Seems to me like there's about to be one hell of a market for phones that you can run alternative operating systems.
this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2025
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Ah yes cause that's the only part of any platform that requires a full name and address and will absolutely make a dent when the walled garden servants now have to use their slave names people sure will Exodus in droves
Except the economics for it are trash. Google uses Android as a loss leader to make money on Google's services.
Damn the economics. The only people who care about "cheaper phone" are those who don't care about other things
I am going to refute you over here.
I can't seem afford a Linux phone (or any mobile device really),
simply because they tend to be made by labour in high-pay countries, while I am in a low pay country (which means I am not paid as much either).
And then I can't afford to try any possibly existing Linux ROMs on my phone, because I can't afford to brick it at all.
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A shitton of people have lived economic realities that don't allow them to splurge on a phone at all, even if they'd really like digital freedom or privacy. See: half of the global smartphone market, where Android Go and KaiOS enabling cheap smartphones lead to millions of sales.
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People who can and want to don't even make the jump because the reality of owning a non-iOS/Android phone is that it requires sacrifices. I went to a concert last night that required me to have the Ticketmaster app to even get in. Everyone at that concert had to have either an iOS or Android phone, myself included. I'm testing Ubuntu Touch on a second phone, but if I make it my daily driver, I'm going to have to keep a second phone around for stuff like that. Ecosystems are too locked down now, and unfortunately you will have to either miss out on some things, or adapt hard-core.
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The devices and software have to be there. Right now there are only a handful of truly modern devices thar you can load Ubuntu Touch or another Linux distro on, and they're... not quite straightforward for non-techy people to get up and running. Which is, believe it or not, the vast majority of users.
2025 being the year of the alternative smartphone OS seems just about as likely as any other year being the year of the Linux desktop.
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Unfortunately, I think the vast majority who care are already using one. However, with Google device tree and other shenanigans on Pixel devices, it probably makes substantial room within the niche market for the likes of Fairphone and Shiftphone to get into new regions.
On the other hand, mandates for major operating systems to report illegal activity that are in the pipeline could have a larger effect.
I dunno, I'm talking out my ass.
However, with Google device tree and other shenanigans on Pixel devices,
It's not impossible to make a custom ROM with that caveat, it's just more work. I would love to contribute, but I can't code for shit, so I toss devs some cash whenever I can.
I know, but this stuff is adding up where Pixels might stop being the golden child of the custom OS market.
That's fine. As long as a device has an unlockable bootloader, it'll be a candidate.
On the other hand, mandates for major operating systems to report illegal activity that are in the pipeline could have a larger effect.
That's pretty much what I'm afraid of, full 1984
And massive propaganda campaigns are turning people's civic energy back on themselves, and their own communities. Ain't life grand?
If I didnt have to pay 2x - 3x the price for a fairphone in the US I would've already switched. Unfortunately, $1k for a device with USB 2.0 is really not worth it for me or anyone else I know.
If I didnt have to pay 2x - 3x the price for a fairphone in the US I wouldβve already switched. Unfortunately, $1k for a device with USB 2.0 is really not worth it for me or anyone else I know.
Going for a used FP4 should address both those concerns!
Thr cheapest one I can find is $600, for a phone that is 4 years old. I would prefer not to do that.
But you don't need to buy a Fairphone to use /e/OS. You can install it for free on any supported phone, so it's worth checking the website to see if your phone is supported. Switching to /e/OS has breathed new life into my Moto g 7 without having to spend a penny on hardware.
I'm not sure why you mentioned /e/OS lol. I use iodeOS, I was using CalyxOS before that. I don't feel entirely comfortable using /e/OS given their recent controversy with using OpenAI for STT. I want a fairphone because I dont want to buy a Pixel just to be able to relock my bootloader + I like their philosophy of carbon neutral phones w long support
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Can't have shit in a closed system. Fuck google.
Linux on phones needs to become a thing. If they start locking down like apple does I will literally go back to a dumb phone.
Degoogled android ROMs will not have this restriction, as they will just have googles verification system removed. So until linux for mobile is a bit more ready you can still use graphene/lineage/etc.
