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But you can sideload on Android no? I've sideloaded a few apps that I needed and there really are no problems.

Until Android 12 or 13 alternative stores couldn't update apps automatically in the background. And you still need to click "install" for new apps, which isn't the case with Google Play.

Try it without having Google services on that phone. Most apps and especially the essential ones are dependent on unmodified phones with Google services.

> Most apps and especially the essential ones are dependent on unmodified phones with Google services.

There are no "essential" apps that prevent you from running Android without Google services. There are certainly some nice features that require it, but you have been capable of using de-Googled Android for close to a decade at this point.

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