this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2025
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[–] Bongles@lemmy.zip 27 points 2 days ago (3 children)

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.

[–] GreenShimada@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Users are the commodity to be traded. They have what they see as a business model that's too big to fail. And the users agree!

[–] apftwb@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Bongles@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

Nah, just cranky about it.

[–] devedeset@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm actively looking for a new phone that has 0 Google in it, and am looking ad de-Googling the rest of my life.

I remember being genuinely hyped about Gmail in 2008. Now, I don't want them accessing any of my data.

[–] Bongles@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

I’m taking steps, slowly, as well. I’m getting off windows very soon, I’m working on getting off of various services these companies run one at a time. Depending on what really happens with Android and Google we’ll see.

of course google wants every developers id the second they get into bed with a fascist federal government

[–] thespawnkiller@lemmy.world 44 points 2 days ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] humanoidchaos@lemmy.cif.su 35 points 2 days ago (4 children)

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

[–] nuk1ngCat@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 1 day ago

I was looking into it a few ago. I found something made in Europe which advertise as more consumer friendly (Fairphone). If I got it right they want to stand out of the crowd by:

  • Selling phones that can be repaired easily;
  • Offer a de-googled OS based on Android.

The second point could be interesting, considering this Google abusive behavior towards users. Moreover, there is another thing that caught my attention: their devices (the last one is missing, but maybe it's just too new?) are supported by Ubuntu Touch, which should be just a Linux OS running on phones. That would be my dream, so that I can consider my phone just a computer with all the freedom I can get, such as write down my bash/python/C applications to do what I want to do without having to mess up with all that Android development suite.

However, if I am not mistaken, in the past I heard some bad reviews about Fairphone, so you should perform your due diligence.

[–] krakenx@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Custom Android ROMs based on AOSP, which is the open source parts of Android. I used to use LineageOS back in the day.

Before buying a phone, make sure that it has an unlockable bootloader and a custom ROM of a recent Android version. Note that some phones have multiple versions for different regions and some might not be unlockable, while others are. For example many Samsung international phones are unlockable, but none of the USA models are.

Note that many commercial apps like Netflix, Pokémon Go, bank apps, etc. will refuse to run if your bootloader is unlocked. It also permanently trips Samsung's Knox.

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[–] Yeahboy92@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago (2 children)

GrapheneOS works well. But only on pixel devices.

[–] Dumhuvud@programming.dev 30 points 2 days ago

Ironic that you need a Google smartphone, isn't it?

[–] humanoidchaos@lemmy.cif.su 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's unfortunately a dealbreaker for me. I have a free phone from some company I've never heard of and I don't plan on buying a new one. Hopefully we will see more progress on mobile operating systems in the coming years.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 days ago

Unfortunately, things are heading in the opposite direction. The number of phones you can install other os's on is dwindling by the day. Even the phones designed solely for this purpose are failing to capture enough market to remain sustainable.

The OS's are getting there by leaps and bounds, but you being able to install it on anything is the hard part.

[–] Alaik@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago

Not android or apple. I'll go to a prepaid flip phone before I give apple a cent. They're essentially the paragon of greed.

[–] suodrazah@lemmy.world 58 points 2 days ago (8 children)
[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 27 points 2 days ago (2 children)

IS THAT A FUCKING HEADPHONE JACK!?

Let's go 🔥🔥🔥

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[–] jukmehrk@lemmy.org 15 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It's nice, and good to see more of a push. However, I think kill switches for at least microphone and camera should be the new default. It's absolutely ridiculous to walk around with an internet connected mic and a camera that looks at your face whenever you look at your phone. Personally, I'll never carry a phone around anymore that doesn't have mics and cameras desoldered or there's a kill switch. For the back camera a cover with a slide is fine, but doesn't really work with the front part.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 10 points 2 days ago

As long as companies can keep pumping shitty, almost entirely closed off android phones that cost less than 200 dollars for consumers (selling hardware at a loss while making up for data harvesting and sale), "linux mobile" will be just another meme along with "year of the linux desktop"

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[–] TwinTitans@lemmy.world 38 points 2 days ago (10 children)

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

[–] fading_person@lemmy.zip 9 points 2 days ago

I'd prefer that firefox os had caught on and turned into a big player today

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

That's would just be Windows 11 S ~Mobile~ ~Edition~, but you do not get the option to upgrade to Windows 11 Home ~Mobile~ ~Edition~ as you would on a PC

Or maybe you do get an option, but its a subscription for $50 per quarter-year. 🫠

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[–] humanoidchaos@lemmy.cif.su 9 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I disagree. That would've just been more garbage like with the xbox.

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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 306 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

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.

[–] blitzen@lemmy.ca 158 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (108 children)

You can stop using all Google products. Now I understand their market share on the web means they’re going to continue to shape the web.

But make no mistake. There is something, however small, that you can do. De-Google.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 62 points 3 days ago (15 children)

You can stop using all Google products.

My public school -- that my children are basically required by law to attend, remember -- is badgering me to sign a consent form so they can have Chromebooks.

This fight is a lot fucking larger than mere individual boycotts!

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[–] SugarCatDestroyer@lemmy.world 68 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to live in this damn Orwellian society that is coming?

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[–] bluecat_OwO@lemmy.world 42 points 2 days ago (5 children)

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

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[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Time to back to the analog world and short wave radios.

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[–] thedruid@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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

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[–] FreddyNO@lemmy.world 69 points 3 days ago (4 children)
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[–] 0x0@lemmy.zip 51 points 2 days ago (10 children)

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.

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[–] flemtone@lemmy.world 44 points 3 days ago (44 children)

Already using GrapheneOs on my phone, so fuck Google.

[–] themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com 55 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Wait until Google locks the bootloader.

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[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 123 points 3 days ago (21 children)

Its about time an open standard happened for mobile OSes.

[–] candyman337@lemmy.world 93 points 3 days ago (9 children)

That's what Android was and they keep trying to undo that any way they can

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[–] Mika@sopuli.xyz 72 points 3 days ago (4 children)

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.

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[–] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Are we already nostalgic for analog oligarchy?

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago

We burned down the past we can burn down the future too.

[–] zarathustra0@lemmy.world 77 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (12 children)

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).

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