this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2024
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App controlled shoes aren't the outlier though by any means? Just about everything has a companion app these days and through enshitification they eventually lock away features and charge subscription (if they didn't from start) until they inevitably shut down servers and brick devices or at lady severely restrict usability.
The android community often revives these products, giving them a second life and retaining their core functionality at least - because the platform allows for it in its design.
This same thing doesn't happen in the box, because the box doesn't want its friends ability to pull the plug denied them. Again this is objective fact at this point and ubiquitous to the point that you routinely see casual reference to this style of joke.
And to "most people will never use X functionality" that's a self fulfilling prophecy because most people in the box have never known those features as any kind of possibility. "Most people held hostage in a basement from birth, fed only saltines, won't want Oreo cookies" is the same idea.
My point is though, that the vast majority of android users also wouldn’t ever sideload an app. It doesn’t matter to the average user if there’s a door in the wall, if there’s exactly zero reason to go through. Because most people don’t have some obsolete device they need a third party app for. Most people don’t even use a custom launcher.
I‘m not saying no one needs sideloading, nor that it shouldn’t be an option. I‘m very glad the EU forced Apple to allow third party stores. All I’m saying is, that doesn’t matter to the vast majority of users.
Look at it like that: The average person does not need a pickup truck. They usually only carry people or some groceries. A hatchback would suffice, a sedan or wagon would be comfortable. If you gave them a pickup truck, they wouldn’t use the bed ever because they don’t have a need for it. That doesn’t mean no one needs it and that some people who don’t need it still want it, juuust in case. But the average user just doesn’t care because they don’t need to care. And should the day arise where they need a pickup truck, they‘ll get one.
All most apps like these are is a wrapper around API calls anyway. I’ll keep using my iPhone and just self host whatever replacement gets released.
Worst case I can just spin up an Android qemu vm on my real computer, and let my pocket computer just make phone calls, send messages, and shit post on the internet as nature intended.