5 ms·

> OEMs are forbidden to produce phones that fork it Actually, OEMs are allowed to produce phones that fork it but they're forbidden from including gapps ( the

by MYEUHD 8y ago

> OEMs are forbidden to produce phones that fork it Actually, OEMs are allowed to produce phones that fork it but they're forbidden from including gapps ( the google apps suit e.g play store, maps) >most apps for Android won't run without Google's proprietary components This isn't the case if you only use free software e.g. most of the apps on the fdroid main repo

Brakenshire 8y ago
They’re not allowed to use GApps on any of their devices if they ship a fork on one device, I thought. That’s a massive barrier.
ocdtrekkie 8y ago
This isn't true. OEMs have been forbidden from publishing "incompatible forks" of Android. Incompatible being: Not having Google's apps, which are required to pass the CTS. This is one of the reasons the EU levied it's record-breaking fine against Google for anticompetitive behavior. (It's likely EU MADA contracts have been revised to remove this requirement, but I wouldn't be surprised if they still enforce it elsewhere.) F-Droid has a very tiny portion of apps, similar to as many as Purism itself will likely handle using it's own Linux-based system with an app store. Most common apps people expect require Google services on Android, as Google has let the open APIs languish and pushed everyone to use, for instance, Google Location Services, which is proprietary. Apps like Uber or Lyft, for instance, require Google. Hilariously, a lot of Microsoft's apps, such as Skype, require Google, despite being a competitor. As long as Android's app library is primarily built on Google proprietary code, there's no point in bothering to maintain compatibility with a slow and sluggish, locked down Java-based OS.
- ascii_only 8y ago
  >This isn't true. OEMs have been forbidden from publishing "incompatible forks" of Android. From top of my head. Kindle fire, yandex.phone and most of phones for chinese market dont have gapps. Google didn't allow to ship devices with gapps and without at the same time. You had to choose one or another.
  - hadrien01 8y ago
    HTC or Samsung aren't allowed to manufacture Kindle Fire devices per their Google contract
- tmalsburg2 8y ago
  > This isn't true. OEMs have been forbidden from publishing "incompatible forks" of Android. Incompatible being: Not having Google's apps, which are required to pass the CTS. I'm writing this message on a Fairphone 2 running an incompatible fork of Android that has all Google services removed. This fork is provided by the manufacturer of the phone.
  - cerberusss 8y ago
    Talking about the Fairphone, is there any news whatsoever about the Fairphone 3?
    - Vinnl 8y ago
      No, I think they're still mainly focused on the 2. The latest announcement was [1]: > So, we’re excited to announce that nearly three years after the introduction of the Fairphone 2, we’re not releasing a new model just yet. Instead, we’re aiming to extend the life cycle of the phone as much as we can. [1] https://www.fairphone.com/en/2018/05/08/keeping-your-phone-longer-refreshed/ https://www.fairphone.com/en/2018/05/08/keeping-your-phone-l...
  - Vinnl 8y ago
    That's not an incompatible fork; that's just AOSP with a few apps preinstalled. Likewise vendors like Samsung are able to add their own interfaces on top of Android, but that wouldn't do for Purism.
    - tmalsburg2 8y ago
      What's the definition of an incompatible fork then?
      - Vinnl 8y ago
        I'm not completely sure, but I think it's when you have to actually modify Android code, rather than changing some default settings - i.e. a fork of Android, rather than a distro.
walrus01 8y ago
> Actually, OEMs are allowed to produce phones that fork it but they're forbidden from including gapps ( the google apps suit e.g play store, maps) how do you account for pretty much every chinese domestic version of android, which doesn't use google services or the play store, because they're blocked by the GFW? For instance the Chinese version of OnePlus' oxygenOS uses the domestic app stores.
- ocdtrekkie 8y ago
  Simple: Google isn't really worried about non-Google phones being sold in China, because they don't operate there. I expect this would change if Google did manage to re-enter the Chinese market.

by MYEUHD 8y ago

Brakenshire 8y ago

They’re not allowed to use GApps on any of their devices if they ship a fork on one device, I thought. That’s a massive barrier.

ocdtrekkie 8y ago

This isn't true. OEMs have been forbidden from publishing "incompatible forks" of Android. Incompatible being: Not having Google's apps, which are required to pass the CTS. This is one of the reasons the EU levied it's record-breaking fine against Google for anticompetitive behavior. (It's likely EU MADA contracts have been revised to remove this requirement, but I wouldn't be surprised if they still enforce it elsewhere.) F-Droid has a very tiny portion of apps, similar to as many as Purism itself will likely handle using it's own Linux-based system with an app store. Most common apps people expect require Google services on Android, as Google has let the open APIs languish and pushed everyone to use, for instance, Google Location Services, which is proprietary. Apps like Uber or Lyft, for instance, require Google. Hilariously, a lot of Microsoft's apps, such as Skype, require Google, despite being a competitor. As long as Android's app library is primarily built on Google proprietary code, there's no point in bothering to maintain compatibility with a slow and sluggish, locked down Java-based OS.

ascii_only 8y ago
>This isn't true. OEMs have been forbidden from publishing "incompatible forks" of Android. From top of my head. Kindle fire, yandex.phone and most of phones for chinese market dont have gapps. Google didn't allow to ship devices with gapps and without at the same time. You had to choose one or another.
- hadrien01 8y ago
  HTC or Samsung aren't allowed to manufacture Kindle Fire devices per their Google contract
tmalsburg2 8y ago
> This isn't true. OEMs have been forbidden from publishing "incompatible forks" of Android. Incompatible being: Not having Google's apps, which are required to pass the CTS. I'm writing this message on a Fairphone 2 running an incompatible fork of Android that has all Google services removed. This fork is provided by the manufacturer of the phone.
- cerberusss 8y ago
  Talking about the Fairphone, is there any news whatsoever about the Fairphone 3?
  - Vinnl 8y ago
    No, I think they're still mainly focused on the 2. The latest announcement was [1]: > So, we’re excited to announce that nearly three years after the introduction of the Fairphone 2, we’re not releasing a new model just yet. Instead, we’re aiming to extend the life cycle of the phone as much as we can. [1] https://www.fairphone.com/en/2018/05/08/keeping-your-phone-longer-refreshed/ https://www.fairphone.com/en/2018/05/08/keeping-your-phone-l...
- Vinnl 8y ago
  That's not an incompatible fork; that's just AOSP with a few apps preinstalled. Likewise vendors like Samsung are able to add their own interfaces on top of Android, but that wouldn't do for Purism.
  - tmalsburg2 8y ago
    What's the definition of an incompatible fork then?
    - Vinnl 8y ago
      I'm not completely sure, but I think it's when you have to actually modify Android code, rather than changing some default settings - i.e. a fork of Android, rather than a distro.

walrus01 8y ago

> Actually, OEMs are allowed to produce phones that fork it but they're forbidden from including gapps ( the google apps suit e.g play store, maps) how do you account for pretty much every chinese domestic version of android, which doesn't use google services or the play store, because they're blocked by the GFW? For instance the Chinese version of OnePlus' oxygenOS uses the domestic app stores.

ocdtrekkie 8y ago
Simple: Google isn't really worried about non-Google phones being sold in China, because they don't operate there. I expect this would change if Google did manage to re-enter the Chinese market.