Android

People should be able to write software for Android, and distribute it outside Google's Play store, without having to:

• pay Google
• give government ID to Google
• agree to Google terms and conditions

People should be able to install the software they want on their phone, from sources other than Google's Play store, without having to jump through Google-imposed hoops.

e.g. via F-Droid.

We've got until September this year to stop Google squeezing the open Android ecosystem.

https://keepandroidopen.org/

https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/@neil/116087210269757672

Doesn't require root, installed on top of Android, launches like an app.

Best, lowest risk way to get familiar with the capabilities without requiring a new device with specific distro support. I'm a huge believer in having things you can actually experience in your hands.

• Andronix
• UserLAnd
• Termux (install distro via command line)

Mobile distros:

• Mobian (aims to mainline into Debian)
• Droidian
• Maemo Leste
• Postmarket (based on Alpine)
• Manjaro (based on Arch)
• Ubuntu Touch
• Pocket Blue (Fedora-based)
• Others

Mobile desktop environments options to try on your distro:

• Phosh (Gnome-based)
• Plasma Mobile
• Lomiri
• GNOME (mobile) Shell

You could even try installing Waydroid in it for Xzibit-style Android-ception

This will be great for secure communication with people who have yet to switch to Android

So I just got a Moto Razr and am going to start setting it up. I've been outside of the android ecosystem for a long time. Can I get some recommendations for anything and everything? I recently read the Nova launcher has gotten much worse since I last used it. I'm also not sure if I should do a launcher or just use the base OS. I know that there are loads of articles out there, but I'm getting really tired of wading through AI gen articles and would love your personal experience.

Thanks in advance!

TLDR:

New silicon-carbon smartphone batteries offer huge capacities in thinner phones (0:25). While many companies like Xiaomi are using them, major players like Apple, Samsung, and Google are holding back (0:55). The main reason appears to be concerns about battery swelling and longevity due to silicon expanding significantly during charging (3:09). These companies are waiting for more real-world data and improved reliability before adopting the technology on a large scale (6:44), especially given their massive production volumes (6:31) and the potentially severe consequences of battery failure (5:21). The US market's focus on software and ecosystem lock-in also means less pressure on hardware innovation (7:11).

I updated my Pixel 10 Pro with the latest Pixel software (BP4A.260105.004.E1) and noticed that notifications for things like Signal, news alerts, discord, etc. even though the notifications are there when I pull down the notification bar.

I initially thought it was the new notification "groups" but turned that off.

I don't have "Do Not Disturb" set since my phone is perpetually turned on silent.

The odd thing is that they selectively show up throughout the day. Some conversations show while others don't.

This seems like a setting something I need to change so that I see the icons. Does else have this problem?

The phone gets 0 major Android upgrades though Moto isn't the only OEM to indulge in these shenanigans. I had personally a phone from little known Techno (popular in South East Asia). Decent hardware for the price but it never went above the Android 12 it shipped with.

The attempt to restrict installing and development of applications, Android's development now happening closed doors and now we're getting updates only quarterly.

The way the stock Android experienced is quite bloated (when I got this one I was annoyed how power button just put me to Google Assistant than give me the power/restart options) and just my big dislike of Big Tech like Google just has made me run custom ROMs full time and I am worried in long term Android will become non-free eventually.

I recently bought a pixel tablet that I installed lineageOS with Gapps and I'm looking for a launcher that has home screen like Lawnchair so I can add weather widgets, but have the app list/drawer be similar to Niagara launcher. I looked through fdroid, but couldn't find one I liked and launchers on the play store tend to pester you to purchase their subscription or a bunch of ads.

On my phone I personally use OLauncherCF, but it just doesn't work well on a large screen in my opinion. So does anyone know of any good ones?

I remember the original Syncthing Android app being discontinued and have been putting of dealing with this for way too long.
What is the current consensus? Is there any trusted app on the PlayStore, F-Droid, GitHub, ... ?
Have you replaced the old app and if so how?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/42358527

Nothing mistitled their latest vid. Per Carl, the "a" line got much sales and they'll have a new "a" line this year. They won't make a 📱 with the 8 elite gen 5 this year. But there was no 4a teaser. He didn't talk re the specs. Didn't talk re the design. He didn't say if there'll be a 4a pro and a 4a ultra. Most of the vid isn't re the "a" line. My issue has been the title. Please edit the title. The chapters immediately say the vid is mostly re other stuff –

00:00 Coming up

00:20 Intro

01:05 2025 recap

02:39 2026, brand and Cbo

04:19 New London office

06:00 New Nothing shops

07:38 2026 items

11:20 The ram situation

14:16 Outro

Knowing how frustrating certificate pinning can be when trying to intercept an app's traffic, I was really excited by this post about being able to quickly and easily bypass certificate pinning (which was shared here).

Unfortunately, it still required cloning a git repo, installing NPM, then installing the project dependencies, then running a local web server, in order to use it.

So here is a publicly available instance of reversing.works' work which should allow anyone to use it without having to install anything (except for their intercepting proxy of choice). Make sure to check their blog and leave a star on their repo if you find this useful

Minor gripe: I had find it better if the article elaborated if phones had a SD card slot or not. This phone ships with 128 GB base storage which is a problem if there is no SD card slot but not a big thingy if expandable options are present.

As for 3.5mm Jack, Samsung only has them in their cheapest lineup now I think.

https://9to5google.com/2026/01/27/android-desktop-leak/

I love FOSS apps that are made for for everyone to use and help improve lives. But I also love apps that someone clearly made to address a very specific problem that they were solving.

I love to imagine the person struggling and thinking, "someone must have already made an app for this. I can't be the only one who needs help manually counting the transportation percentage at a series of crossings!" Then finally doing the Thanos thing and just knocking out an entire app to share with the world.