Android is almost dead – OSnews

https://www.osnews.com/story/145415/android-is-almost-dead/

by abdelhousni • 17 days ago

65 40 17 days ago

osnews.com

ggm• 17 days ago

... as an open platform. Android as a mobile and home device OS is approaching 4 billion.

mdp2021• 17 days ago

Hackers will be concerned with the open platform.

mike_hearn• 17 days ago

Bad title. It should read "Android Developer Verification" or something similar.

cromka• 17 days ago

It's Holwerda's typical absolutist, extreme take.

supermaurio2000• 17 days ago

more the end of google certified android phones: https://www.republicworld.com/tech/lineageos-rejects-googles...

antonvs3• 17 days ago

I never thought I’d need to go back to custom ROMs, but here we are.

ChocolateGod7• 17 days ago

I lost a lot of sympathy for these campaigns when they started to use hyperbole.

ADV is not a virus, nor a trojan horse.

killing the ability to install your own software on your phone

But you can still install whatever you want over ADB...

preisschild4• 17 days ago

By definition Google Mobile Services are a rootkit and have always been, not only since ADV...

jsiepkes4• 17 days ago

But you can still install whatever you want over ADB...

...if you wait 24 hours.

And also thanks to the new Google Play attestation API a lot of apps won't even work on alternative Android OS'es. But that's all needed in the name of security. Never mind if your Samsung Galaxy phone is EOL and hasn't been receiving updates for 4 years anymore. It still works with the attestation API. But the fully updated GrapheneOS phone is a real security hazard apparently, so it won't work with it.

So no, you can't just run everything you want via side-loading. It's pretty obvious Google is making a power play to curb down on everything that isn't going via Google Play.

ChocolateGod7• 16 days ago

...if you wait 24 hours.

False.

ADB is not restricted at all, the moment you enable developer options and enable ADB you can install an APK.

The Google "wait 24 hour" flow only triggers if you install an APK off the web.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1rzd0is/mishaal_ra...

preisschild4• 16 days ago

And also thanks to the new Google Play attestation API a lot of apps won't even work on alternative Android OS'es.

Tbf to Google, AFAIK they aren't forcing third party app developers to enforce Safetynet/Google attestation.

antonvs3• 16 days ago

Oh no, hyperbole! How ever will you recover?!

This has the same energy as “I lost a lot of sympathy for these political protests when they mildly inconvenienced me on my commute.”

If you don’t agree with something, just say so. You don’t need to hide behind fake pearl clutching.

ChocolateGod7• 16 days ago

It does as much good for the cause as those climate activists who glue themselves to motorways and block ambulances.

gonzalohm• 16 days ago

Same kind of hyperbole that Google uses saying that "they have to do this because it's too dangerous for users to install whatever they want"

mindcrash• 16 days ago

I really don't see how Google will make Samsung and the big Chinese Android phone manufacturers (Xiaomi, OnePlus, ...) put this crap on their own custom Android distributions, especially because all these guys know that if they do it will have a very severe cost -- Besides Play and the Galaxy Store F-Droid is probably the third most popular distribution channel for Android apps on Galaxy devices, for example.

So I do think the only people who will be really affected by this are those running Google's own Pixel devices which are entirely locked into the Play ecosystem. The rest not so much.

ChocolateGod7• 16 days ago

It's part of Google Play Services, so it's already integrated into Xiaomi, OnePlus etc phones.

pjerem• 16 days ago

Google is used to put their shit into the Google Play Store contract they have with manufacturers.

Samsung, XiaoMi and OnePlus will let this pass because that will be that or losing access to Play Store. Oh and also they frankly don’t care at all because 99% of people will not know.

Android distribution are already incredibly shitty and most people are used since the 90s to have their computers and now their phones full of junk software. The average smartphone is not that different from the average windows XP/Vista PC of the 2000 era, with crapware everywhere, apps that are doing a lot of malicious things without the user even knowing (or frankly, caring).

For you and me it’s something unacceptable, but for most people it’s just the nth layer of enshitification.

sunaookami• 16 days ago

It's already installed on every Google-certified Android device through the Google Play Services

red-iron-pine• 16 days ago

pixel users can lean on GraphineOS, for now

preisschild4• 16 days ago

So I do think the only people who will be really affected by this are those running Google's own Pixel devices which are entirely locked into the Play ecosystem. The rest not so much.

Ironically its the opposite because Google's Pixel series are relatively open and thus its possible to install Android forks (GrapheneOS, LineageOS) without Google Mobile Services that contain ADV

annagio_• 16 days ago

I have couple apps from f-droid, and I'm not prepared for this. Let's hope something happens, otherwise rip.

cyanydeez• 16 days ago

so whats stopping a realFOSS fork of android? are boot loaders locked? too much diversity? do we need to buy one of those phone farms used by botters?

soraminazuki2• 16 days ago

FOSS fork of Android is useless without hardware capable of running them. Which means you need hardware manufacturers and telecom companies on your side.

preisschild4• 16 days ago

Google Pixels are open ;)

akimbostrawman• 16 days ago

Nothing they will continue to work just like before, this is only an issue if you include the proprietary rootkit that is google play services.

VaderAi• 16 days ago

Doubt it as google push Android and Android is said to have a better camera than apple..but stats show 50/50 between two

Android is almost dead – OSnews

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