R.L. Dane    🍵 Jun 15, 2025

Dang, it sounds like #Google is really trying to kill #FOSS #Android OSes.

https://tilvids.com/videos/watch/848e13c7-1bcf-49d3-ad75-02055c0b9576

What are my #AOSP peeps planning to do?

If OS updates get a lot slower because of this, I might have to go back to iPhone. 😭🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

#CalyxOS #GrapheneOS #LineageOS #Calyx #GOS #Lineage

UPDATE: This update from the #CalyxOS project helps answer some questions: https://calyxos.org/news/2025/06/11/android-16-plans/

It would seem that all Pixel devices will require a lot more work to port Android 16 to. It's not impossible, by any stretch, but Google has absolutely stopped helping the community in any way.

This is very bad news, all around. Not the worst news, by far, but quite bad.

X11 forked, Denmark moves to Linux, Android ROMs are in trouble: Linux & Open Source News

PeerTube
Show threadAvocaJun 15, 2025

@rl_dane

Well, I have to admit, after a couple of years of struggling with various device's and AOSP OS's, I'm pretty well cooked anyway.

LineageOS dropped upgrades for my Samsung S9 which meant the purchase of, yet another, secondhand device of unknown quality and a new learning curve just to stay relevent.

Been down the GrapheneOS/Pixel route and found both overly cumbersome for my needs.

As it turned out, my son upgraded to an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max a few months ago and offered me his old iPhone XS for free, so I finally grabbed it.

I have been running LineageOS/Samsung S9 and iOS/Apple XS in parallel for a week or so now, and it is just chalk and cheese. Simple as that.

I now remember why, pre-AI crap and mobile movie camera's, Apple was my goto mobile phone.

So, with this latest move by Google, I'm done completely with Android in any form and Google where possible.

Still sticking with Linux everywhere I can though.

Therefore, I bid farewell to AOSP and wish the remaining 'true believers' all the best.

Show threadR.L. Dane    🍵 

@avoca

I think as with so many of Google's dark patterns, this won't destroy the "ROMs" outright, but it will make things slowly more and more inconvenient such that it squeezes most people out and either back to Vanilla Android (disgusting) or iPhone (merely horrific).

If I understood SIP better, I might try to set up something like #linphone using a device like a Hackberry Pi and the Calyx institute's unlimited MiFi yearly plan.

Jun 16, 2025 at 2:16amWeb
Show threadAvocaJun 16, 2025

@rl_dane

Sounds like an interesting plan, but I can't see myself going that path. I briefly checked SIP setups here and the infrastructure required just wasn't worth it for my single use case.

Over the journey with alternatives to Google and Apple OS's I have picked-up quite a few tips on limiting the privacy damage inflicted by both to the point of maximum obfuscation and encryption I can achieve, I hope.

However, I, like many others, live in hope that Linux mobile OS's will flourish over the next decade or so and we will all have a truly valid third option.

Show threadR.L. Dane    🍵 Jun 16, 2025

@avoca

Man, I still remember when Purism was gonna make Linux phones just work. le_sigh