adb should still work
But the number of users will be single digit
Thanks for the response and showing the latest on Purism. Indeed, if someone can afford an iPhone, Purism is not so bad.
iPhone is not my market because it is wayyy too much for me. I would go for the Jolla Phone which seems a better value, specs wise:
The âcommunity editionâ. If I had more money, the Fairphone
Though I would need to get it through proxies. When you look at price-to-specs, they seem to offer better value. Though Purism is okay, if I had the money. I have a cheap phone with F-Droid installed and nothing else. For that, I am grateful. The Pine64 is a good idea, if the app ecosystem was more mature. Though maybe I would accept Purism if it would meet my basic needs for a device.
I agree, this is a collective action problem. There needs to be a mass movement to perhaps eat a more expensive, less specâd, less featured phone for future gain. I lament the market is slim pickings in North America, though.
Pine64 is a cheap alternative to Purism, but both sell devices with a GNU/Linux distro as the default OS. Purismâs Librem5 has their own PureOS distro as the default OS, while Pin64âs PinePhone has been sold with various options, including postmarketOS, UBPorts (Ubuntu Touch). Both have emulator tools available that allow Android/Linux apps to be run in a sandbox.
Perhaps, but it uses the SailFish OS, which depends on many proprietary components. Iâm not sure if other OS distros support the Jolla Phone.
The default OS for these is Android/Linux, but these are known to work with a wider range of OS distros.
I agree, this is a collective action problem. There needs to be a mass movement
I think the rapid enshittification of Android/Linux by Goggle might put enough people off for a replacement commons to get critical mass. Itâs not going to just happen though. App developers and device vendors need to get organised, and talk to each other, and build consensus around a new way of organising the mobile OS commons, beyond ASOSP and Goggle. Where vendors and apps go, everyone else will follow, especially if itâs to a more customer-protecting option.
@strypey Thanks for the reflections. I followed the Pinephone closely and since it was released, there were issues with it even making calls. It seemed to be able to do everything but that, though they figured that out eventually. Getting the camera to function was also an issue. Despite that, many people gladly jumped on board and worked to improve the device.
The Jolla Phone seems to have the most refined user experience and offers the best value. Though a regular cheap Android with F-Droid installed is the better option, until I am no longer allowed. A partially proprietary Jolla phone is better than a locked down Android, any day. But getting it to North America is the rub. Barring that, a dumb phone may be the next option, depending on how many pennies I can hoard. If I can afford it, definitely something like Purism.
I wonder if FirefoxOS can be resurrected. That seemed to have promise, low cost, accessible and designed for modest specs.
There seem to be a few gofundme one-off type devices, but nothing mass produced.
You knowâŚI read about software companies that build things like Pegasus Spyware that just takes over your device. Can there not also be a group of developers to make something where s/he can say insert a SIM card and take over the device to do the bidding of the user?
Google definitely seems determined to push their plans through. As a developer who has also a Google Play app I received a mail from Google a few days ago, urging me to do the developer registrations for apps outside the play store.
Itâs still the same shit that will kill app repositories like f-droid. App names have to be registered together with signing keys. I see a real risk of people hijacking another developers app.
For f-droid apps could only be distributed widely if they were signed by the developer (which for f-droidâs trust system requires the build to be reproducible) and the developer registered the apps with Google. Iâm pretty sure that number will be small.
Otherwise f-droid will only be feasible on alternative Android distributions.
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One thing that is unclear to me, from the information that Google has provided (including Android Developers Blog: Android developer verification: Rolling out to all developers on Play Console and Android Developer Console) is, if the F-Droid app is unverified, will it still be able to function (provide a repository of installable software) if the user has installed it (the F-Droid app) after activating the âadvanced flowâ?
If yes, then it seems to me that things will mostly remain as they are today, other than the âadvanced flowâ being advanced in annoyance, but still providing the same ability to install software outside of Google Play and outside of Googleâs software developer restrictions. If this is the case, F-Droid can continue to function just as it does today, despite the new developer verification process.
If it is the case, then the only (new) valid criticism of Google (regarding non-Google software developers distributing software for Android) is that the way to install software on Android, outside of the Play Store, will be more annoying, and, distributing software through the play store will also be more restrictive (ironically).
Has it been determined that F-Droid cannot be installed and functional via the âadvanced flowâ?
Interesting development from a developer who distributes via both Gplay and f-droid. (April 13)
Even prior to the new draconian restrictions, Muntashir had his app blocked in several countries due to existing PlayProtect. He was able to release it from their dumb blockade by âregisteringâ as a developer, but only for the version distributed by Gplay. The version signed/distributed by F-droid is still blocked.
(Posted in a public Telegram channel so there should be no problem copying the original here. (I had to trim it bc apparently I hit a Discourse limit)
I have been successfully able to register App Manager and Captive Portal Controller in the Android developer verification console. From tomorrow, users from countries where App Manager had previously been restricted due to regulatory issues (e.g., Singapore, Thailand, Turkey) should be able to install App Manager without bypassing Google Play Protect. However, I didnât receive any updates from Google regarding how all these are going to play out with Google Play Integrity API.
[SNIP]
Note that due to the verification requirements, only the âofficialâ version of App Manager has been registered. You can download the official version from the Telegram channel, GitHub releases, Matrix group, or IzzyOnDroid repository on F-Droid. There is another F-Droid version located in the F-Droid official repository which is signed by F-Droid and couldnât be registered at this moment.
