if you don't like this, then get out of the google "ecosystem". Try apple.
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Android L is for "Lockdown"
- Thread starter Lith1um
- Start date
if you don't like this, then get out of the google "ecosystem". Try apple.
CrimsonKnight13
Lord Stabington of [H]ard|Fortress
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I prefer to root everything for the sake of personal freedom. Having the ability to choose a customized OS or take advantage of external storage to load apps from is what I aim for. I use Titanium Backup & Xposed Framework heavily.
Overall, I wholeheartedly disagree with anyone who thinks that its OK to have Android as a locked down ecosystem. I've been buying Android phones NOT Apple phones for a reason. I want to have the choice to work with unlocked bootloaders & root any installed Android release. I shouldn't have to buy developer editions just in order to enjoy whatever phone model I prefer with a hefty price tag. Being an Android enthusiast is starting to look a lot more like an underground movement than what it originally started as.
My hope is that root & SELinux exploits keep being found despite best efforts.
Overall, I wholeheartedly disagree with anyone who thinks that its OK to have Android as a locked down ecosystem. I've been buying Android phones NOT Apple phones for a reason. I want to have the choice to work with unlocked bootloaders & root any installed Android release. I shouldn't have to buy developer editions just in order to enjoy whatever phone model I prefer with a hefty price tag. Being an Android enthusiast is starting to look a lot more like an underground movement than what it originally started as.
My hope is that root & SELinux exploits keep being found despite best efforts.
MasonDesigno
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I'm pretty sure he said he liked Android phone minus the apps. Sounds like Apple wasn't the answer.
Well said.
Vermillion
Supreme [H]ardness
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Please remove tin foil from head.
This isn't Google locking down anything. This is Google making Android more secure which is a good thing. It's the carriers who do things like lock your bootloader. It isn't Google or Android preventing you from rooting. Make sure your hatred is placed at the feet of carriers like AT&T and Verizon who screw their users.
An unlocked bootloader makes root easy. The only difference now is that in the future we probably need a custom kernel to make some of SELinux permissive just like Chainfire said. It's a relatively minor thing to get around.
MasonDesigno
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Sounds like reality to me. Maybe you just don't understand the topic enough.
They are "locking down" these phones so they can creep into the business world more easily. Do I like it, yes and no. I've had an android phone since the OG Droid came out ( and still works ). Honestly, with all the newer, faster hardware out there, the need to root, install custom roms and whatnot, isn't really needed anymore.
I know what I'm saying in blashemy, as I am still tweaking my old Asus Tf700T tablet and Galaxy Nexus on almost a weekly basis.
I know what I'm saying in blashemy, as I am still tweaking my old Asus Tf700T tablet and Galaxy Nexus on almost a weekly basis.
Vermillion
Supreme [H]ardness
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Oh I completely understand the topic. I use everything Google. I have no issue with them data mining my information in return for free services. I don't put anything out there I don't wish to be out there and I also understand I have control of my data via the Dashboard.
The only people that worry about this stuff are the people who truly don't understand it or have their tin foil hat wrapped on way too tight.
This ^^^^
This is one of the best comments about the whole "Android L is for Lockdown" stuff.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KeyanMobli/posts/aQAoyeiqzEB
CrimsonKnight13
Lord Stabington of [H]ard|Fortress
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I was speaking in a general sense, which applies to Google & the carriers. Notice that I never once pointed out any of them other than not wanting my phone to be like an iPhone? Google & it's manufacturing partners are all guilty of where we're headed with rooting & unlocking. That's why I specified I don't want to spend a ton on a developer phone just to do what I originally wanted to do with an Android phone.
I wouldn't say it's going to get any easier unless someone like Chainfire figures out other ways to root with phones/tablets that don't have the ability to unlock the bootloader. With an unlocked bootloader, kernels are no issue at all. This I can agree with you on. My concern is mostly with phones & tablets that utilize more advanced lockdown methods, especially with 64-bit versions of ARM & Intel-based Android compilations. I have a Toshiba AT7-C8 tablet that has no known rooting exploits due to the fact that it has Android x86_64 4.4.2. It really sucks & I wish all manufacturers allowed me to void my warranty with an easy way to unlock the bootloader of any device I own. I'd love to have this happen regardless of what any carrier thinks.
MasonDesigno
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Or just people that don't wish to be a product when they paid for their device. Privacy is a concern to some people, the wise ones.
It's almost as if you think you control your data on their end.
Then you're better off not even having a smartphone. They ALL datamine these days - Apple, Microsoft, doesn't matter. There's too much money on the table for them not to.
