The EU would like you all to bend a little lower and gag
https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technical-specification/issues/18
Maybe this would be a push for a real open source based phone. GNU/Linux phones needed this push to really get more popularity
You can’t sideload on Linux.
Not if age verification apps have any say.
https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technical-specification/issues/18
I hope this means the resurgence of cheap flip phones. I have no use for a pocket computer that I can’t use like a computer. I went with Android because iOS was useless, and now Android is about to be made equally useless.
Will be interesting to see how many people move over to iOS now that Google is trashing Android’s redeeming feature.
I’ve enabled the advanced protection and it’s so easy to turn off to install a single app and turn back on but I haven’t seen it as an issue. Is there something new now? Because I’m not seeing an issue here.
Yes they are, for all intents and purposes, making it impossible to turn off advanced protection. The only way to install unverified apps will be via developer mode and if you turn that on a bunch of apps refuse to run until you turn it back off
Well fuck that then. I guess I’m going to have to get a graphene OS put on this mother fucker.
That’s really too bad because I did appreciate all the other features of advanced protection except for that.
Presumably, rooted users/custom ROMs should be able to get around this, but how many developers are going to continue to support development and/or release .apk files if it’s only a tiny subset of the userbase they can reach?
Well, I never gave them permission to install Google Chrome. Maybe they should start thinking about their self first…
Still sucks for the OSS community as a whole though.
Didn’t Google just fuck with them by making it really hard to developed graphene for pixel 10? If graphene os depends on the aging fleet of pixel 9s and older, they’re a few years away from being screwed too.
Ive had grapheneOS for years, is every customer android rom done for? I may just get a “dumbphone” or maybe back to iphone? I wish I could just have no phone but obviously need close family to contact me at anytime
It’s very strange that you are considering moving to a dumbphone or an even more locked-down platform because google is locking down android.
They’re taking away a vital feature, so you want even more taken away?
What would you recommend? Apple tracks a ton of data but also blocks 3rd party trackers at least
I have my Pixel 9 pro with GrapheneOS. Google ain’t telling me shit about what I can or can’t install.
Are the banking apps still blocked? How’s the camera? It’s been a while since I installed grapheneos…
I recently did graphene on a new pixel. My bank app (Chase, in the US) did not work immediately but did after lifting Graphene’s default app restrictions, strictly for that one app.
Namely “exploit protection compatibility mode” being enabled did the trick.
Camera on the 9a is fine, but I’m not a photographer. I take photos of serial numbers and server rooms. /Shrug
I use a credit union, and they whitelisted the OS about a week after I told them about it.
The camera is really good.
Are the banking apps still blocked?
Depends on the app.
You can just install Googles Camera without Gservices if you want
N26, revolut, and google wallet didn’t work when I was using it a few years ago.
Wallet told me it’s not supported on “rooted devices” (official grapheneos doesn’t allow root and is actually even more secure than google’s regular OS) and Revolut was buggy and didn’t let me sign in a few weeks ago
Revolut explicitly blocks anything not blessed by Google IIRC. One of the worst things about them, it’s otherwise a pretty convenient app.
Pixels are made by Google? You’re supporting this hot mess? They can lock the bootloader any time?
I locked the bootloader back after installing GrapheneOS. You have to have physical access to the device to do that.
What I mean, with future os updates people might lose the ability the unlock it in the first place. You are safe as long you don’t update to newer pixel android versions. This is what happens to me now if I upgrade my Samsung above oneui8. I will lose the ability to unlock it, forfeiting things like lineageos in the future.
The Pixel 10 just launched, and the bootloader is still unlockable.
If they lock down the bootloader, I’ll just follow wherever the GrapheneOS crew takes their project.
If it becomes impossible for them to continue, I’ll probably just start using a dumb phone and carrying a small netbook with Linux for my internet needs.
Non-zero chance that the GrapheneOS crew will work with a manufacturer to bring a phone to market if Pixels get fully locked down.
Pixel’s predecessor itself, Nexus, was a somewhat low production volume (compared to Samsung or Apple at least) phone for enthusiasts, that Google partnered with different manufacturers to design and produce.
