E: apparently it needs to be said that I am not suggesting you switch to Linux on your phone today; just that development needs to accelerate. Please don’t be one of the 34 people that replied to tell me Linux is not ready.
Android has always been a fairly open platform, especially if you were deliberate about getting it that way, but we’ve seen in recent months an extremely rapid devolution of the Android ecosystem:
- The closing of development of an increasing number of components in AOSP.
- Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus have removed the option of bootloader unlocking on all of their devices. I suspect Google is not far behind.
- Google implementing Play Integrity API and encouraging developers to implement it. Notably the EU’s own identity verification wallet requires this, in stark contrast to their own laws and policies, despite the protest of hundreds on Github.
- And finally, the mandatory implementation of developer verification across Android systems. Yes, if you’re running a 3rd-party OS like GOS you won’t be directly affected by this, but it will impact 99.9% of devices, and I foresee many open source developers just opting out of developing apps for Android entirely as a result. We’ve already seen SyncThing simply discontinue development for this reason, citing issues with Google Play Store. They’ve also repeatedly denied updates for NextCloud with no explanation, only restoring it after mass outcry. And we’ve already seen Google targeting any software intended to circumvent ads, labeling them in the system as “dangerous” and “untrusted”. This will most certainly carry into their new “verification” system.
Google once competed with Apple for customers. But in a world where Google walks away from the biggest antitrust trial since 1998 with yet another slap on the wrist, competition is dead, and Google is taking notes from Apple about what they can legally get away with.
Android as we know it is dead. And/or will be dead very soon. We need an open replacement.
I would like to move away from Android and iOS. But I’m not sure it’s really feasible. Hell, I might even have to move fully to iOS, because that’s what the wife uses. That’s the challenge with Linux or alternative OSes on mobile. It goes against the purpose of the device - it needs to be able to interact with the people in your life.
Because I have Android and she has an iPhone, we can’t easily share headphones (her AirPods or my generic ones) or some of the other accessories. For instance, I don’t want a device without a 3.5mm jack, so none of my headphones work for her. About the only thing we can share is the USB-C cable, and it’s less efficient on my device. We have to use Google Maps to share location, the built-in functions don’t talk. We have to use regular SMS and calls or Discord to talk, because FaceTime and iMessage don’t have compatible Android software. I love her with all my heart - and frankly speaking she’s worth more to me than software advocacy.
That’s what causes ecosystem lock-in. As Sartre said, Hell is other people.
Like you, I value my relationships and by extension my mental health more than which messaging app I use.
I hate Meta with a passion and them acquiring Whatsapp is probably the most disappointing acquisition of all time to me, but I’m going to continue using it because my wife, family in Latin America, and world friends all use it. And being lonely and out of touch isn’t worth the satisfaction of knowing my data isn’t being scraped to me. Others in these threads always seems to disagree here, and they’re free to do that but it’s not a lifestyle I’m interested in.
I’m making changes where I can; I self host a server for my media, photos, files. I’m going to install Graphene on my phone soon. I’m interested in picking up a cheaper older phone to try a Linux mobile OS on. I have my phone auto connect to my pihole to block trackers when I’m out of the house, etc. But I know as soon as it’s something I have to inconvenience others with, it’s not going to work.
Pick your battles.
That’s not a “challenge” that linux can ever overcome. The only way to overcome that is to ask your wife to switch to a device that’s respectful of you and her and everyone else.
I find it extremely irritating that so many people see other devices and “well I can’t interact with them the way I want to so I’d better join them and contribute to the problems so I can also not interact with other people on free systems”.
Okay. Give me a Linux phone that works out of the box that suits the following dealbreakers:
Compatibility with iMessage and FaceTime. This is essential because my wife, my MIL, and other family members all use it. I can’t be expected to change everyone over, I need to be compatible with the majority. I might be able to convert them over time, but it’s going to be gradual.
Always-on location information sharing with location data pulled from both GPS & terrestrial sources.
Full support for Bluetooth devices, especially the ANC function of AirPods or similar (oh, and support for my mother’s hearing aid app).
OS-level support for telephony and SMS + MMS + RTC messaging. With software that has an instantly usable UI.
A deep repository of trusted software with clear and easy UX that doesn’t require adjustment - it all needs to “just work”.
Those are the dealbreakers for me.
Wait, aren’t we on here due to privacy?
Privacy is relative. I need my wife to know where I am and vice-versa.
Interesting, you must have quite the mobile work or something.
She does. And I can’t drive, so I take mass transit, which makes her worry for my safety.
Dang, yeah, that makes sense!
Yes, thank you for laying out a great roadmap for the future.
That’s the issue. It’s a great set of goals, but I need to be able to make my wife happy today. Long-term plans for the future are all well and good, but we live in the present. So at the moment, Android is the most open compromise I can make.
Listen, if you want to continue to contribute value to companies that want to fuck you at every turn because you can’t be bothered to find other ways to overcome minor inconveniences, that’s your prerogative. You’re just like most people.
Once again, this is never going to happen. And this is NOT essential. To anyone. Not even a little bit. Ask your family members to use a different platform. There are HUNDREDS of messaging apps that all do the same fucking thing but aren’t behind Apple’s Walled Garden. If they can’t be bothered, then it must not be important. I ask my friends and family to message me on Signal and most of them don’t have a problem with it.
True, there are many ways to make video calls these days that already work on Linux.
Are any of them as user-friendly and accessible as FaceTime? The people in my life (myself included most days) value good UX over technical genius.
Signal on both Android and IOS
Unfortunately not usable with Linux without a phone yet but so far the most accessible option
Wait make ur wife happy because of these devices? That insane how u guys were living 20 years ago let not pretend that this devices bring something really important that was not possible to do in old way in the past ,they gave just some alternative way to do stuff including all ur things u said.I am so glad that my family don’t understand anything in tech in such things and using just usual phone calls and for video they using something like telegram
We were teenagers 20 years ago, is how.
I might be a dick for pointing it out, but the willingness to switch tech ecosystems for a spouse should really go both ways
You’re not a dick for saying it. But switching and losing daily driven features isn’t really something I think is fair. And that’s why I would be the one to change. I’d probably just keep the apple device on hotspot mode and use the Android as a tablet and VOIP call/text device.