5 ms·

I can't see any Chinese phone company feeling comfortable with this move. If someone sets up a viable non-US alternative to Android and the Play Store, they co

by ETHisso2017 7y ago

I can't see any Chinese phone company feeling comfortable with this move. If someone sets up a viable non-US alternative to Android and the Play Store, they could jump ship en masse.

lone_haxx0r 7y ago
Lineage OS
- cs02rm0 7y ago
  Beats me why more manufacturers don't just take Lineage.
- ETHisso2017 7y ago
  Is the license still controllable by the US Commerce Department though? Because if so I don't think the Chinese would be interested
- yding 7y ago
  Lineage isn't good enough on its own. 99% of Lineage OS users also install google play services and the google play store. You need to have a replacement for all of the closed source Google APIs for app developers to use. It's a much bigger undertaking than just recompiling the base OS from source.
  - madez 7y ago
    > Lineage isn't good enough on its own. It's good for me¹. I want a device that does no phone home to its mothership outside my control. This requires Googles Services not to be installed. I don't doubt that many nevertheless still use Googles Services. ¹ compared to Googles Android. I'm still desperately waiting for a device with mainline Linux support without blobs.
    - Mikeb85 7y ago
      > without blobs Will never happen.
      - StudentStuff 7y ago
        Look at the PocketCHIP and OrangePi boards. Allwinner's chips can run Xorg, Wayland, do gigabit ethernet, handle eMMC using mainline Linux all without any proprietary firmware or closed source software.
  - Fnoord 7y ago
    You can install F-Droid or microG if you prefer; you don't need to use GApps. Apart from that the other options you have, are (in random order): /e/, PureOS, KaiOS, SailfishOS, Ubuntu Touch, Plasma Mobile, postmarketOS, among others.
    - ooboe 7y ago
      Or YALP, Aurora, or AuroraStore.
    - yding 7y ago
      I looked at MicroG and saw this almost immediately: This is alpha-grade software and not yet ready for production use. Do not use if you don't know what you're doing. That's not going to be good enough for Huawei. Similarly, all of those alternative OSes aren't going to work if they're not binary, and more importantly API compatible with Android + GMS.
      - sanxiyn 7y ago
        If microG isn't good enough for Huawei, they can make it so. I mean, Huawei is a billion dollar corporation. I hope they do.
      - Fnoord 7y ago
        > That's not going to be good enough for Huawei. The question is rather: given that it is FOSS is it good enough for them to extend the functionality on the short-term? > Similarly, all of those alternative OSes aren't going to work if they're not binary, and more importantly API compatible with Android + GMS. KaiOS has some compatibility (by design not fully compatible). SailfishOS has an Android emulator. Other OSes could also use one such as Anbox. /e/ and LineageOS are binary and API compatible with Android. GMS is an issue, but given that Google is under a magnifying glass concerning monopoly position related to Android in EU I have some hope that alternatives for GMS (or FOSS implementations) could happen.
- arthurfm 7y ago
  Huawei and Honor stopped providing bootloader unlock codes last year [1]. Wouldn't this make it impossible to install Lineage OS or another AOSP-based custom ROM? [1] https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-stop-providing-bootloader-unlock-codes/ https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-stop-providing-bootloa...
- darklajid 7y ago
  Huawei phones have locked bootloaders and you can't fet the unlock key from them (there are potentially questionable 3rd party sites selling those, turning this into a market..) If you do unlock the device and install Lineage OS (which doesn't support more than a few devices), you now basically have a crappy camera app, probably your FreeBuds won't work properly anymore and you really should have bought a different phone. I love Lineage OS and used it for years (OPO and other phones). It would ruin my P30P though.
loyukfai 7y ago
Android phones sold in China use homebrew app stores instead of Google Play already, because of censorship. This news, if true, will affect the devices made by Huawei and sold worldwide though.
rorykoehler 7y ago
Much more likely is a SaaS to manage distribution to various app stores from one interface.
- ETHisso2017 7y ago
  Hmm, interesting. Does one already exist?
  - rorykoehler 7y ago
    I'm sure one does but I don't know for certain. The difficulty comes in replacing the Google Services functionality. I suspect this responsibility could be pushed upstream into frameworks.
  - ospider 7y ago
    Yes, since each of Chinese android vendors(Huawei/Xiaomi/Oppo/Oneplus...) has their own "Google Play" alternative in China. Their are plenty of tools for uploading apps to each of these markets.