I’ve been an android user for a long ass time. I want to install grapheneOS on my next phone since my current Samsung S23 won’t allow that. After that, what would be my options?
Any of the recent Pixels, though I’m not sure about the 10. And that’s it.
I’m running Graphene on a 9 and it’s solid.
I’m not sure about the 10.
Exactly the problem; current phones are good for the short-to-medium term, for anyone willing to use aging hardware, but what are the long-term prospects?
I’m hoping this will increase true open source phone OS development, like a Linux phone, but we’ll see. If there’s a way to really get Android or iOS apps onto a Linux phone (after these changes) then true open-source apps can fill most use-cases, but everyday users can still use the latest games/apps they expect to “just work”. That might be the ideal future option, at least until if/when Linux gets enough market share to get its own mainstream support (like the Steam Deck has brought to gaming).
not sure how these are, but i’m planning on getting one at some point. These should have some other os called murena, which is close to android but not quite, according to the website.
based on android. similarly to how samsungs and xiaom8s system is also based on it.
as long as google doesnt control it, its good enough for me
I mean, this is terrible garbage, but if Google is going to fully ruin Android then at least the news being out might push resources towards mobile Linux faster.
I’m actually using an old iphone. I look at it like an appliance to connect with mainstream institutions (including local people like other school parents), and take pictures. I have other appliances of varying complexity up to and including my car that run systems I know nothing about as well. I’m not happy about that either, but these are the compromises that happen in the real world.
The closed system isn’t appealing to me, but the mass market appeal of the device is. A stunning majority of my direct acquaintances use it. It can streamline interactions sometimes.
And you know, I don’t trust them of course, but at least Apple has actually said out loud in high profile presentations that privacy is a fundamental human right, and they always point out when they can keep personal things on-device. And they fight orders to unlock phones. Plus they make their money on hardware sales and services for the most part.
Google, on the other hand, exists pretty much solely to vacuum up data and keep us online and cloud-connected. They typically get major points for interoperability from me, but then I ask how often is it just a cynical embrace/extend/extinguish strategy?
Any big mainstream phone now is just a locked down disposable product of a megacorp. It’s also a data scraping tendril of said megacorp loaded with sensors and a fast data connection. And now as a bonus for those of us in the US - it’s probably a convenient backdoor warrantless wiretap that the oligarchs can just accidentally forward the government the passwords to.
My COMPUTER runs Linux. I can’t wait until I can have a real linux computer in the form factor of a high quality phone.
I have an old phone how would I install Linux and still use it as a phone, for texting etc?
Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as just needing the right Linux distro with a touch-friendly “DE.”
We essentially need the “IBM compatible” equivalent phone platform like how modern PCs got started.
Look at postmarket OS. Unless you are really lucky, texting, calling, wifi, etc is not or barely working.
I have a question for all Pixel/Graphen OS users. Will these changes affect new users (I am currently interested in purchasing a Pixel 8 to install Graphen OS for the first time and want to use apps from outside the Google Store) and current users (if I want to install an app on GraphenOS, e.g. via F-droid or Aurora Store, will I be able to do so in the future, or is there no information on this and only time will tell)?
Not a GOS user, but as far as I know, you will still be able to install shit on GOS
Thanks dude!
Lol this is old news brah 😅
Still waiting my Moto G 5G 2024 to have the “Allow OEM Unlocking” option to become un-greyed… it’s currently day 2/7 I think?
(supposedly it takes 7 days after being connected to the internet, even tho I already got the unlock code… 🤷♂️)
My last phone was Moto G 5G and it got destroyed…
Did you drop it, or are you saying its motorola’s fault?
So what happened is the dumbest thing ever. Yes it did have a small Crack on the screen… but that didn’t do anything for months until it rained and then ONE drop landed on a spot that busted it. No joke. It seemed to return to life a long ass time later but the screen still died and is non functional.
I mean a “small crack” is a big deal tho. Even if it was a pixel, that “small crack” would’ve ruing the IP rating.
But unlike a $500 pixel, the Moto G 5G 2024 only $140 so you could just easily get a replacement.
