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One thing I really dislike about the Mobile ecosystem is how much different each device is to each other.
Imagine owning a laptop and not being able to install linux without the manufacturer permission.
They really messed us up with how they created the phone architecture, so closed and restrictive.
Capitalism
There is a reason we are putting up with decades of legacy stuff still from the original x86 architecture in PCs... the compatibility of hardware and the standardisation even if it's through several extensions build off each other is unmatched.
ARM architecture might be much simpler but you constantly need hardware specific adaptions, which makes support for different mobile devices this mess.
The ptoblem is that all the phone manufacters don't release any drivers, neither close or open
It used to be the same with x86 computers, but over time a standardized interface was developed.
ARM is already getting something similar, but most companies aren't interested, precisely because they're perfectly fine with the restrictions.
One thing I really dislike about the Mobile ecosystem is how much different each device is to each other.
I thought you were sarcastic when I first read this part, since way back when phones used to be innovative in both hardware and software. The current market offerings are all carbon copies of eachother with a strong trend towards converging into the exact same lineup.
Multiple cameras, one in front, 2+ in back. A power button and two for volume. Reader apps may hijack it for scroll. Gesture movements. Fingerprint and face id. Less and less conusmer freedom in software choice. Irremovable battery. No removable back plate. A rectangular brick. A near-100% display area. No headphone jack or SD card, with SIM on the way out.
Covers the vast majority of offerings on the market, with a few slight adds/subtracts. Dumbphones are a rounding error.
This definition covers even tablets, and it isn't even deliverately vague.
Without much experimentation and development on the hardware front, no wonder software's behaving exactly the same.
There just isn't enough interest for proper innovation and experimentation.
Oh that's 100% true.
I was just thinking on the firmware of the thing. And how incompatible are they between models that are almost the same.
And as you say all phones are basically the same, there's no excuse for how little normalization there is in the software they carry.
Just because they have the same function in the OS doesn't mean the hardware is the same. That's where custom ROMs falter, with closed sourced hardware drivers.
The issue isn't normalisation, it's inaccessibility to understand the core functionality to drive the hardware.
And we're not even talking about iphone
Imagine owning a laptop and not being able to install linux without the manufacturer permission.
Fairphone 6 ?
The exception proves the rule.
And yet they're all the same
For me the most interesting piece from the Mastodon thread is the fact that the Motorola partnership was born out of Google making it more difficult for non-OEMs to get access to AOSP source code (emphasis mine):
Google replaced pushing Git tags for certain source code with obtaining source code via Google Drive after making a request through Google Forms. It's completely ridiculous and they've gradually become very slow at handling requests. They're in clear violation of the GPLv2 now.
[...]
These changes won't negatively impact GrapheneOS on upcoming Motorola Mobility devices. In fact, it's a major part of why our partnership exists. It only negatively impacts Pixels and hurts Google more than anyone else. Google wants to make Pixels worse for no apparent reason.
This also means that in the future Motorola devices will get faster security updates on GrapheneOS than Pixels.
This is exactly why I've waited to get a Graphene OS phone, Google can't be trusted.
i've been waiting too, but now that i know that the motorola phone will cost more than a pixel, now i think i just might give up and go with a pixel instead.
Honestly, I'd replace this fuckass Google device in a heartbeat, but I will never in my life understand why people want flagship phones. I got a b-ware 9a for 300 bucks and even this one is way overkill for what I want in a phone. Why can't there just be a low-spec one instead of ones that cost more than an entry class laptop?
> even this one is way overkill for what I want in a phone. Why can’t there just be a low-spec one instead
Exactly this.
My solution is: dirt-cheap bargain-basement Chinese phones.
They do the job and you can get a lot for under £150.
My best buy was an Umidigi F2. Stunning device for £125. I have bought dinners that cost more than that.
*But* you'll never get an OS upgrade, they're unsupported by all the alternative OSes, and there is the everpresent risk of spyware.
For me, that's worth it, but I get that it's not for everyone and so I do not unequivocally recommend them.
Well I do want GrapheneOS on it so they aren't an option. I just wonder why noone is capitalizing on a ~200 bucks GrapheneOS phone for people like me who don't need the processing power or even lower-spec models for criminals who literally only have Signal on it. I mean which criminal organization or activist group or whatever wouldn't buy a box full of sub 200 bucks GrapheneOS phones?