So long as you can still have GrapheneOS and others. Google's handling of pushing updates and device tree shows how fragile that actually is. Linux phone is going to be the best solution so long as Google runs Android
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The issue with that is that fewer and fewer phones have unlockable bootloaders.
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Linux on phones no where near as private or usable
Android (AOSP) is really solid as a platform. Even with Google trying to turn it into a proprietary hellscape projects like Lineage OS still work to build a open platform
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How do I uncertify an Android device then?
Install a custom ROM. Or buy a Chinese made phone, such as Xiaomi (which I do not recommend***).
Edit: some custom ROM links in no particular order:
*** Edit 2: I don't recommend the route of a Chinese brand, because I've had only bad experiences.
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Technically, this would allow the identification of malware providers in Google's app store.
Practically, every us citizen's personal identification details were taken by doge idiots and are likely by now up for sale at a cheap price, so false identification by malware providers is pretty much guaranteed.
It's a "we covered our ass" policy same as any "save the children" that does anything but the implied thing.
Technically, this would allow the identification of malware providers in Google's app store.
play store publishers are already needed to submit (and publish) their name and address. they made it a requirement ~5 years ago.
Obviously fictional. An ID and a picture of yourself holding today's paper are also needed to confirm authenticity.
This is about all app makers, not just ones in the Google Play Store. This also applies to third party app devs and hobbiests making open source apps to put up on alternative app stores like the all open source F-Droid.
I'm really confused by this. First, does any phone running a legit copy of Android count as a "certified Android device"?
How can they enforce this for apps not on the play store? Like if I write my own APK will my phone just refuse to run it if I don't go through some paperwork with Google? How does that work?
Like if they're capable of this then why aren't they doing it already to prevent piracy?
To your first question: Google released a list of all "certified" android devices and it's basically every phone from every halfway known brand. So yeah, you will be effected. The only devices unaffected by this would probably be no name Chinese phones (probably also Huawei, but I am not shure) and IOT devices like smart fridges. The best way to avoid this would probably be installing a custom ROM, like Graphene OS.
To your second question, the Android System already controlls the package Installation process, do you know the "Do you want to install this APK" popup, you geht every time you want to install an app outside of the playstore? That's controlled by the android operating systen and by extension Google. In the future, every android apk would have to have a unique "developer key" attached to it and if it isn't verified by google, the android system can just refuse to install the apk. For that, you don't have to go through the playstore, but you still would have to go through a verification process with Google for every app, you make. How that will be implemented in detail is not yet quite known.
Google could have done this much earlier, it isn't hard to implement, but you can't make it in a way that only negatively impacts ransomware or pirated apps. And most sideloading on Android is perfectly legitimate, so the reason, why Google hasn't done it, because there is (deservately) a big pushback from developers.
(probably also Huawei, but I am not shure)
Huawei's HarmonyOS NEXT is no longer based on Android code and requires some workarounds to install applications outside of AppGallery (Huawei's app store).
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First, does any phone running a legit copy of Android count as a "certified Android device"?
Yes
How can they enforce this for apps not on the play store?
Checks will be built into the operating system and run on install attempts
Like if write my own APK will my phone just refuse to run it if I don't go through some paperwork with Google?
Yes
How does that work?
TBD. Probably a database check
Like if they're capable of this then why aren't they doing it already to prevent piracy?
Piracy of what?
certified android devices are those you can get in most stores. the play store is important for many people, ajd many apps don't work correctly without the google mobile services components, and device makers can only legally install these on their phones if they certify their device. the certification process requires an array of quality controls and restrictions.
How can they enforce this for apps not on the play store?
certified devices will need to integrate an app verifier that will check if an app has been approved by google. the public AOSP project is said to also get this, but anyone basing on it can rip it out or modify it to their advantage. but certified device makers don't have a choice thn to include this restriction.
Like if I write my own APK will my phone just refuse to run it if I don't go through some paperwork with Google?
what we know so far, apps you made can be installed through a development tool. but app store aps like fdroid don't have access to this tool, it's difficult to enable, and somewhat risky too
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