Would you mind letting me know if it works out? Was thinking of getting a Moto G, I’m using an elderly Samsung and no way will I replace it with another Samsung.
I’m not sure if the same issues are present in the phone you guys are referring to but I had a terrible experience with a G35. More here https://samartean-rares.com/moto-g35-terrible-software-decent-hardware-117 . Idk use your own judgement ofc but perhaps be wary that what you buy won’t be hot garbage. That G35 that I had truly was hot garbage, but it’s an entry level phone I guess.
Thanks for the heads up. Yeah it’s hard to know what’s going to be a pile of shit. I had a good experience with a moto previously - but that was maybe ten years ago, a lot could have changed since then.
I’m looking for something mid range I guess, £500 max. I’ve always had cheaper phones and I’m tired of being frustrated with a device I use so much so I’m gonna spend a bit more on the next one.
Good luck. Can’t really advise as i never had a phone that expensive but maybe consider one that is compatible with a more private OS like GrapheneOS.
Take the one thing Android has over Apple away. Why go Android then? Might as well go with the device that has close ties to the hardware. Guess we are going back to the days when only nerds that knew how to flash better roms will be using Android.
Take the one thing Android has over Apple away. Why go Android then
They’ve passed the critical mass wherein they can dictate anything they want without losing any significant userbase. The only people that this is going to affect is a tiny minority of people who even know what sideloading is. If you don’t think so, you’re in a bubble.
These fuckers never wanted to be user centric opposite to apple, they wanted to be alongside apple in telling users what they can or cannot do. They’re worse because of the whole advertising monopoly but most people don’t even know what any of the above matters. They’ll continue on like everyday.
Guess we are going back to the days when only nerds that knew how to flash better roms will be using Android.
Google is closing those gates as well. Pixel 10 drivers aren’t in the new AOSP build. Graphene has been updated to the Android 16 core, but as Google tightens the leash, it will be more difficult. Google’s plan to combine ChromeOS and Android into a MegaBloat will further make it so AOSP is useless.
Every time Google releases a new app for the core OS, they stop supporting the open-source flavor of it, which is why apps like the AOSP messaging app can’t do RCS. Eventually all that will be left of AOSP is a mostly useless husk.
Google’s intended use case for AOSP going forward is for vendors to be able to test pre-release things, primarily in an emulator environment.
Couple that with things like Samsung’s Qualcomm phones can’t be bootloader unlocked, and less and less phones in general can be bootloader unlocked, it is going to be an uphill battle for alt OSes.
Hopefully, this will drive enough dev time towards getting a proper Linux-based mobile device in the works, but even that will be problematic as most modems/chips available for that kind of project are inferior, slow, do not support all the bands/modes of modern carrier networks, and even after all of that, the carrier can still reject to certify the device for the network.
It isn’t hopeless, but everyone is going to have to get creative and driven if we have any intention of retaining free and open mobile devices.
GrapheneOS said they are working with an unnamed OEM to make devices compatible with GOS. Hopefully they are good, because Pixels may indeed be a dead end.
If they do and it’s a good phone, I may literally move back to Android just for that after 3 years of daily driving iOS. Right now choice is between giving my money to Apple vs Google so I might as well go with the one that has tighter hardware-software integration.
Well said, and you’re right, it’s not hopeless. Most people don’t need the latest superphone, personally I want to carry around a good music device, that I can read books on, and preferably have maps. Many like cameras, but I like the idea of a devoted one. The communications (/surveillance) device is a separate thing and perhaps we should think seriously about breaking these things apart, hotspot that you turn on when needed for example. How about a nice general purpose pocketable linux gadget and a secure simple telecom to give it a connection?
There is still this. SONY’s phones are expensive, unfortunately.
They used to have pretty good pricing. The compact versions of the Z lineup especially. Of course, they also somehow managed to have the most fragile screens in the business at that time.
But that was also a wildly different time. You’d go to your phone company’s website and see Apple, Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC, ZTE, Huawei, Motorola and a few others. Now LG, HTC, ZTE, Huawei, Sony and Motorola aren’t even on the list anymore - even though some of those companies still make devices, some companies just won’t bother selling them anymore. It’s just Apple, Google, Samsung, Xiaomi and… I’m surprised that OnePlus even makes the list.
