8 ms·

You can sideload apks on Android and have alternate app stores too. I don't think the situations are in anyway similar or comparable.

ethbr1 3y ago
Agreed. Google's lock-in is much more through bundling and must-default agreements.
echelon 3y ago
> You can sideload apks Just because you can ask your users to build a nuclear fission reactor, doesn't mean that they can or will. F-droid gets ~3M MAU, with a 70% bounce rate. It's pitiful. This is a pathetic case for mobile rights and freedom. Practically nobody knows how to make use of this model. Installing software should be first class, not buried in the settings. It shouldn't have scare walls, either. Google knows exactly what they're doing with the "freedom" they're letting end users have. 0.1% of users even know about or can leverage it.
- elevatedastalt 3y ago
  I am sorry to push back on this, but this is just incorrect. The truth is the vast majority of users do not care about sideloading apks. Apple knows this. Google knows this. However, it is important that it is allowed without any major hurdle (a warning dialog that you need to click OK on is not a major hurdle for me once you consider that many malicious actors will use this sideloading for nefarious purposes). Google allows it and you are free to use it without major hurdles. Yes, most users don't care to, and that's fine.
  - echelon 3y ago
    > The truth is the vast majority of users do not care about sideloading apks. You can't really say that since it isn't a common deployment strategy. If web installs of APKs were normal and had no road blocks, then the practice would be commonplace. The users care about software. There is only one blessed path to get it.
- alisonatwork 3y ago
  F-Droid is not a good comparison here because the primary motivator for people to use it is ideological, not because it has a wider selection or cheaper prices. The many different app stores in China is a better example of how a somewhat competitive app store landscape could look to the average user.
- pohuing 3y ago
  The largest android manufacturer ships their own alternative galaxy store...

ethbr1 3y ago

Agreed. Google's lock-in is much more through bundling and must-default agreements.

echelon 3y ago

> You can sideload apks Just because you can ask your users to build a nuclear fission reactor, doesn't mean that they can or will. F-droid gets ~3M MAU, with a 70% bounce rate. It's pitiful. This is a pathetic case for mobile rights and freedom. Practically nobody knows how to make use of this model. Installing software should be first class, not buried in the settings. It shouldn't have scare walls, either. Google knows exactly what they're doing with the "freedom" they're letting end users have. 0.1% of users even know about or can leverage it.

elevatedastalt 3y ago
I am sorry to push back on this, but this is just incorrect. The truth is the vast majority of users do not care about sideloading apks. Apple knows this. Google knows this. However, it is important that it is allowed without any major hurdle (a warning dialog that you need to click OK on is not a major hurdle for me once you consider that many malicious actors will use this sideloading for nefarious purposes). Google allows it and you are free to use it without major hurdles. Yes, most users don't care to, and that's fine.
- echelon 3y ago
  > The truth is the vast majority of users do not care about sideloading apks. You can't really say that since it isn't a common deployment strategy. If web installs of APKs were normal and had no road blocks, then the practice would be commonplace. The users care about software. There is only one blessed path to get it.
alisonatwork 3y ago
F-Droid is not a good comparison here because the primary motivator for people to use it is ideological, not because it has a wider selection or cheaper prices. The many different app stores in China is a better example of how a somewhat competitive app store landscape could look to the average user.
pohuing 3y ago
The largest android manufacturer ships their own alternative galaxy store...