6 ms·

The play store is getting worse and worse. It will eventually end up being just a bad. Meanwhile every iteration of Android is getting more locked down because

The play store is getting worse and worse. It will eventually end up being just a bad. Meanwhile every iteration of Android is getting more locked down because of "security". No more external cameras etc.. The future look bleak until we get a true open source alternative running on open hardware.

turblety 6y ago
Absolutely. Unfortunately at the moment it's a case of choose the best of a terrible bunch. I have really high hopes some good will come out of Purism's Librem 5 and the PinePhone.
- RonanTheGrey 6y ago
  I would be willing to buy these to attempt to kickstart this market. But maybe I'm confused, these seem only to be ROMs that are installed on existing hardware? This can't be right. Where can I go to buy these? I typed "buy PinePhone" and got a wikipedia page with supported hardware made by other companies.
  - ffpip 6y ago
    1st Result - https://store.pine64.org/product-category/pinephone/ https://store.pine64.org/product-category/pinephone/ [Out of Stock] Librem5 - https://shop.puri.sm/ https://shop.puri.sm/
    - RonanTheGrey 6y ago
      Thank you, I really appreciate that!
ffpip 6y ago
God. I just stopped opening the play store. Everything is ads and autoplaying videos. I added the update shortcut to homescreen to go straight to updates
- Marsymars 6y ago
  Sadly the App Store also has ads and no way to deep link to updates.
  - wlesieutre 6y ago
    It’s possible, just not obvious. Create a Shortcut with the “Open URL” action and point it to “itms-apps://apps.apple.com/updates” You can then add the shortcut to your home screen, run it from the shortcuts widget, via search, etc.
    - adav 6y ago
      Where does one find more of these secret URLs?
      - wlesieutre 6y ago
        Federico Viticci at MacStories is the author to search for on all things Shortcuts. I found that one here: https://www.macstories.net/ios/shortcuts-corner-apple-frames-for-iphone-11-and-11-pro-app-store-updates-page-logging-completed-reminders-and-time-zones/ https://www.macstories.net/ios/shortcuts-corner-apple-frames... He also has a list of links for the Settings app here: https://www.macstories.net/ios/a-comprehensive-guide-to-all-120-settings-urls-supported-by-ios-and-ipados-13-1/ https://www.macstories.net/ios/a-comprehensive-guide-to-all-...
        adav 6y ago
        Thank you :)
        wlesieutre 6y ago
        I was underselling it a bit with “not obvious.” It’s more like “requires secret magics.“
- Dahoon 6y ago
eblanshey 6y ago
> The future look bleak until we get a true open source alternative running on open hardware. Maybe a fork like LineageOS will take over eventually. An open hardware device is really needed though.
saurik 6y ago
> No more external cameras etc.. Woah; this would affect me, but I can't find any reference for it... can I convince you to expand a bit?
- commoner 6y ago
  The camera picker is going to be removed from Android 11. When an intent for image/video capture is launched from another app, the pre-installed camera app will be opened regardless of what the default camera app is. The default camera app is still used for gestures (e.g. double-clicking the power button), and apps with built-in camera functionality are unaffected. https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/08/20/android-11-camera-apps-chooser/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/08/20/android-11-camera-a... https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/20/21376391/google-android-11-third-party-camera-picker-intents https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/20/21376391/google-android-1... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24205479 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24205479 While this is a regression for user choice, it is still better than iOS/iPadOS, which always defaults to Apple's Camera app and never had a camera picker in the first place.
  - saurik 6y ago
    Ok, thanks; I thought you were saying that external-to-the-device USB cameras would no longer be supported (which I am now thinking is not the case).
grishka 6y ago
The best part about the play store is that you aren't in any way required to use it. Also, all pixels come with unlockable bootloaders so you could as well root your phone or use a custom ROM if that's your thing.

turblety 6y ago

Absolutely. Unfortunately at the moment it's a case of choose the best of a terrible bunch. I have really high hopes some good will come out of Purism's Librem 5 and the PinePhone.

RonanTheGrey 6y ago
I would be willing to buy these to attempt to kickstart this market. But maybe I'm confused, these seem only to be ROMs that are installed on existing hardware? This can't be right. Where can I go to buy these? I typed "buy PinePhone" and got a wikipedia page with supported hardware made by other companies.
- ffpip 6y ago
  1st Result - https://store.pine64.org/product-category/pinephone/ https://store.pine64.org/product-category/pinephone/ [Out of Stock] Librem5 - https://shop.puri.sm/ https://shop.puri.sm/
  - RonanTheGrey 6y ago
    Thank you, I really appreciate that!

ffpip 6y ago

God. I just stopped opening the play store. Everything is ads and autoplaying videos. I added the update shortcut to homescreen to go straight to updates

Marsymars 6y ago
Sadly the App Store also has ads and no way to deep link to updates.
- wlesieutre 6y ago
  It’s possible, just not obvious. Create a Shortcut with the “Open URL” action and point it to “itms-apps://apps.apple.com/updates” You can then add the shortcut to your home screen, run it from the shortcuts widget, via search, etc.
  - adav 6y ago
    Where does one find more of these secret URLs?
    - wlesieutre 6y ago
      Federico Viticci at MacStories is the author to search for on all things Shortcuts. I found that one here: https://www.macstories.net/ios/shortcuts-corner-apple-frames-for-iphone-11-and-11-pro-app-store-updates-page-logging-completed-reminders-and-time-zones/ https://www.macstories.net/ios/shortcuts-corner-apple-frames... He also has a list of links for the Settings app here: https://www.macstories.net/ios/a-comprehensive-guide-to-all-120-settings-urls-supported-by-ios-and-ipados-13-1/ https://www.macstories.net/ios/a-comprehensive-guide-to-all-...
      - adav 6y ago
        Thank you :)
        wlesieutre 6y ago
        I was underselling it a bit with “not obvious.” It’s more like “requires secret magics.“
Dahoon 6y ago

eblanshey 6y ago

> The future look bleak until we get a true open source alternative running on open hardware. Maybe a fork like LineageOS will take over eventually. An open hardware device is really needed though.

saurik 6y ago

> No more external cameras etc.. Woah; this would affect me, but I can't find any reference for it... can I convince you to expand a bit?

commoner 6y ago
The camera picker is going to be removed from Android 11. When an intent for image/video capture is launched from another app, the pre-installed camera app will be opened regardless of what the default camera app is. The default camera app is still used for gestures (e.g. double-clicking the power button), and apps with built-in camera functionality are unaffected. https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/08/20/android-11-camera-apps-chooser/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/08/20/android-11-camera-a... https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/20/21376391/google-android-11-third-party-camera-picker-intents https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/20/21376391/google-android-1... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24205479 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24205479 While this is a regression for user choice, it is still better than iOS/iPadOS, which always defaults to Apple's Camera app and never had a camera picker in the first place.
- saurik 6y ago
  Ok, thanks; I thought you were saying that external-to-the-device USB cameras would no longer be supported (which I am now thinking is not the case).

grishka 6y ago

The best part about the play store is that you aren't in any way required to use it. Also, all pixels come with unlockable bootloaders so you could as well root your phone or use a custom ROM if that's your thing.