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Comment on Google Confirms Non-ADB APK Installs Will Require Developer Registration

Sorry for the downvote, but I see this take repeated here on Lemmy so often and it just makes no sense. This will not kill the FOSS app “ecosystem”. Nothing whatsoever changes for FOSS ROMs like LineageOS or GrapheneOS. And as long as there are FOSS operating systems, apps will be developed for them. If anything, this could drive mainstream adoption of free/libre Android forward, re-invigorating the scene through public outcry.

And to the people who propose fully jumping ship from Android to “Linux phones” because of Google’s recent changes, you would only make the app support matter worse. As someone who daily drives both a phone with LineageOS and one with postmarketOS (mainline-ish Linux), mobile app support is endlessly worse on Linux than the fallout from Google’s developer registration could ever be. That is not to say that Linux phones will not eventually get to a point of reasonable maturity, but it is way too early and frankly utterly irrational to bury AOSP Android or needlessly hate on it.

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enumerator4829@sh.itjust.works ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Normal people aren’t flashing custom ROMs. The audience for some FOSS software will shrink by several orders of magnitude.

But the pain really kicks in when your government/bank/streaming apps require attestation of a signed boot chain and Google Play services running.

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NuclearDolphin@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
No need to apologize. I can differentiate disagreement from attack.

However, consider that this action raises the bar to run FOSS apps from:

Disable the toggle.

Install the app.

To:

Purchase a phone that can run an OS that allows you to do the above.

Disable bootloader unlock.

Connect your phone over USB.

Flash the OS.

Do the above.

OR:

Do the above.

Connect your phone to USB or enable wireless ADB.

Run a command to install the app (repeat for every app install)

The new barrier to entry is going to inevitably catch a whole lot of people who would otherwise be willing to go out of their way to install FOSS apps. Development will also suffer as a downstream consequence of this.

I use postmarketOS too, and it is a much more pleasant experience to use than having to break out a second device to update or install software. It has a large number of issues, but it’s more comfortable to use than your comment implies.
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