Now I can still get Asus, POCO or Honor from a 3rd party retailer which is fine, I don’t want to give Telia any more money anyway, but most people get their phone with a discount from their phone company on contract… So companies other than the “big 5” aren’t even being considered. Plus I don’t even know where to get a Sony phone. Even the company formerly known as Sony Center here sells iPhones, but not Sony phones (they do still sell a lot of other Sony things of course)
Yeah, I’ll never buy another Sony phone or Sony anything if I can help.
I bought one and used it to miracast to various devices.
With an update, they removed miracast capability on the phone. The same way they removed Linux from the PS3.
Will never trust them or buy Sony anything again.
I won’t trust them to not screw me over for things outside of my control.
I was looking into Sony for my last phone, but one of my friends ended up getting one before I did and he hard pushed me away from it. He said it was a hassle for him to unlock it, and that they moreorless said that the act of unlocking the bootloader will void his warranty (which is not legal in the US) and that after 2 tries of unlocking and having it not unlock, he returned it and went to another company (I think it was oneplus?), he also wasn’t impressed with the performance vs price that he was getting out of it.
Many are going even further. Both my friend and I are planning to get dumb flip phones next. Forget also this smartphone always online stuff
no option for secure messaging on a flip phone
yeah, these flip phone people sound very dumb to me. you don’t like google so you’re just gonna hand over all your data and conversations by using unencrypted SMS and phone calls instead? 🤦♀️
Reject Phones
Return to Ham Radios and Morse code, with One Time Pad layered on top of it for encryption
You would be surprised. Most modern “dumb phones” run KaiOS which has an App Store.
Modern flip phones can often tether.
carry… TWO devices?! Like some kind of insane asshole!?
the horror
I mean, yeah.
Why would I carry one device that does everything and one device that does less and isn’t really more private, doesn’t make much sense.
Because Android is ran by a capitalist corporation that spies on you 24/7 and seeks to restrict and control their platform.
If I could make it convenient, I’d carry a flip phone and a laptop. I trust both far more than Google, and slightly more than GrapheneOS.
Downvote all you like. I’m not telling any of you to do anything. You want security? Toss your phone out of a moving car and get a notebook.
Toss your phone out of a moving car and get a notebook.
The notebook has to be running Linux though. Win11 also tattles on you.
What I mean is that flipphones, at least where I am, run on kaiOS, kaiOS is worse than degoogled android for privacy
That’s not a bad idea.
Why not completely divorce your phone from your portable computing device?
Before smartphones, they were getting pretty small. You could probably make a phone that was just a voice activated earbud now. Then have a device that was everything but the “phone” bits. You wouldn’t have to accept the locked down aspects that the cell providers demand, you could have all the variety and functionality of your home computer or laptop.
Yeah. That’s too small.
Not enough space for an proper antenna and the battery requirements wouldn’t work plus the thermals the thing would kick off would burn your ear.
The transmission power requirements between Bluetooth and cellular is measured in magnitudes, 3-4 times the power.
The cellular modem and antenna could be fit into the charging case of earbuds but the battery life would still be terrible since most of the case is taken up by the space needed for the ear buds.
I’m looking forward for a Sailfish OS device tbh
In the U.S you can’t buy any of these devices because the cell networks are privately owned and one of the unofficial conditions of you getting access is that you have to have government surveillance and soon censorship on your device, as well as locked bootloaders with signing and stuff. They are currently spending tons of money in Europe to get rid of freedom of thought over there as well. You guys might have 10 more years.
In the U.S you can’t buy any of these devices…
No. My Father in Law has one and they’re available from Verizon, AT&T, and others.
…and one of the unofficial conditions of you getting access is that you have to have government surveillance and soon censorship on your device…
Where are you getting this disinformation from?
I have been trying to find a single open device to replace my android phone with for over a month now. Every single one of these devices are only sold with support for European cell networks. The radios inside American cells phones are controlled by parents and property standards so that you literally cannot buy a device that can access the network without one of their radios(which is a fully programmable tracking device almost hidden to the OS BTW) you cannot reproduce or even modify the radios due to this horrible law in the U.S called DMCA, which means if a device has any drm software on it at all, which is basically everything nowadays you can get sued by the company that made it by making any modifications to the device that they don’t approve of.
