Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source capacity over the last decade.

Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source nature over the last decade.

Originally published on The Lever, but that one asks you to sign up.

  • usernameunnecessary@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    1 day ago

    Unfortunately the Android experience is getting more and more bloated and users’ freedom to tinker with their phones or sideload apps is getting more and more difficult. The Play Store is riddled with more ads than useful content. Just try searching for something, and oftentimes more than half of your screen is ads.

    I’ve been with Android since the start and I hate what Google is reducing it to. It pains me that the only viable alternative is Apple and I feel trapped.

    • wise_pancake@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      14 hours ago

      Play Store is truly vile to use. It just feels gross and scammy and like a mine field of low quality slop and scam apps.

      iOS isn’t great either but it at least feels a whole lot better. The iOS store needs the ability to report fraid which it doesn’t sort until you install an app.

    • chaosCruiser@futurology.todayEnglish
      0·
      19 hours ago

      We’re all trapped. If you’re not using either Android or iOS, you’re pretty much screwed.

      Technically, you can use one of the alternate phones, but the software support still leaves a lot to be desired. You can get most basic things working, but when it comes to crucial deal breaker apps like anything involving payments or banks, it gets a lot trickier. The world has become increasingly dependent on mobile phones, and if your phone can’t handle for train tickets, mail deliveries, restaurant reservations or pay your bills, it suddenly becomes very difficult to live in the 2020s.

      More and more hardware is also depends on specific iOS or Android apps, and those apps may also require GAPPS or some OEM Android. At some point, it just isn’t worth the hassle, and it becomes easier to pick either one of the toxic platforms everyone else is already using.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.todayEnglish
      0·
      21 hours ago

      F-Droid is a decent replacement for the play store. Lots of FOSS and less-enshittified apps available.

    • unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      0·
      23 hours ago

      Long term you should look out for Waydroid compatible devices. Basically linux devices (smartphones, tablets, pcs) that run android containers very close to hardware so you can run your important android apps while not having to rely on the mess that android is for everything. There is a GApps version too if you need google shitware for some reason. Ubuntu Touch (smartphone os) is one of the most prominent to implement it. Personally i hope to eventually just get rid of my phone and only have a laptop with a sim-card and waydroid.