I can't prove it, but I still think this is (partly) due to a recent EU regulation majorly backfiring.
I can't remember which one it was, but one of the recent regulations mandates that devices get updates for a certain period. Within that period a manufacturer must provide each update for all their devices in a short timeframe. The intention was to prevent flagships getting updates immediately and lower end devices having to wait months.
However, due to some (also well intentioned) wording about open source, the release of the source code is counted as the first release of an update and starts the timer.
I'm pretty sure Google is delaying public AOSP updates to give their partners (mainly Samsung I suppose) more time to finish building their updates on top of AOSP.
Interesting theory. Is there a distinction between phone release and os release there? I would imagine the time starts when the model goes in sale, not when the os releases.
Otherwise I would expect Google would also wait with pixel updates
It's Cyber Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2847) - if there's a security patch that shows up in public, then the manufacturers are fined if they don't immediately roll it out as an update ("without undue delay").
I think that's the one that made a lot of OEMs pull back on opensource publishing, because their legal departments want to batch the CVE monitoring and reporting obligations into smaller batches.
Is your theory really that closed source software will just stop being developed? I can't find another way to read that, but you can't think Google is just going to give up and shut down, right?
Google is doing better here than Apple. Most google devices have an unlockable bootloader.
I have old Chromebooks and Nexus Tablets that are EoL, but I can install linux on them and give them a second life.
The source code for my old EoL pixel phones is out there, it's just a matter of effort to port Ubuntu or PureOS or one of the other Linux phone distros to them.
It's Apple that is being as evil as possible when it comes to stomping down alternatives, they don't release iOS source code, they bricked most of my old devices when they EoL'd them by not letting me unlock the bootloader and install my own OS, they don't release drivers.
I'm deeply unhappy with Google's current direction, but they're still lightyears from the level of evil Apple inflicts upon us.
They exist. But they don't support Android apps that are unfortunately necessary. For example, any phone without WhatsApp or banking apps support is dead on arrival in Europe.
Which is why /e/ OS and Graphene OS adoption is higher than projects such as PostmarketOS (now Nura) or Ubuntu Touch, even if they are already quite mature. I daily drove Ubuntu Touch for two years in 2019 and 2020, and it's the need of Signal which made me switch to /e/.
The problem doesn't lie with e/OS/, nor any other alternative. Google locks down capabilities with "Play Integrity", effectively attestation for official Google approved operating systems only. If you aren't on the list you fail the checks, and apps (like banking apps) will fail to run.
But it’s banking apps that opt into that. It’s not like Google is saying you must use Play Integrity. It’s a feature that banking apps are more likely to use. The EU could require banks to make apps for other operating systems.
> We need an Android alternative, something that respects users' freedom.
The more successful Android alternative - iOS - that people love so much doesn't do any of that and it's apparently even more secure and earns even more money.
Yes, let's throw away a fully mature smartphone OS (AOSP) and replace it by something that does not even have proper app sandboxing. /s
The alternative are other AOSP-based OSes like GrapheneOS and Lineage. Once they are used widely enough and funded enough, they could fork AOSP when needed. In some sense they have already soft-forked in that they use major and QPR2 releases, but put a lot of patches on top to fix issues, improve security, etc.
GrapheneOS has an estimated 500,000 active installs now, apparently LineageOS has 1.4M active installs. Probably around two orders of magnitude more than traditional Linux desktop-based phones, which have been trying since, checking notes, Maemo in 2005?
Btw /e/ OS people have already shared that they were getting ready for a hard fork of AOSP looking at how Google is acting.
But to be fair the challenge is more around the hardware support than the OS itself, so in the end it will be the chip makers which will decide which OS can run or not. If they go the AMD way then great, if they go the old nvidia way where even basic reclocking is impossible then we are screwed.
8 out of the top 10 manufacturers are Chinese. Google has to be careful here, otherwise Android will end up as a Chinese consortium and their own version will just be available on Pixels.
Yes that's also a real possibility. The sanctions on Huawei were a terrible idea, it became a laboratory of what could be rolled out on the whole country if needed. Now this work has been done.
I can't prove it, but I still think this is (partly) due to a recent EU regulation majorly backfiring. I can't remember which one it was, but one of the recent regulations mandates that devices get updates for a certain period. Within that period a manufacturer must provide each update for all their devices in a short timeframe. The intention was to prevent flagships getting updates immediately and lower end devices having to wait months. However, due to some (also well intentioned) wording about open source, the release of the source code is counted as the first release of an update and starts the timer. I'm pretty sure Google is delaying public AOSP updates to give their partners (mainly Samsung I suppose) more time to finish building their updates on top of AOSP.
Interesting theory. Is there a distinction between phone release and os release there? I would imagine the time starts when the model goes in sale, not when the os releases.
Otherwise I would expect Google would also wait with pixel updates
It's Cyber Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2847) - if there's a security patch that shows up in public, then the manufacturers are fined if they don't immediately roll it out as an update ("without undue delay").
I think that's the one that made a lot of OEMs pull back on opensource publishing, because their legal departments want to batch the CVE monitoring and reporting obligations into smaller batches.
One character: a plain compare loop. Correct.