It’s not disinfo, I know the facts and I don’t deal in lies and disinfo. I research everything I say extensively and verify it myself.
Okay I think I mis-handled the threading. I thought you were replying to the comment about dumb phones and those are most definitely available in the United States.
You are looking for something that runs Sailfish but that OS is meant for the Euro market so its targeted at handsets meant for use there. The entire supported device list is a measly 16 handsets and all but one of those are made by Sony! It’s a crazily niche OS.
The radios inside American cells phones are controlled by parents and property standards…
Yes, I’m aware of that. It’s literally no different for European cell phones. The Jolla C2 is a rebadged Reeder S19 Pro Max S and whatever modem is buried in that thing is going to have precisely the same issues. Patents are global and at this point even the Chinese are following them, much less a small Turkish manufacturer like Reeder.
(which is a fully programmable tracking device almost hidden to the OS BTW)
They’re all like this. All of them. Even the ones in a handset running Sailfish.
you cannot reproduce or even modify the radios due to this horrible law in the U.S called DMCA
The DMCA has very little to do with Software Defined Radios…which is precisely what the modem chips in these handsets are. Frankly I don’t WANT people fucking with the SDR in their handsets. You can do it with lots of other SDRs (GMRS, Amateur, WiFi, etc) and people inevitably abuse the ability and fuck things ups.
The DMCA is a rotten law but isn’t anywhere close to the biggest problem when it comes to SDRs and Phone Handsets.
Literally a government backed monopoly funded with trillions of take payer dollars at this point. When I run for president one day, besides things like completely banning 100% private political campaigns and proganda, one of the first things im going to do is force the FCC to create a wide pocket of bandwidth for a open source and private mesh networks with a range of around 20-50 miles between devices with fallback modes of hundreds of miles, and maybe another fall back mode for thousands if antenna size allows for this inside cell phones. That way we can control our own cell phones and have a citizen licensed cell network.
nobody’s forcing you to use those radios. you can use a GrapheneOS phone in airplane mode
No you can’t use graphene is because almost no device supports it anymore. Very few devices have an unlocked bootloader, and commands don’t work on devices that don’t have a snapdragon chip set.
Also using airplane mode completly defeats the purpose of having a cell phone.
They are going to get rid of those too, at least ones without gps and stuff. The age of cell phones is just over until we can get back control of our state from the superpacs and internationalist psychos who want to control everyone.
They are already gone. About the only dumbphones left either run a stripped down version of Android, or pseudo-custom OSes that still have some basic telemetry, and all have GPS/etc for “e911” requirements.
I like the idea, but there’s a lot of things that I truly want on my phone. Like Google Maps and the Garmin app for my watch.
you can use sandboxed google maps on GrapheneOS
I don’t even know what that means, honestly.
you create a google account that is only used inside the sanboxed container and prevent your data from being mined and sent to google. you can turn off its internet access at any time in the permissions which isn’t possible on stock Android
Oh ok. Cool thanks
Can dumb flip phones provide Internet hotspots?
Yes, although generally they have less band support than “smart” phones, and with smaller batteries the hotspot tends to kill the phone pretty fast. It might end up being a case of using a basic smartphone with no software installed and as much stuff disabled as possible as a tether source.
this is honestly my ideology at the moment… like freedom was the main reason I’m on android. Price wise it’s already getting close, and most flagships have removed microSD card support by now. I’m seriously debating my next phone being an iphone just because most of my family uses them, and my convenience being on android is being actively removed anyway.
I can’t even imagine that transfer, I’ve been android my entire life but, every time I talk to my family I list what I want in a phone, and every time I talk to them it seems apple has marked another issue off the list with an update.
every time I talk to them it seems apple has marked another issue off the list with an update.
Like what? You can’t even Bluetooth a file on an iPhone over to anything.