Ask Qualcomm. Only the highest level Snapdragon chips have the hardware security that the Graphene folks demand.
I will never in my life understand why people want flagship phones
It's easier to compile Rust programs and emulate Wii games on phones with higher RAM/CPU/Storage
Yeah, I'm still holding out hope for a "convergent" device I can dock and use as a PC. I've used Samsung's DeX a bit, and it's okay but I really want a Linux phone with something like a high end flagship Snapdragon SOC that gives me a normal Plasma desktop when docked. Samsung was doing Linux on DeX for like, a month or so, then discontinued it.
Clearly a killing feature everyone craves... ??
cool, does it ship with a OS that lets me actually use it like a general purpose computer that it is? No, I am not fighting with android, I want a proper OS
I'm actually kind of excited about this, despite it meaning my next phone is going to be more expensive than I want (or can really handle, so I'll start saving now.)
I figured this would be the case, too, for the exact reason stated in the article, the Moto G devices aren't secure enough.
BUT why I'm excited is usually Moto's flagship phones have expandable storage!!! I want nothing more from a phone than a grapheneOS phone with a microSD! I'm still mad at the cell phone market for killing expandable storage. Now if I could just convince them to give me two USB-C ports so I don't have to wear my charge port to use wired headphones...
I took micro SD for granted! I miss being able to just pop a card in and upgrade.
Gonna buy one, gotta support the cause. We need this phone to do well.
Edit: @plyth@feddit.org pointed out that Motorola is in fact split into two separate companies. The phone company is effectively Lenovo, so Chinese, and not related to the American surveillance technology branch.
Not sure I'd trust Lenovo/Motorola Mobility either, but that's a different story.
In June 2026, Motorola bricked its whole line of routers without any explanation, leaving their customers with broken hardware.
~~The main thing you're supporting is Motorola, the second biggest provider of surveillance technology in the US after Flock. Deflock lists 5% of the cameras as Motorola, but the share is increasing as backlash against Flock is growing and Flock cameras are replaced with more low key competitors.~~
~~404media has reported on how Motorola cameras are used by ice.~~
~~"Gotta support the cause" is one hell of a dangerous sentiment under capitalism.~~
Damn I guess most of us didn't know that, thank you for sharing.
They're keeping a low profile on their surveillance technology while successfully marketing themselves as a privacy alternative in consumer tech. Its pretty fascinating to watch. I wouldn't blame anyone for missing it.
It's also worth reading up on Aviglon, a subsidiary of Motorola specializing in surveillance technology.
Different company?
Motorola was split into two independent public companies: Motorola Solutions (its legal successor) and Motorola Mobility (spun off), on January 4, 2011
I would have liked an affordable midrange device (like Pixel 4a) with the option of graphene os preinstalled. That would unlock it as a device recommendation for my family members: Everything still works, and the device is good enough for all expected workloads. And with a growing user base comes mainstream relevance for graphene os.
Avant-garde nerds hacking their phones with custom roms may clear the path, but the normies can bring the necessary financial volume.
If they’re expensive but worth it that’s fine. Graphene powered Motorola is the only device I’d ever consider switching back to Android for.
Please Motorola, please make something like Pixel 4a sized or iPhone SE / 8.
The 4a was the last light one. When I tested the newer Pixels every of the a models was much heavier. I can't get around it, why would engineers think it's a good idea to make a successor heavier and not lighter?
The base Pixel is 1K Euro this year. Are they really thinking of releasing a 1K+ phone? That's absolutely insane.
Pixels used to be mid range phones with great cameras or more precisely great image processors for mid range prices to overvalued mid range phones with outdated hardware.
CAN anything be priced higher than pixels? Fuck me and my need to eat.
I would be happy to support any competition to Google.
yay!
i wish they released mid-range phones
Oh come on with these prices!! This is BS.😑 This is why I got my Teracube 2s. Its around 350 getting the degoogled version and thats it.
Your getting scammed paying over 1000+ for these phones, people, don't do it. Linux needs to come on already and make resonable priced phones.