For the past 15 years, F-Droid has provided a safe and secure haven for Android users around the world to find and install free and open source apps. When co...
And the bootloader is now locked down across Samsung’s ecosystem, as of this year. Sucks.
If you move to using an unsecured “chinaphone” as an alternative to the big three handset vendors, then it’s unlikely they are target devices for the myriad of uncertified ROM’s.
I think we are going to need software solutions that can run on major Androdis distributions across the variety of hardware.
I think we’re going to need something like UTM or Docker (virtualization or containerization) for running our unsigned Android apps and services, and I don’t know how feasible it will be.
If you move to using an unsecured “chinaphone” as an alternative to the big three handset vendors, then it’s unlikely they are target devices for the myriad of uncertified ROM’s.
Not following your logic here… With the mainstream devices now locked, “the myriad of uncertified ROMs” will necessarily shift to the remaining unlocked phones, or die out.
I think a viable future is owning two devices, one “certified” to access your banking and work apps, and one running GrapheneOS for your private life.
ROMs rarely work as one-size-fits-all-devices, yeah?
I only know of four smartphone categories of phones that are really available in the markets around the world today, en masse.
The big tentpole phones available from Samsung, Google, Moto, and maybe two other players.
Boutique devices from vendors like Nothing and Fairphone with limited reach to global markets (like, being Euro only, or being only distributed in markets that can buy into they ideology, etc). Nearly all of them prices or is MOST humans’ reach.
Chinaphones. A mix of fly-by-night brands with ghost shifts in factories that make many varieties of phones with other people’s designs, but have extremely limited first party support and probably zero ROM support from the global community … And then the handful of tech markings like Xiami, HTC, Huawei, and anyone else that bends the knee to the CCP. Virtually no NA market penetration in this decade, and tremendous barrier for entry, for most of the Western world. Also, security issues galore.
iPhones.
All that to say, I don’t think a more featured OS existed it’s the way forward, with people all jockeying to make new ROM’s for everyone to NOT be able to run on their phones.
I’m hopeful folks smarter than I will be able to come in about the potential for sandboxes in it phones with their own capacity for running unsigned apps, like a virtualization platform.
I’m still holding some hope that maybe Samsung’s flavor of the OS won’t have the restriction of requiring Google keys. Specially considering that Samsung has its own “Galaxy Store” with app submissions controlled by them, not Google.
Though it’s possible they might simply extend the signatures accepted to include also the ones signed by them ^^U …still I’m holding unto hope, because it would be a winning move by Samsung.
If they want a lot of play store banking apps + other things that opt into play protect to work they’ll need to add the signature verification requirement.
Will the banks in Korea, EU and many other areas where Samsung phones are very common keep that restriction if it meant alienating that many users? I doubt it. That’s why I think the support of a big player on this would be a killing move.
Also I’m not 100% convinced that it’s impossible to have some verification without it depending on this one change.
I’m even willing to use the web apps or webpages for banking, if the browsers can make the handshakes. I’ll forfeit using the bank first party apps, if their websites are full featured.
Samsung s22 and s25, checking in. Graphene won’t be viable for the vast, overwhelming majority of Android users today or in the coming seasons.
I hope people figure out some kind of virtualization/docker-containerization solution to the coming Goo-lag.
There are many other “uncertified” ROMs.
And the bootloader is now locked down across Samsung’s ecosystem, as of this year. Sucks.
If you move to using an unsecured “chinaphone” as an alternative to the big three handset vendors, then it’s unlikely they are target devices for the myriad of uncertified ROM’s.
I think we are going to need software solutions that can run on major Androdis distributions across the variety of hardware.
I think we’re going to need something like UTM or Docker (virtualization or containerization) for running our unsigned Android apps and services, and I don’t know how feasible it will be.
Not following your logic here… With the mainstream devices now locked, “the myriad of uncertified ROMs” will necessarily shift to the remaining unlocked phones, or die out.
I think a viable future is owning two devices, one “certified” to access your banking and work apps, and one running GrapheneOS for your private life.
ROMs rarely work as one-size-fits-all-devices, yeah?
I only know of four smartphone categories of phones that are really available in the markets around the world today, en masse.
The big tentpole phones available from Samsung, Google, Moto, and maybe two other players.
Boutique devices from vendors like Nothing and Fairphone with limited reach to global markets (like, being Euro only, or being only distributed in markets that can buy into they ideology, etc). Nearly all of them prices or is MOST humans’ reach.
Chinaphones. A mix of fly-by-night brands with ghost shifts in factories that make many varieties of phones with other people’s designs, but have extremely limited first party support and probably zero ROM support from the global community … And then the handful of tech markings like Xiami, HTC, Huawei, and anyone else that bends the knee to the CCP. Virtually no NA market penetration in this decade, and tremendous barrier for entry, for most of the Western world. Also, security issues galore.
iPhones.
All that to say, I don’t think a more featured OS existed it’s the way forward, with people all jockeying to make new ROM’s for everyone to NOT be able to run on their phones.
I’m hopeful folks smarter than I will be able to come in about the potential for sandboxes in it phones with their own capacity for running unsigned apps, like a virtualization platform.
I’m still holding some hope that maybe Samsung’s flavor of the OS won’t have the restriction of requiring Google keys. Specially considering that Samsung has its own “Galaxy Store” with app submissions controlled by them, not Google.
Though it’s possible they might simply extend the signatures accepted to include also the ones signed by them ^^U …still I’m holding unto hope, because it would be a winning move by Samsung.
If they want a lot of play store banking apps + other things that opt into play protect to work they’ll need to add the signature verification requirement.
Will the banks in Korea, EU and many other areas where Samsung phones are very common keep that restriction if it meant alienating that many users? I doubt it. That’s why I think the support of a big player on this would be a killing move.
Also I’m not 100% convinced that it’s impossible to have some verification without it depending on this one change.
That’s a really good point, basically throw their weight around a bit eh?
I’m even willing to use the web apps or webpages for banking, if the browsers can make the handshakes. I’ll forfeit using the bank first party apps, if their websites are full featured.
I’m hopeful that the hackers will win. I will never underestimate the power of motivated, scorned engineers.
I mean, you can hack/root most devices, even right now. I expect that’s not changing.