>Specifically things it's stuff for firmware updates on stuff like Shimano Di2 or other hardware devices. As someone who dabbles in alternative mobile OSes, it

>Specifically things it's stuff for firmware updates on stuff like Shimano Di2 or other hardware devices. As someone who dabbles in alternative mobile OSes, it's always frustrating to me when more and more products require using Apple/Google services for basic functionality. I try to avoid buying devices like that whenever possible, because they just lock me into those ecosystems. The Amazon app store is an option, for things that are available there. It's not everything, but it feels like there's a decent selection there. That said, for those apps that are only found in the Play Store, there are third-party clients like Aurora Store: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/ (Warning: possibly against some part of the Play Store ToS and Google is notoriously opaque regarding enforcement. Use caution.) That, unlike e.g. the Play Store, should be installable normally as any other Android app even on compatibility layers like Anbox. This probably isn't super polished yet, but I know there's work being done on using Anbox for Linux phones and it seems to work: https://social.librem.one/@dos/105119691527269967 https://social.librem.one/@dos/105119691527269967 But yeah, personally I'm planning on 1) keeping an older phone around for the things that absolutely need it and 2) avoiding things that absolutely need it as much as possible.