I can't see any Chinese phone company feeling comfortable with this move. If someone sets up a viable non-US alternative to Android and the Play Store, they could jump ship en masse.

lone_haxx0r 7y ago

Lineage OS

cs02rm0 7y ago
Beats me why more manufacturers don't just take Lineage.
ETHisso2017 7y ago
Is the license still controllable by the US Commerce Department though? Because if so I don't think the Chinese would be interested
yding 7y ago
Lineage isn't good enough on its own. 99% of Lineage OS users also install google play services and the google play store. You need to have a replacement for all of the closed source Google APIs for app developers to use. It's a much bigger undertaking than just recompiling the base OS from source.
- madez 7y ago
  > Lineage isn't good enough on its own. It's good for me¹. I want a device that does no phone home to its mothership outside my control. This requires Googles Services not to be installed. I don't doubt that many nevertheless still use Googles Services. ¹ compared to Googles Android. I'm still desperately waiting for a device with mainline Linux support without blobs.
  - Mikeb85 7y ago
    > without blobs Will never happen.
    - StudentStuff 7y ago
      Look at the PocketCHIP and OrangePi boards. Allwinner's chips can run Xorg, Wayland, do gigabit ethernet, handle eMMC using mainline Linux all without any proprietary firmware or closed source software.
- Fnoord 7y ago
  You can install F-Droid or microG if you prefer; you don't need to use GApps. Apart from that the other options you have, are (in random order): /e/, PureOS, KaiOS, SailfishOS, Ubuntu Touch, Plasma Mobile, postmarketOS, among others.
  - ooboe 7y ago
    Or YALP, Aurora, or AuroraStore.
  - yding 7y ago
    I looked at MicroG and saw this almost immediately: This is alpha-grade software and not yet ready for production use. Do not use if you don't know what you're doing. That's not going to be good enough for Huawei. Similarly, all of those alternative OSes aren't going to work if they're not binary, and more importantly API compatible with Android + GMS.
    - sanxiyn 7y ago
      If microG isn't good enough for Huawei, they can make it so. I mean, Huawei is a billion dollar corporation. I hope they do.
    - Fnoord 7y ago
      > That's not going to be good enough for Huawei. The question is rather: given that it is FOSS is it good enough for them to extend the functionality on the short-term? > Similarly, all of those alternative OSes aren't going to work if they're not binary, and more importantly API compatible with Android + GMS. KaiOS has some compatibility (by design not fully compatible). SailfishOS has an Android emulator. Other OSes could also use one such as Anbox. /e/ and LineageOS are binary and API compatible with Android. GMS is an issue, but given that Google is under a magnifying glass concerning monopoly position related to Android in EU I have some hope that alternatives for GMS (or FOSS implementations) could happen.
arthurfm 7y ago
Huawei and Honor stopped providing bootloader unlock codes last year [1]. Wouldn't this make it impossible to install Lineage OS or another AOSP-based custom ROM? [1] https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-stop-providing-bootloader-unlock-codes/ https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-stop-providing-bootloa...
darklajid 7y ago
Huawei phones have locked bootloaders and you can't fet the unlock key from them (there are potentially questionable 3rd party sites selling those, turning this into a market..) If you do unlock the device and install Lineage OS (which doesn't support more than a few devices), you now basically have a crappy camera app, probably your FreeBuds won't work properly anymore and you really should have bought a different phone. I love Lineage OS and used it for years (OPO and other phones). It would ruin my P30P though.

loyukfai 7y ago

Android phones sold in China use homebrew app stores instead of Google Play already, because of censorship. This news, if true, will affect the devices made by Huawei and sold worldwide though.

rorykoehler 7y ago

Much more likely is a SaaS to manage distribution to various app stores from one interface.

ETHisso2017 7y ago
Hmm, interesting. Does one already exist?
- rorykoehler 7y ago
  I'm sure one does but I don't know for certain. The difficulty comes in replacing the Google Services functionality. I suspect this responsibility could be pushed upstream into frameworks.
- ospider 7y ago
  Yes, since each of Chinese android vendors(Huawei/Xiaomi/Oppo/Oneplus...) has their own "Google Play" alternative in China. Their are plenty of tools for uploading apps to each of these markets.