Bingo. The common complaint against Android is always "its not secure" blah blah blah, especially from the business/enterprise sector. Now that Google is addressing those concerns, right on cue you've got a vocal minority of nerds bitching Android "won't be open source and what happened to our freedumz". Android is still going to be more flexible than the other platforms (iOS anyway, I'm not sure Winphone even counts as a platform with its declining marketshare).
They can't please everyone, and they need to get into enterprise. And newsflash: the nerds aren't why Android has its absurd global marketshare. If anything, it's Samsung's advertising budget.
Vermillion
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Exactly. The major issue is the people who say that don't understand what's going on. The beauty of Android being Open Source is that we can get around the lockdown and gain root access. The caveat of course is we need an unlockable bootloader which isn't Google's or Android's fault. So vote with your wallets people.
Cater to hobbyists or cater to government, military, businesses, etc.? Not a hard decision.
https://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/csfc_program/component_list.shtml
I used to unlock bootloader and root but these days I just want something that works and is secure so pictures of my orifices doesn't leak to the internet.
https://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/csfc_program/component_list.shtml
I used to unlock bootloader and root but these days I just want something that works and is secure so pictures of my orifices doesn't leak to the internet.
Skripka
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LMAO...a locked bootloader and KNOX on an unrooted handset won't stop pictures of your junk ending up on the internet.
It would be asy to cater to both, sell KNOX based handsets to those that actually need/want them and un-KNOXed handsets to those that don't. Samsung could do both easily and win hearts and minds, but they don't.
Nothing funny about it. You can recover from identity and financial theft but your reputation, career and esteem are destroyed when it comes to pictures of your orifices.
They do. Samsung has offered unlocked bootloader developer edition of Verizon Note 3 and Note 4. It's probably the carrier that's restricting them.
Erasmus354
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It *is* the carriers that are forcing the bootloaders to be locked.
The oem just provides them. They don't care if the phone is locked or not.
Matthew Kane
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It's always been the carriers locking down the android OS that the phone comes with. There is no other company out there that have a bigger hard on for locking down android phones then Motorola. First hand experience with multiple of there first, early and later handsets.
Google doesn't lock down shit, example the old Nexus and the new Nexus (even though it's by LG now).
Google doesn't lock down shit, example the old Nexus and the new Nexus (even though it's by LG now).
The new nexus is by Motorola.
That G+ had an important point I think a lot of Android fans tend to miss. There is a surprisingly common misperception that Android is popular because it's open, and that restrictions on bootloaders and other customizations are directly responsible for a company's failure. Seriously -- go to a news story about Samsung's mounting troubles and you'll see comments suggesting that it would do much better in the market if only it insisted on easily unlocked (or already unlocked) bootloaders.
Nope. The boring truth? Android is ubiquitous because it's manufacturer-independent, carries a free* license (* = not including Microsoft patent royalties) and runs on cheap devices. The vast, vast majority of its customers don't even think about rooting or even changing their launchers. They'd just as quickly buy an iPhone if it cost $200 off-contract. Android's relative openness matters to hardcore fans, but few others.
Nope. The boring truth? Android is ubiquitous because it's manufacturer-independent, carries a free* license (* = not including Microsoft patent royalties) and runs on cheap devices. The vast, vast majority of its customers don't even think about rooting or even changing their launchers. They'd just as quickly buy an iPhone if it cost $200 off-contract. Android's relative openness matters to hardcore fans, but few others.
All true, but there is a big halo effect/word of mouth from users who do root, visit XDA etc, who are often geeks who people ask for advice.
No way to measure this of course.
That's the thing, I think -- I'm not sure it's all that big a halo effect. The 20/80 rule (20 percent of your customers are responsible for 80 percent of your business) doesn't really apply, simply because there are over a billion people buying smartphones every year. Even if avid [H] or XDA fans tell all their friends to buy phone X, that amounts to thousands of devices... and I'm not counting on a snowball effect.
I feel like it's yet another computer I have to support. When friends/family ask for support I say hell no.
Erasmus354
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Did you really expect a simple UI reskin to magically change the experience all that much? If so I have this magical bucket of paint to sell you, it is going to make your 1,200 square foot apartment feel like a spacious mansion, promise!
CanonicalAbstract
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Very well put and simply stated. I only will ever get phones that run pure Vanilla Android, none of these TouchWiz, Sense or whatever overlays that manufacturers will put down, as I found them to be garbage (Based on my opinion and experiences). And I'm very happy with the control I have over my Nexus 5 and 7 devices. And I am very much embracing the Nexus 6 with Android L coming in a few weeks TBH.
Its not just about the looks, the animations and flow are a lot smoother. btw where are you trying the L version of Gmail, its not out yet.