Linux has doubled its market share in the last couple years and is on an exponential growth curve right now. Valve's push for Proton and Steam Deck has changed a lot.

Also, if Linux-based, non-Android phones or tablets became fully functional and feature complete, there would absolutely be a good number of people who would switch. I'd be one of them.

You will own nothing, and be angry. But you can't do diddly squat about it. Now open wide and BOHICA.

Get a pixel secondhand and put an android fork on it. Its what I will likely do because I am sick of Google in my life and dont want to pay through the nose for a glossy shit that doesnt even have a file manager from apple.

Some poignant questions for these new platform requirements:

• How do you anticipate this being used against journalists and advocacy groups?
• What research and statistical quantification will be done to evaluate the amount of harm these restrictions can inflict?
• What precautions or safeguards will users have against malicious state actors or capitulating corporations?
• How can developers protect themselves from liable damages due to service interruptions caused by third party verification?
• Do you foresee legal restrictions in rollout due to national security concerns from differing nation states?

Doubling your market share is easy when your market share is so low. It’s not on an “exponential growth curve” lol. The steam deck changes nothing for Linux as most people playing them don’t give a shit about Linux.

Another honest question:

Why wouldn't the EU force Android to allow sideloading apps just as they've done with apple?

iOS/iPad OS has had a file manager for years? It's not great, and heavily restricted, but it for sure exists.

We just hope they do force Android to allow sideloading. However, I wouldn't expect them to do so, given their latest decisions...

What has happened with mobile platforms has proven that the fact that we ended up with PC platforms that allow us the freedom to largely do whatever we want with them was more an outlier than the norm.

Apple and Google have gone out of their way at every step with their new platforms over the last 20 years to make sure that process does not repeat itself. Even the stuff that seems more open like Android technically supporting arbitrary app installs from anywhere and the Linux container in ChromeOS still allows the platform holder to step in and stop you from doing something with those tools should they desire using mechanisms that the OS depends on to be useful.

I did my part!

In what way is it restricted? I dont do much but being able to explore to find my files is necessary.

It’s not great, and heavily restricted, but it for sure exists

That's kind of the point though. Apple's file manager portrays a "flat" filesystem, where all of your data is laid out neatly on the table - so to speak - and the actual locations of those directories within the system are buried inside vague and protected locations "for security". Android file managers embrace a more traditional Unix-like filesystem hierarchy.

Linux gaming users are in the tens of millions of people. It's not like this is some super tiny community. There are more Linux gamers than macOS gamers by around double.

About two years ago Linux gaming market share was hovering below 2%. Now it's over 4%.

Yeah.....it's smaller than Windows by A LOT, but it's continuing to grow every single month on the Steam Hardware Survey. With Proton, SteamOS/Bazzite, and the Deck Verified program, Linux gaming has gone from "this sucks" to "this works unless there is kernel anti-cheat".

I am really hoping that PostmarketOS will become more viable.

I've been trying to get rid of all American service provider (dropped netflix, duolingo); smartphones are more difficult though because they need to work.

Linux gaming users are in the tens of millions of people. It’s not like this is some super tiny community. There are more Linux gamers than macOS gamers by around double.

Nope, not in the tens of millions:

People using Linux computers at home, including for gaming, is a super tiny "community". Also not close to double Mac, and even if it was - Mac isn't a real gaming platform, so the fact that it's not even double Mac is evidence of how little people care about linux for gaming.

About two years ago Linux gaming market share was hovering below 2%. Now it’s over 4%.

Not on steam it's not.

Yeah…it’s smaller than Windows by A LOT, but it’s continuing to grow every single month on the Steam Hardware Survey.

Purely because of the steam deck, and windows is growing too - not everyone uses steam on windows, whereas it's really the only option for Linux.

Linux gaming has gone from “this sucks” to “this works unless there is kernel anti-cheat”.

And unfortunately for Linux, without this it will never take off because the overwhelmingly most played games all have kernel level anti-cheat.

Issue is that I believe even in the EU Apple is in a position where devs have to be verified by Apple to be allowed to sideload.

So it's not a problem of if sideloading is possible, but that devs need to hand over sensitive personal information to Google to be verified to be able to offer side-loaded apps on Android. So Google is positioning themselves to fully control app installs even for non Google play apps by holding the ability to deny.

So Google is now looking to emulate the terrible sideloading state of Apple by regressing to more control by them.

Rather than degoogling telling them you will go to Apple and opt for apple services is likely the more powerful response, since that is what the regular person is more likely to do. If degoogled is used they'll likely dismiss it assuming it is just one of those niche nerds. But an exodus to Apple is a threat that is more realistic.

But that makes no sense - they’ll go to someone who is even more restrictive in side loading?

Google won’t reverse this because there’s no alternative for the relatively few people this will affect. They already don’t use Google things, and Apple don’t accomodate them. They’ve got them by the balls and they know it, which is why it’s all just empty threats even from people in here.

The ones that don't sideload obviously won't care. But the ones that do are going to have little incentive to stick around if that was the main selling point for them, and the devs for non Google play apps leave because they don't want to hand over info to Google.

At that point why not go to Apple if Android no longer delivers the type of sideloading experience they desire? Apple is more polished, has longer support, battery life, and better peripherals.

And those types likely will push family to move to Apple too if they are jumping ship, since they might be the ones overseeing tech support for the family anyways.

For the next phone I get it'll be one with good custom ROM support and sticking with a degoogled device. But, if that too stops being an option because custom ROMs stall then hoping there will be a Linux Phone by then.