The infuriating part of the Google enshittification process is that there is absolutely nothing the user can do about it.

Literally the only thing that motivates Google is profit. Controlling side-loaded apps will almost certainly boost their profits by a infinitesimal fraction of a percent, therefore it will be done. Even if consumer uproar causes Google to back down in the short term, they'll simply implement this a few months later. Late-stage Capitalism sucks.

Its about time an open standard happened for mobile OSes.

I don't know about anyone else, but I got into computers at a young age because it gave me a sense of control over something. I didn't understand everything, but I could do a lot of trial and error, read things and experiment, build cool things, and I shared a sense of community with some random internet strangers based on that knowledge.

In a world where we are so powerless in so many other ways, why did we insist on bringing that power dynamic into the new bright tech sphere? Why did we have to do that? (N.B. this is rhetorical questioning).

When reading cyberpunk lore, quickhacks didn't make any sense to me. Some programs that break cyberware because of backdoors, but why would people install cyberware with backdoors?

Now I look at the sad state of mobile market and, yeah ok, that makes sense.

Fuck google

The year of the Linux mobile is coming.

https://furilabs.com/shop/flx1/

The EU's been breathing down Apple's neck for them trying to do similar shit, so i find the timing kinda weird.
Plus they'd need to force-update their spyware first, i wonder how many versions of android they're willing to go back.

I feel like this is the new normal cycle of every software company. Once they become a leader, it's never enough. It replicates the rise of billionaires. Just as the billionaires being rich beyond anything they and all of their succeeding generations could ever spend is not enough, being the industry leader and producing an amazing product that people want is somehow not enough. It always turns to control and power.

they just want to confirm a malicious actor didn’t develop it

So Newpipe, SmartTube, Nintendo emulators...

Clones of opensource apps bundled with ads that violates license is OK, but restricting everyone to build and test apps from source so it can test new features and report any issues is too risky for the user

Already using GrapheneOs on my phone, so fuck Google.

now it's just a race for the giant conglomerates to make the worst decisions for consumers

As shitty as M$ is, it would have been nice to see Windows phone become moderately successful and be a third primary mobile os.

I came here specifically to ask about alternatives to Android now that google is becoming too abusive in the relationship.

And they can suckle upon my peener.

I'll go to Graphine or something else before I let the company for whom "don't be evil" was too bold a statement dictate my fuckin' choices.

I already ditched Windows. Can't be that hard to cut Google out too.

I’m bothered that big companies, especially tech right now, no longer see their customers as people they need to please to stay in business, but instead as something they’ll inconvenience and squeeze as much as they can possibly get away with.

They all got to where they are making, at one point, amazing products. Now? Fuck making windows useful, we can throw ads and AI at you every place we can think of. Fuck all of the parts of Android that made it stand out, we tell you what to install. You don’t want all of your data scraped and sold? Fuck you, there’s 3 of us and we’re all doing it. In fact we’ll never stop finding new ways to harvest data.

Phones have basically stagnated entirely in the US. Sure you get moderately better chipsets, but what else? AI? I haven’t had a phone struggle with anything in… maybe 10 years. Instead features that people didn’t use enough just get removed.

Don't use it. Be smart.

Year of the Linux phone, I guess.

google is pissed people were deleting that spying app on android phones, plus thier constant attack on adblocking on youtube wasnt working to well. since samsung and iphones pretty much walled in thier os, why not google.

Fuck them. I have a guitar a pocket watch and a wind uo radio. Everything have is a nicety.