[SNIP]
====
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They need to release a new version on FâDroid to get it registered too
See latest posts in Google requiring developer identification for all apps (#599) ¡ Issues ¡ F-Droid / admin ¡ GitLab and the follow up Google developer verification - apps signed by F-Droid from devs that registered (#665) ¡ Issues ¡ F-Droid / admin ¡ GitLab
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You are right there. Having looked into ADB I am more confused than ever, and would not dare risk tinkering with my phone.
I have an issue registering with companies that facilitate murder as their business model, but thatâs just me.
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I havenât been on the Forum as much due to my sheer hatred of the staff (It beckons the issues in FurAffinity in 2025, they really need to stop censoring the truth, or justice will ultimately prevail, and also stop threatening to ban somebody for telling the truth! Seriously, if this post gets censored, Iâll be ******* done with Discourse due to it being a horrible service, giving staff too much authority, and not allowing Free Speech), but considering the evolution, and the fact that F-Droid itself will never use Shizuku or related ADB circumventions, Iâm therefore using a combination of Obtainium & Florid, as they both are able to use Shizuku and thus are able to install applications through that methodology. F-Droid itself unfortunately will fade away as âAdvanced Flowâ gets forced onto everybody, but the applications that utilize ADB to install applications will continue to thrive, until Age Verification shuts that prospect down too, since thatâs still a serious enough issue at the moment, and Android is seriously under threat of being completely locked down, because Age Verification could lock out Developer Options outright unless you verify your Age, which would then kill every application, F-Droid will officially die on stock Androids at that point. We seriously all need to fight Age Verification as well, since a US Federal Age Verification law affecting all Operating Systems is being pushed through the Federal Government without the peoples consent.
I havenât been on the Forum as much due to my sheer hatred of the staff
thats your problem and not related to this topic
Seriously, if this post gets censored, Iâll be ******* done with Discourse
understandable, its Dsicourse and not f-droid staff you hate unlike two sentences earlier
(also offtopic)
considering the evolution, and the fact that F-Droid itself will never use Shizuku or related ADB circumventions
i believe that since new alpha versions allow you to download the APK files you can just use anyapk.
F-Droid itself unfortunately will fade away as âAdvanced Flowâ gets forced onto everybody, but the applications that utilize ADB to install applications will continue to thrive
same as above, share apk and click on anyapk, it can install from share menu. (also they can f%ck adb as well, others said that previously in this topic so i have no reason to not believe that)
Android is seriously under threat of being completely locked down
after 550 replies i believe we already noticed that
Regardless though, AnyAPK isnât fool-proof, some devices are extremely difficult to get AnyAPK set up on, so thatâs not really much of an option in some cases.
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if AnyApk is difficult to set up, use InstallWithOptions or a computer, if available. i also read somewhere that you can use a secondary android device to interact with adb (could be checked if its real).
HmmâŚAndroid-to-Android ADB communicationâŚThat would eliminate the PC requirement.
FYI: OnePlus has merged with Realme amid downward spiral
Not directly related to this, but OP is kaput with this.
I bought one of the first community releases, the postmarketOS one. Sadly I received it in mid-2020 just before my life got completely blown off course. I still have it, but havenât yet figured out to install an up-to-date version of an OS on it.
I canât say with any certainty whether itâs ready to be a daily driver. But I have read accounts of people in Australia using it as one. So maybe the calling issues have been fixed?
I guess. But as I mentioned, this is not a problem that can be solved by atomised individuals making consumer choices in isolation. A brick is much more privacy-respecting than any digital device, but sadly no one will port their app to it 
Whatâs going to drive most peopleâs choices is which devices will run the apps they need and want to use. You criticised Mobile GNU for having a limited range of apps. Despite the fact that adding apps can be done by developing a mobile-friendly interface for existing GNU/Linux apps. How many apps are available for Sailfish?
Yes and no. FirefoxOS was a project of Mozilla and reviving it would be both impossible and - given the utterly dysfunctional state of Mozilla these days - undesirable. But a project could definitely be built around a new fully-libre mobile OS thatâs âŚ
The question is, whoâs going to kickstart it and how?
No idea, but this is an intriguing possibility. It would be great to be able to pop shell and jailbreak our own devices by inserting a special SIM card for the purposes. OTOH if it is possible, we need to think about how to secure existing devices against people doing it without our consent.
I donât know how old you are, but there are in fact many Linux based phone initiatives that were started. I donât know how many Ubuntu phones were launched. In fact, that is why the âUnityâ interface was developed, to work across mobile and desktop platforms. Back in the day, it was a radical concept to have a Linux phone. Now, we see more and more implementations and it is a matter of refinement. As Android/iOS gets more locked down, people will want alternatives.
As for the Jolla phone, you need to look at the offer. In addition to native apps, it also accepts Android. Not that that I care for Google Android apps. F-Droid is enough for me.
Who is going to kickstart? Many already have. When demand intersects a ârefined enoughâ product, there might be an exodus.
As for the SIM thing, yeah, if our phones can be PWND anytime, then we may as well PWN our own for fugâs sake.
That is bad even for 15 year old hobby developers like me
Even Proton is against it, I saw. Luckily Shizuku capable app stores, like NeoStore, can bypass the Developer Verification through Shizukuâs ADB systems. So it isnât entirely bad.
Though I do have to say: Floridâs UI completely ruined the application, and updates are more obfuscated because of it. I just hope NeoStore steers clear of any UI updates, because thatâs all I have left to use!