The Future Sideloading

Ladiesman217

So I've used the search bar for this topic and didn't find anything. I didn't check the FAQ either but I have a question to everyone including the people who run GrapheneOS.

I've heard rumors that google plans to do away with the sideloading feature of android. Effectively, this completes the iPhonization of androids/Pixels. Is there anything that the developing team can do to return the sideloading functionality if google eliminates it?

A second off topic question: I read on a reddit post that the lead developer was forcibly conscripted. Does this mean that your lead developer was Ukrainian?

userofgos

Ladiesman217 Hello!

Ladiesman217 So I've used the search bar for this topic and didn't find anything.

Yeah the search function is very picky on keywords and hard to use. I find using search engines to be better by searching: site:discuss.grapheneos.org "sideloading". Here's one of the threads: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/25235-google-wants-to-verify-all-app-developers-identities

This won't affect GrapheneOS since this enforcement relies on privileged Google Play Services which is not the case on GrapheneOS since it is sandboxed as a regular app. See: https://xcancel.com/Metr0pl3x/status/1960329785277571420#m

Ladiesman217

userofgos

Thank you. I see now that the issue in the future will be if google decides to lock the bootloader or completely hide the code from AOSP next year (hope it doesn't happen since the pixel source code is now closed)

Another question for devs or anyone with the ability to answer:
Based on this thread, i learned that "GrapheneOS is a Linux distribution. It is mobile Linux. Linux is a fully monolithic kernel written in C." How feasible and how long would it take to write a completely new mobile OS in a different language? I never went past my computer science intro course so I'm only familiar with java, python, CSS, HTML

raccoondad

Ladiesman217 How feasible and how long would it take to write a completely new mobile OS in a different language?

They would be writing a kernel, if they wanted to move from Linux, not an OS. Assuming if GOS were to ever do this, they would keep it as an android distribution

userofgos

Ladiesman217 or completely hide the code from AOSP next year

Not sure why you would think this will happen.

Ladiesman217 (hope it doesn't happen since the pixel source code is now closed)

The AOSP source code is not closed. It was only to device trees that were removed which isn't an really issue anymore since GrapheneOS has implements and/or developed adevtool to automate the process.