I went Apple for a bit around iphone 6. then back to Android. But Apple has solved most of my OS complaints since and I’m still Android mainly because it’s open. I already know Google is making bank off my info, if they do this bullshit, I’ll go Apple until Linux is baked.
TBF, I could also see myself with a mobile access point and a small linux tablet but I don’t see much in that realm either. .
Same here. I hope we’re not the only ones to switch. I hope it affects their bottom line even in a microscopic way. eheh
Guess we are going back to the days when only nerds that knew how to flash better roms will be using Android.
Will we even have that? IIRC, Google’s changing the open source model for Android so its going to be a lot harder from ROM devs to keep up to date with security patches, and then more importantly, have access to device drivers
Maybe there’s a silverlining of the custom rom scene interest growing again like when Android first came out among enthusiasts. Lot over the years just stopped flashing roms, since phones got “good enough” that it stopped being worth the hassle.
But, losing easy sideloading without need for adb is a pretty big deal for enthusiasts that more might start looking into custom roms again.
And that’s all assuming the few OEMs that still have unlocked bootloaders will continue to do so.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Google starts requiring locked bootloaders in some future version of Android in the name of “security”.
There’s still Chinese phones which do their own thing. Either way worst case scenario there’s still old phones that can be picked up and used for several more years.
Even old phones like the Pixel 1 is still getting updates from LineageOS. So there’s lot of old phones that’s released since then that can be used for custom roms without having to get the latest and greatest.
you can use adb without unlocking bootloader
Yes, that’s always been the case. And?
being able to lock your bootloader should be a bare minimum requirement. what’s the point of pushing security updates if all that can be bypassed by tampering with the firmware?
OEMs are just too lazy to spend the extra bucks on the cryptography chips and they don’t let you relock the bootloader because they are conservative in their approach to security
It’s nearly impossible to even flash a rom these days, they made sure to cover that first. They want to make sure you are only allowed to watch or read what they approve of. That’s what it’s all about. Next time they get a democratic in, they won’t even give trans people their rights back, they are just going to go after gun rights hard. Mark my words.
I personally found it very easy to install Graphene and get it up and running.
Hard if you don’t have a snapdragon device. Mediatek processors have all kinds of stupid bullshit that makes it really hard to flash a file without their key. We really need to start sharing key generators for things again, especially for the bootloaders for our computers we buy.
I was wishy washy on whether my next phone would be android or iOS for years, but with this change my decision got a lot easier. Was fun while it lasted, Android - but if you’re going to become a walled garden I’d rather be in the better one.
Wait a little bit longer and get a Linux phone
Purism - Librem 5 running PureOS (or whatever Linux distro you want)
Yeah, this seems crazy to me. This is a big differentiator. I still hate apple’s ui and several other things but now I can see myself being convinced to get an iPhone. There was zero chance before this decision. If apple ever allows real third party launchers and browsers that aren’t just safari skins (or if android ever disallows launchers and makes all browsers chrome skins), I’d be pretty close to 50-50.
Ngl. Emulators now being on the app store is huge. Between that and easy SSH access to actually private boxes, I’m on the cusp of going back to iOS on my main phone.
We kind of need the Linux Foundation or Fairphone or similar to fork android or create a solid base for an alternative. Otherwise, we are screwed.
Fairphone is already collaborating with a fork, /e/OS
I don’t see that happening since the Linux foundation gets a bunch of funding from Google
Yes, but Google is probably happy to host their whole datacenter infrastructure on Linux and won’t have to buy expensive Windows server licenses and wants to keep it this way.
Windows can’t remotely keep up with Linux or even BSD
Ah yes, let’s host a website on IIS
Wtf? So Google has basically “bought” the only competitor that isn’t big tech
The Linux foundation isn’t a competitor at all. It gets all of its funding from big tech
They don’t develop something unless it is useful to these companies.
They don’t develop something unless it is useful to these companies.
they fund development for the servo browser. who is that useful for as of now?
I don’t think the Linux foundation is doing any development themselves. Linux is open source, so anyone can contribute. I think the Linux foundation is like a legal entity and marketing kinda thing. I could be wrong about this though.
The individual members of the foundation most certainly do linux dev, which benefits their specific company. Think kernel or driver adjustments or supporting newer hardware for servers/datacenters.
