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I don't bother with GP anymore, just look on F-Droid for anything I need. Better/faster app store app. Better warnings about undesirable app behavior. Better

I don't bother with GP anymore, just look on F-Droid for anything I need. Better/faster app store app. Better warnings about undesirable app behavior. Better quality apps in the store. And no nag screen for billing info every time I download a free app. This seems to be a general trend in software, and perhaps life in general: an abusive, lower quality default option for those not "in the know", and better alternatives for anyone who is savvy or has a savvy friend.

snazz 8y ago
The app updating process in F-Droid is fairly buggy (I can’t tell if I’ve tapped the button or not from the upgrade page and sometimes it just doesn’t work), but in general it is a big improvement. I’m guessing the “average” person wouldn’t be too happy about losing the Play Store since proprietary apps aren’t available in F-Droid (by design).
- snaky 8y ago
  An average person doesn't need to remove Play Store to install F-droid. But if that average person want to remove Play Store (and Play Services blobs) completely from his devices, he still can use and update the most of his apps using Yalp. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.yeriomin.yalpstore/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.yeriomin.yalpstor...
  - snazz 8y ago
    I had forgotten about Yalp. Wouldn’t you still encounter compatibility issues with apps that require Play Services functionality?
    - snaky 8y ago
      An average person would be amazed by the fact most of apps he is using actually work perfectly without Play Services, despite the fact almost all of them declare Play Services in their manifests as absolutely required. This stay true even for the games, although some functions like in-game purchases and 'social' things may not work.
      - darkpuma 8y ago
        > "although some functions like in-game purchases and 'social' things may not work." Some may even consider that a feature.
      - agret 8y ago
        No in-game purchases is a dealbreaker but if they are available from the Amazon store that would solve that issue. In-app purchases are way cheaper on Amazon since you can just buy $500 of coins at once and get a significant discount.
    - seba_dos1 8y ago
      For that you want microG: https://microg.org/ https://microg.org/ Works fine for me.
    - ppseafield 8y ago
      I used LineageOS with microg on my Nexus 5x for a long time, and it mostly worked. With Magisk Hide I could use my bank apps. But I never got Lyft, Uber, or Bird to work properly.
      - thekyle 8y ago
        Have you tried the Uber PWA? It should work with Mozilla's location API (which microg uses).
  - forgotmypw3 8y ago
    Thank you for this! I have been making it a "soft transition", where I don't waste my time trying to remove PS, just look in FD for anything I need. This will help.

snazz 8y ago

The app updating process in F-Droid is fairly buggy (I can’t tell if I’ve tapped the button or not from the upgrade page and sometimes it just doesn’t work), but in general it is a big improvement. I’m guessing the “average” person wouldn’t be too happy about losing the Play Store since proprietary apps aren’t available in F-Droid (by design).

snaky 8y ago
An average person doesn't need to remove Play Store to install F-droid. But if that average person want to remove Play Store (and Play Services blobs) completely from his devices, he still can use and update the most of his apps using Yalp. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.yeriomin.yalpstore/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.yeriomin.yalpstor...
- snazz 8y ago
  I had forgotten about Yalp. Wouldn’t you still encounter compatibility issues with apps that require Play Services functionality?
  - snaky 8y ago
    An average person would be amazed by the fact most of apps he is using actually work perfectly without Play Services, despite the fact almost all of them declare Play Services in their manifests as absolutely required. This stay true even for the games, although some functions like in-game purchases and 'social' things may not work.
    - darkpuma 8y ago
      > "although some functions like in-game purchases and 'social' things may not work." Some may even consider that a feature.
    - agret 8y ago
      No in-game purchases is a dealbreaker but if they are available from the Amazon store that would solve that issue. In-app purchases are way cheaper on Amazon since you can just buy $500 of coins at once and get a significant discount.
  - seba_dos1 8y ago
    For that you want microG: https://microg.org/ https://microg.org/ Works fine for me.
  - ppseafield 8y ago
    I used LineageOS with microg on my Nexus 5x for a long time, and it mostly worked. With Magisk Hide I could use my bank apps. But I never got Lyft, Uber, or Bird to work properly.
    - thekyle 8y ago
      Have you tried the Uber PWA? It should work with Mozilla's location API (which microg uses).
- forgotmypw3 8y ago
  Thank you for this! I have been making it a "soft transition", where I don't waste my time trying to remove PS, just look in FD for anything I need. This will help.