Thread

1. ahmd-sh · 1789760365 · focus · HN ↗

   i despise where Google is going with this. it's a duopoly in the smartphone OS space and we need (for lack of a better analogy, spare the technicals) open-source distros like we have with Linux on desktop.

   Graphene is reaching that status for me every day and i'm looking forward to switching to it as my daily driver.

   1. b112 · 1789761282 · focus · HN ↗

      If Google doesn't smarten up, it will no longer be in control of Android.

      Oracle was a mighty powerhouse when it bought MySQL, StarOffice, and more. It lost defacto control of all of them, due to its stupidity. In the world of open source, the tighter you hold on, the less likely you'll retain control.

      And yet, here we are, with Google playing games.

      Google, a note: there are far more relying upon Android than you, and now there are forced alternative stores in the mix. If Samsung and everyone else said "sorry Google', or even a large majority, you're out. Gone. Nada.

      They can now fork, and force old Android to have their new fancy pants 'Play' store too.

      Google is also getting more and more pushy with Chrome. What if everyone depending upon that backend, shrugs and says "Sorry Google, we're hard-forking Chrome and we'll all maintain it".

      1. qlte · 1789777442 · focus · HN ↗

         Google and Samsung have a closer relationship than ever these days, with cross-branded Google features even featured in advertisements for the last couple Galaxy models which would have been unthinkable back in 2012 or so.

         They have their private own agreements with Google to secure whatever access they need to maintain their OneUI fork and are not the one making any public complaints. Samsung did have a love/hate relationship with Google that was openly simmering with resentment during the early years of Android but those days are long past.

         Samsung already includes their own Galaxy store alongside the Play Store on all their devices, and have for 10+ years. But during that time have actually moved the opposite direction from your hypothetical fork scenario and both companies clearly view their current relationship as mutually beneficial.

         Even though GrapheneOS and Samsung both maintain their own Android fork their views on AOSP/Google are not aligned.

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