rampant with blatant disregard for any kind of basic human rights. They all seem to correct themselves only after lawsuits and only in the EU sector.
Fdroid will not close, it’s decentralized. I have my little personal repository with apps I care about. Thousands of people do. Together we have pretty much everything
I think way forward for me once these restrictions come in place will be to go with custom rom for my main phone, and a cheap stock phone for just apps that aren’t custom rom friendly like bank apps. I don’t need bank apps on the go, so not really going to need to carry 2 personal phones around.
Holy crap I got one! So stoked to try it out! I’ve been seeing all the pixel stuff about it and just assumed it was flagships only, but my $150 unlocked phone is supported! Thank for the push I needed to look it up.
Looks like I’m searching for a device that can run LineageOS, then.
🤗
I just got my Moto G 5G 2024 unlocked 😁 Its only like $140
If this comes to pass, f-droid might get closed as the userbase dwindles. Many apps will also cease to be developed and be left without updates. You will not get out with just updating to LineageOS. We should be looking at Linux phones at that point.
Linux Phones have a few software hurdles to pass through to get usable.
The biggest problem right now is adoption and contribution to the ecosystem, but there’s a few things in the way of outright using Linux apps on a phone. One is that most Linux apps aren’t made to be verical. Some newer ones can adapt to it, but many of the apps you likely would depend on using a Linux laptop are almost unusable on a Linux phone, like… vlc, for instance.
The network stack isn’t as beaten to death for 4G and 5G as Android’s is. I work in a slightly iffy area, and on Android I’d have times where I’d lose signal, but it would always come back within 5-10 minutes or so. There’d be times on Linux when it wouldn’t until I’d missed two calls and three texts and an hour and a half had gone by because the system was choking on a comma or a misplaced semicolon it found somewhere in the background and wouldn’t reset until I forced airplane mode off and on. If I was at home, or in the city, I’d never notice this problem, but the second I hit a road trip or went to work, boy.
Also, and this is just my phone, my OP6T had iffy microphone and earpiece settings. Pulse Audio was at the forefront of this audio stack almost entirely unchanged from its appearance on gnome or kde and on a phone it’s just confusing and obtuse as to what app is using what and what even is what. If you got it right, it was fine, then the next call it wouldn’t be, or would change back, again, probably more the 6T being a 6T than anything else.
I think right now, in this interim period, I’m going to buy a hotspot that I can just slip a sim card into and tether a Linux phone to it. I can use Conversations on Waydroid and use JMP.chat to send phone calls and texts over XMPP. I did fine on my OP6T for my actual use of a phone. I was browsin’, I was textin’, I was sendin’ messages, I was doin’ terminal stuff, administratin’ my servers, readin’, listening to musicn’. It was fine. Will do some experimenting.
Very insightful and interesting. Thanks. I am using GrapheneOS at the moment and only have read about the Linux phones. Of course an open android system that is decoupled from Google and their shenanigans would be great as well. But I am not very hopeful as Google has started a battle on several fronts…
Nah. F-Droid is already federation-ready. https://f-droid.org/docs/Installing_the_Server_and_Repo_Tools/
I’ll run my own copy of the F-Droid servers, before I bend my knee to Google. So will others.
Edit: But yes, you are correct that Linux phone is the long term solution. Android is a pile of corporate Java. Linux is a lean sleek set of mature highly optimized tools. Once the big show-stoppers are cleared, my Linux phone will be the envy of all who see me use it.
The big problem is, I think many apps will cease to get updates as the devs stop developing on Android. Just running F-Droid is not going to solve this.
Where will devs move? Apple is even worse
I don’t know, Linux? But if they don’t want to get the dev certificate I doubt they continue to develop on Android.
Doubt it.
Most of those on a Google ROM isn’t moving to GNU/Linux, its either Lineage, Graphene, etc…, or just give up on these non-google apps. “Linux” is so broken and dysfunctional compared to Android ROMs.
So where’s the Dev push to make that usable?
I do not know, I hope it is there somewhere.
What should happen at this point is EU and European governments (and why not others) doling out money to do it.
The risk of the phone duopoly to Europe (among others) is too great now with the US already having succumbed to outright fascism and it’s tech sector running around rampant with blatant disregard for any kind of basic human rights. They all seem to correct themselves only after lawsuits and only in the EU sector.
If Google goes ahead bans sideloading I think that might spur some developers into action long term.
Intent is declared. Where are they? Please hurry?
Fdroid will not close, it’s decentralized. I have my little personal repository with apps I care about. Thousands of people do. Together we have pretty much everything
I hope so. But the app devs might stop if they don’t want to get certified.
There are other software sources, e.g. I use Obtainium mostly.
I think way forward for me once these restrictions come in place will be to go with custom rom for my main phone, and a cheap stock phone for just apps that aren’t custom rom friendly like bank apps. I don’t need bank apps on the go, so not really going to need to carry 2 personal phones around.
Still using LOS, haven’t looked back…
Holy crap I got one! So stoked to try it out! I’ve been seeing all the pixel stuff about it and just assumed it was flagships only, but my $150 unlocked phone is supported! Thank for the push I needed to look it up.