I've flashed ROMs before. I don't get a kick out of it, and my hourly rate is more than $150. I'll probably buy one.
Could you find someone to pay you more than $150 an hour to flash a rom?
Do you have to sit there the entire time you're setting up a phone with a new rom?
The comment you replied to is making a great point, generally people running custom roms without Google's services do so because they are enthusiasts.
An Android device without Google is going to require avoiding very common apps and using workarounds that are already going to be time consuming whether you flash the device or not.
Meanwhile people who aren't enthusiasts probably don't care about Google's hooks into Android via GPS.
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People who apparently think... their hourly rate... is too high to flash a rom (something mostly automated anyways...) but also want to flash a rom and deal with a phone that is missing the core services that normally define an Android device on an outdated device and want to pay a 2x premium for a privilege may just be a sample size of you lol
And I agree flashing is no fun. It takes time to find a rom that supports your device well, realize you need to root/unlock bootloader first, etc etc. Most of the time for casual flashing is spent finding the right tools and setting up.
My point is if you think flashing is no fun, working around the fact Google has moved more and more functionality to Google Play Services every year is going to be even less fun.
This is a product that only enthusiasts will find fun flashing or not, so why even bother paying extra for obsolete hardware?
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Edit because people don't like when you point out the obvious and now I'm rate-limited:
Privacy concerned smartphone "normies" have Apple. By definition "normies" are not concerned with Stallmanistic posturing about how Apple locks down their very secure devices.
If you have an ideological opposition to them that somehow doesn't apply to the large manufacturers making the phones these guys flash I'd love to know it
Web install takes moments these days, can be done by any 8th grader with a GrapheneOS phone, or PC with any major browser and a USB C cable.
It’s great that it’s so easy. I’m happy that people enjoy doing it. I simply don’t want to.
Let me know.
Possibly. But that will not include installing updates, and it does not include troubleshooting when something breaks down the line.