Not surprisingly, I get slight hints of Claudism in the text.
AI "opening" the source of software is one of the best things I've seen going for it so far.
Given they don't have the code, I think it's fair enough here. Sounds like with it, it would have been much easier to find.
Trusted Platform Computing in 3... 2... 1...
This ideea haunts me in my nightmares.
It could slow down progress.
Who beside the open source community develops new features if they can be easily copied?
Is your theory really that closed source software will just stop being developed? I can't find another way to read that, but you can't think Google is just going to give up and shut down, right?
"AI is going to lead to much less software being written" said no-one ever :)
Why use proprietary software when there is opensource one ?
The new Google motto seems to be "be as evil as you can".
We need an Android alternative, something that respects users' freedom.
Google is doing better here than Apple. Most google devices have an unlockable bootloader.
I have old Chromebooks and Nexus Tablets that are EoL, but I can install linux on them and give them a second life.
The source code for my old EoL pixel phones is out there, it's just a matter of effort to port Ubuntu or PureOS or one of the other Linux phone distros to them.
It's Apple that is being as evil as possible when it comes to stomping down alternatives, they don't release iOS source code, they bricked most of my old devices when they EoL'd them by not letting me unlock the bootloader and install my own OS, they don't release drivers.
I'm deeply unhappy with Google's current direction, but they're still lightyears from the level of evil Apple inflicts upon us.
Typing this from a e/os/ phone.
Alternatives exist. They just need signifiant adoption.
They exist. But they don't support Android apps that are unfortunately necessary. For example, any phone without WhatsApp or banking apps support is dead on arrival in Europe.
Which is why /e/ OS and Graphene OS adoption is higher than projects such as PostmarketOS (now Nura) or Ubuntu Touch, even if they are already quite mature. I daily drove Ubuntu Touch for two years in 2019 and 2020, and it's the need of Signal which made me switch to /e/.
Once upon a time WhatsApp had a j2me client…
Though I see signal usage creeping upwards. Maybe just my circle
Couldn’t the EU pass a law to require e/os/ to support WhatsApp or vice verse?
The problem doesn't lie with e/OS/, nor any other alternative. Google locks down capabilities with "Play Integrity", effectively attestation for official Google approved operating systems only. If you aren't on the list you fail the checks, and apps (like banking apps) will fail to run.
But it’s banking apps that opt into that. It’s not like Google is saying you must use Play Integrity. It’s a feature that banking apps are more likely to use. The EU could require banks to make apps for other operating systems.
> We need an Android alternative, something that respects users' freedom.
The more successful Android alternative - iOS - that people love so much doesn't do any of that and it's apparently even more secure and earns even more money.
See post downbelow: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50083579
So why? :)
There's already an alternative, it's called Linux.
Though, as the narcs are quick to point out, Android 'is' Linux.
So really, the alternative is proper GNU/Linux (or as I've recently taken to calling it...)
Yes, let's throw away a fully mature smartphone OS (AOSP) and replace it by something that does not even have proper app sandboxing. /s
The alternative are other AOSP-based OSes like GrapheneOS and Lineage. Once they are used widely enough and funded enough, they could fork AOSP when needed. In some sense they have already soft-forked in that they use major and QPR2 releases, but put a lot of patches on top to fix issues, improve security, etc.
GrapheneOS has an estimated 500,000 active installs now, apparently LineageOS has 1.4M active installs. Probably around two orders of magnitude more than traditional Linux desktop-based phones, which have been trying since, checking notes, Maemo in 2005?
Btw /e/ OS people have already shared that they were getting ready for a hard fork of AOSP looking at how Google is acting. But to be fair the challenge is more around the hardware support than the OS itself, so in the end it will be the chip makers which will decide which OS can run or not. If they go the AMD way then great, if they go the old nvidia way where even basic reclocking is impossible then we are screwed.
sure if there are another corpo that want to funding it
Google not releasing won’t help now in the ai age….
I wonder if they use already / what their experience is with "REA Reverse – Engineer Anything" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50028275).
corporate incentives turned into a laughing stock :p
Fork them!
It's time to fork it
I wouldn't be surprised if Samsung or Xiaomi eventually forked to make their own "developed in the open" Android.
Though given how little those companies have respected their users so far, I feel like this is a bit of a monkey's paw.
What about OpenHarmony?
Even the big guns like Amazon can't afford keeping up with Google's speed.
8 out of the top 10 manufacturers are Chinese. Google has to be careful here, otherwise Android will end up as a Chinese consortium and their own version will just be available on Pixels.
Or China will migrate to Harmony and drop Android altogether.
Yes that's also a real possibility. The sanctions on Huawei were a terrible idea, it became a laboratory of what could be rolled out on the whole country if needed. Now this work has been done.
Sundar Pichai will need to take a class from Dario in open source fearmongering.
every generation of control freak eventually gets tired of Android as the features that actually have market traction get merged into iOS
just hang up the hat and never look back
At least for now, you can still install arbitrary APKs (after a 24-hour wait period). This alone still puts android leagues and bounds above iOS.
Even better, you can install your own AOSP-based OS that does not track you, will not have a 24 hour waiting period, etc.