Google’s new developer registration requirements could make it impossible for independent Android app stores like F-Droid to survive, the group behind the open-source repository has warned in a new blog post
Google’s new developer registration requirements could make it impossible for independent Android app stores like F-Droid to survive, the group behind the open-source repository has warned in a new blog post
As an iPhone guy who doesn’t mind the limitations, it’s really sad to see Android losing everything that made it different from Apple. Headphone jacks, memory card slots, and now sideloading, with an honourable mention to Nova Launcher.
If Android is going to be just like iOS, you better not still be paying iPhone prices for Android phones, being that the original intent of Android (as when Google bought it) was to harvest more user data (than Gmail could) to be sold. You’re getting a weaker phone that collects your data and sells it to the highest bidder AND you’re paying iPhone prices AND you can’t sideload anymore (or, after such date in the future)? Nah, fuck that. At that point you should just get an iPhone, right? Seriously, take a good hard look at the iPhone 17 (the base model, not the Air or the Pro). $800 gets you privacy first, 256GB of storage, it’s the second most powerful phone out there (the Air and Pro have more cores), two cameras (so not as good as Pixel 10 at the same price in that regard but better video recording). Samsung has some advantages but they sell your health data. Apple Health being private is now a feature that the others do not have.
Obviously we need a third option because if Google/Android won’t compete with Apple, who will? And if nobody’s competing with Apple, why should Apple improve? Hell, the 17 series is a joke… not that the 16 series was a huge improvement over the 15 series. I feel like my 16 Pro Max will go ten years, won’t need to be replaced unless it gets physically broken.
“privacy first” - yeah right. it’s commonly known that Apple harvests a shitton of data on both iOS and macOS, not much different from Google or Microsoft. If you want a modicum of privacy, GrapheneOS on Pixel phones is an option. you can get last year’s model for below €500 (new and unused)
They do collect data, but they aren’t data brokers, they aren’t selling it to the highest bidder, like Google does.
I think the scary thing about Apple is, we don’t know where they’re gonna go. Right now the assumption is (from our side) that they are still a computer company first and they want to keep the data to make their products better, but that might be naive and overly optimistic. With Google, we know where they stand. So they’re less scary maybe? To some? I dunno. Call me what you will, but I still think of Apple as that old school computer company, just with some services now (e.g. Apple Music, TV+, etc.).
Thanks, Tim.