> This is a very HN view of Android.
Just because you're HN dweller doesn't make it HN view. The openness, freedom, customizability and accessibility (money wise) were the tenets that differentiated Android from Apple devices.
Just because you're HN dweller doesn't make it HN view. The openness, freedom, customizability and accessibility (money wise) were the tenets that differentiated Android from Apple devices.
i have never heard someone outside of tech circles (e.g. HN) mention openness, freedom, or customization, even as a passing comment.
they use a phone to access mainstream apps (youtube, instagram, reddit, maybe their bank) and text/call. mention "apk" or "fdroid" and their eyes start to glaze over.
cheaper devices, sure, i agree with that as being the differentiator to the average non-techie. the rest is, at least in my experience, absolutely a "HN view".
My no-tech middle-aged uncles and aunts know what apks are, and that you need to install apps from somewhere apart from the main Play store if you want them to have no ads.
I think _your_ impression of people outside tech circles is as HN-centric as it gets :)
And how do you qualify "(e.g. HN)" for this purpose? Places where people value openness?
These feels like a no-true-scotsman.
https://web.archive.org/web/20260420021444/https://www.openh...
Openness for end-users was never a tenet. It is a very HN view to think that open-source equals freedom for users, and to state that it was a promise when it never was.
From the Open Handset Alliance:
“The Android platform will be made available under one of the most progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to design products.”
Give mobile operators and device manufacturers freedom, not consumers.
If anything, the people claiming that Android was created for freedom for consumers are rewriting history.
The software may be built by consumers for consumers, e.g., AOSP distros. But, the hardware and mobile infrastructure, probably not.