this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2025
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This should read that google is screwed, as android users flock to alternative phones. But no, so many would rather just keep on bending the knee to daddy data scrap.
Android users will have no idea it's happening because only a tiny minority even knows what sideloading is. I don't think I have done it in my last 3 phones, so maybe a decade or so. It's definitely not enough of a reason even for someone like me to switch, let alone an average user.
Well, I use Obtainium to install all my FOSS apps directly from the repository.
I also built a game for kids (available publicly) and then made a plugin just for my kid which includes some licensed characters, for obvious reasons I can't put that onto the Play Store, so apk installation it is.
I get what you're saying and you're definitely right. I don't side load things all that much but the times I have was because there was no other viable way to get what I needed and it worked amazingly well (not to mention testing something before it's available on the app store).
It's one of those things like a fire extinguisher that you might not need but you are very grateful it's there just in case you ever do.
Yes, I love to have the capability, but haven't used it so long that it wouldn't motivate me to switch away from android to keep it.
Cheap iphone?
"old"
What are those alternatives? I can't think of any that are ready for prime time.