Phasing out 32-bit-only app support for older devices too

GrapheneOS

Skyway The first release with the warning is now available in both the Beta and Alpha channels.

LegalPusher

I am extremely disappointed by this announcement. I use medical apps with no permissions for which the 64bit equivalents require a subscription through Google Play, are infested with ads and spyware, or both.

I also have been moving my notes away from PalmNote (some going back 24 years). (It exports to xml but I've only been able to import into Markor by copy and paste.)

I was hoping I would have until updates end for the 6a. I've ironically had more luck finding equivalent apps for the ipad at work - their app store is bad, but Google Play is a nightmare.

matchboxbananasynergy

LegalPusher I also have been moving my notes away from PalmNote (some going back 24 years). (It exports to xml but I've only been able to import into Markor by copy and paste.)

Markor at the very least should have a 64-bit version. Is there some reason you think it doesn't?

GrapheneOS

LegalPusher It's not going to be immediately phased out. There's going to be a transition period. If there are more people still using 32-bit-only apps than expected without a clear migration path away from them, we can make the transition period longer than a month.

The reason we're adding the warning is so users have a lot of time to migrate to currently maintained apps. 32-bit-only apps were deprecated in 2017, were blocked for new apps and app updates by the Play Store in 2019 and it stopped serving them to 64-bit-capable devices in 2021 which means there's no change in compatibility for apps from the Play Store itself.

Users will have to migrate away from these apps one way or another since 7th gen Pixels dropped support for 32-bit apps and 2nd gen ARMv9 Cortex cores used by the Pixel 8 lack hardware support for 32-bit.

LegalPusher

matchboxbananasynergy
Markor is what I am importing into. PalmNote is what I am exporting from.
This PalmNote, no longer available on Play Store as it is 32bit.

LegalPusher

Of course, I should have moved over my notes to a new app long ago, but I thought I was fine until updates for the 6a (the last 32bit Pixel) ended next year. Even then, that's just a matter of going through the xml file on my computer.

MediCalc and iSilo are bigger problems for me. I also have a nautical charts app that for the new 64bit version would require an annual subscription to access the same unchanged maps.

matchboxbananasynergy

LegalPusher I understand where you're coming from, and we did consider these niche use cases. I will pass your feedback on to the rest of the team for the further discussion, however this is already something that is over for the majority of our supported devices. With 5a almost out of the way, it only leaves the 6th gen devices.

Doing this would not only help GrapheneOS be able to make builds faster and reducing the size that people have to download, but will also bring security benefits to people on these devices.

While it's unfortunate that these apps are now charging for something that was once free, using apps that are not receiving updates is an issue, aside from them being 32-bit, which is another issue in and of itself.

Even if we don't make this change, you would have needed to migrate from those apps to using something else when you eventually moved away from your 6th gen device. I understand that's not nearly as soon as this change would be, but still.

xxx

I got a warning on P6 with Obtainium.

I tried the version from f-droid.

"This app only supports 32bit..."

Carlos-Anso

xxx
Are you only using the izzyondroid fdroid repo?
Izzyondroid fdroid repo often supplies only the 32bit versions of apps.
They scrape the obtainium apks from github. You can update to the 64bit version available on github https://github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium/releases/download/v1.1.14/app-arm64-v8a-release.apk and get further updates from there using obtainium.

matchboxbananasynergy

xxx You likely downloaded the wrong version or got it from a mirror providing the 32-bit version, and that's an issue cause you were obviously not aware until you were warned.

Using a 32-bit app means not benefitting from features like hardened_malloc etc.

xxx

Carlos-Anso

I only tried the f-droid. (F-droid basic w. Izzy) Perhaps you're right. My goal is to ditch f-droid. But the ntfy apk seems to be unsigned on github? So it's pretty useless. Sorry for offtopic.

xxx

matchboxbananasynergy got it from a mirror providing the 32-bit version

Will try again. Thank you both.

d4er

Can't find any fdroid apps that are 32bit, any apps out there pls? Wanna see how this will work.

Scott

d4er Can't find any fdroid apps that are 32bit, any apps out there pls? Wanna see how this will work.

https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/ packages many 32bit apps. For example "Rain" weather app

GrapheneOS

Scott All of those apps have 64-bit-capable builds available elsewhere though. Packaging only the 32-bit variants of the apps is a flaw with this repository rather than the apps. A major benefit of this warning is informing people about this so they can switch to using a much more secure 64-bit variant of the app where the full security features including hardened_malloc are protecting the app.

d4er

Scott I got my warning 🎉 lol
http://0x0.st/Xpv7.png
Now to open every single app to see if they trigger.... Ishh

missing-root

Note for Obtainium users:

Some apps have release.apk as the 32bit one.
While they may publish a release_arm64.apk, Obtainium doesnt show it.

Filtering manually under "filter apks by regular expression" using "arm64" helps.

This was the case with ffshare.

Sensor66

I appreciate that the warning is being shown, thanks for that.
Sadly, it will probably be the end of GrapheneOS for me. I use 2 32 bit apps daily. They are dictionaries Dutch - English and Dutch - German, without any permissions and for which there is no off-line equivalent.

missing-root

Sensor66 try dict.cc, proprietary but trustworthy

matchboxbananasynergy

Sensor66 If you were planning to keep using GrapheneOS after 6th gen Pixel end-of-life, those apps won't work regardless.

I understand that you may consider these apps irreplaceable, but it's something that's inevitable one way or another.

GrapheneOS

Sensor66 32-bit app support ended with the Pixel 7. ARM ended support for it for 2/3 of the first generation ARMv9 Cortex cores and all subsequent cores. You're going to have to move on from those apps eventually regardless. You'll need to find alternatives to them if you don't like their most recent apps unless you plan on never replacing your device or running them in a software emulator.

Sensor66

missing-root try dict.cc, proprietary but trustworthy

Thanks, but that is incomparably less useful.
What I use is a real dictionary, like the old big books, with examples and alternatives. These are the Dutch Van Dale dictionaries. They still have apps, but these are now on-line, and you have to take a subscription, and they are gobbling up your data.

(By the way, there are even older apps, that don't work anymore on any Andriod, but they were better AND cheaper than anything available now, like bird guides and other nature guides, and indeed I know about medical sources, same story. It is very strange to see. I am an old guy, I was one of the first to learn some programming in high school in 1973, and the computer quality vastly increased over the next 20 years. Then the trend turned downward. Excel, in stead of new functionality, got a "ribbon". I could not believe how something so disfunctional could happen. It was the first of many deceptions.)