However, that doesnt mean its only the foundation doing the work, thats just the paid work being done. The rest is all passion projects of people
Like lineoageOS?
AFAIK, LineageOS is not a fork but a version of Android that is built on top of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
Yeah we’re boned, Everything we have Android like is AOSP based and as the changes happen, keeping them at bay will become unsustainable. Lineage, Graphine and Calyx are all AOSP based.
For now, it will likely be pretty easy for any of the forks to circumvent this particular change. I’m more worried about the future, it wouldn’t be hard for them to start pushing store APK’s to require proprietary hooks, there’s a good chance that eventually people won’t want to keep around Google and non Google versions of apps.
So you have Halium+VM for ~ ubuntu touch (still android drivers, but private)
Or postmarket derivatives, which is real linux, but is barely functional and has miserable battery life.
We’re playing catch up for linux and we can get there, but available phones are super limited and none of the contenders are solid daily drivers yet.
Biggest problem I have is there’s no good way to run Signal. If you do it in Halium under waydroid it eats power and getting it to run/keeping it updated under arm/linux is a part time job.
Luckily this shit (Google Play Protect) is in Google Play Services not AOSP.
The actual big change coming to AOSP is that development is going to start happening behind closed doors. You get the updated code when the new version is released, instead of seeing commits as they appear on the master branch. This might make it harder for the custom ROMs to keep up at all.
I’m more worried about the future, it wouldn’t be hard for them to start pushing store APK’s to require proprietary hooks, there’s a good chance that eventually people won’t want to keep around Google and non Google versions of apps.
If this results in a noticeable decrease in apps available on 3rd party stores, this might be cause for some nice EU action, like they did with Apple. But I’m not too hopeful.
LineageOS has a great offering but you have to wait until your phone gets outdated because even hoping that it’ll be compatible with your model
No you dont. Lineageos supports a lot of phones that are still supported by their manufactures. Hell my fp4 is still in support too, and lineageos runs fine on it :p
Youre thinking of unofficial lineageos builds and ports to non-supported-by-lineageos phones
I imagine it would be the likes of Graphene, Lineage, Calyx, and some others at the core. Probably some hardware vendors like Fairphone, Shiftphone, and probably a Xiaomi or Huawei.
Edit: ROMs maintain their own code base, but I’m pretty sure OP was talking about a larger fork of AOSP. That’s what I’ve suggested recently, anyway.
This linux phone by Liberux seems like the most promising option in the near future. The crowdfunding campaign failed this summer but the project is still moving forward, just waiting to hear more from them @Liberux
Also GrapheneOS but not sure how far along any of this is: “We plan to partner with OEMs to have devices produced meeting all our requirements, providing additional privacy/security features beyond them and ideally shipping with GrapheneOS rather than massively lowering our standards.”
Edit: here’s a recent post from GrapheneOS from August 2025:
So any rumors on that major Android OEM?
Unfortunately for the US (possibly other countries?) we’ve shut down 2g/3g. 4g/5g here don’t support calling only VoLTE and Vo5G and as far as I know Linux phones haven’t figured those out meaning calling on Linux isn’t currently a thing.
Of course they have. We even have the Librem 5 that’s sold here. The big problem the linux phones face is the cost of getting certified by all three carriers here — and without carrier cert, they just don’t work.
That Liberux phone looks pretty cool, though I’m not sure how Linux apps would work. Does it just use Android apps? I can’t imagine too many Linux programs would work well on a phone, both because of the size as the screen as well as battery usage/background sleep.
Linux phone OSes can usually run Android apps through a VM but generally you want to avoid it for performance and privacy reasons.
There are apps available for mobile Linux that are optimized for small screens and touch. Just not a ton understandably due to low userbase.
Good to know, thanks!
Isn’t Liberux a crowdfunfing scam?
Why do you make baseless claims like that? They refunded everyone when they didn’t meet their funding goals, and also committed to creating a special edition phone in the next campaign for everyone who supported. You can see the campaign here on indiegogo
Edit: Librem and Purism the controversial ones, not Liberux
LMAO
