Android

It is not important that you can "turn it off", it is important that it is installed. Off doesn't mean not running in the background, sucking up your personal information.

We need more Linux phones

We need to just start beating the shit out of marketing people. Just any time you meet someone and find out they're involved in advertising, punch them in the mouth. Doesn't matter if they've personally done anything to you. They've gone too far.

Have already been since at least two years or so, although maybe on a slightly more limited scale.
The lower mid-range Motorola phone of my gf had a hard-to-disable active wallpaper app that displayed nice pictures, but had a prominent field leading directly to online ads when accidentally pressed (which happened a lot).
Also reactivated itself after each OS update.
Enshitification in progress...

We desperately need a phone OS the user can modify at will, by design and not by rooting, and on mainstream hardware.

I know, the argument goes that the only reason phones are so reasonably priced is the upside of upsell for manufacturers. But phones are not "reasonably priced," they are sold at a large profit and the upsell is just greed.

I was really considering a Nothing phone as my next device, based mostly on how much I love my Nothing Ear Open headset.

This has completely robbed me of any desire to give them any more money.

Greedy fucks. Glad it happened before I spent any cash.

Lock screen ads are coming to all smartphones. Because you know that, once they get one group to accept it, they're going to shove it onto everyone.

Oh, fuck off Nothing, you were to be my next phone! Now I need to find a different European brand which does high-end smartphones. Which means only HMD remains unless something changed in the last few months.

Not to my phone they aren't, get fucked.

chuckles in GrapheneOS

Aaaaand there's the enshittification, just like I expected.

Remember kids - 99% of the time, if it's too good to be true....

Dystopia

"Nothing" experiments with lock screen ads

If you haven't heard of Nothing, I don't blame you. The Android phone company made waves back in 2022, largely on the back of its founder, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, but it only recently started making phones on par with flagship devices like the Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy. Mostly, the brand has instead become known for its mid-range accessories and budget phones, which pack in a lot of power for their price points, but otherwise stand out through trendy and minimalistic designs. It's a smaller market, but a loyal one.

That's why it's a bit odd to see the company put both its minimalism and fandom at risk by putting ads on its lock screens, via a new "Lock Glimpse" feature.

Added in Nothing OS 4.0 late last week, when turned on, the feature will show you one of a rotating selection of wallpapers, which all feature linked content via text at the bottom of the image. For instance, a wallpaper showing a strawberry sundae might look spiffy, but in practicality, it's essentially an ad for a page with a strawberry ice cream recipe.

That’s what happens when an advertising company sells phones

The Samsung A series phone we recently bought in India had lock screen ads. I was gobsmacked. It wasn't even easy to disable it.

Please stop copying Microsoft.

There used to be Amazon versions of phones doing this like 10 years ago. They were a like 10-20% cheaper and with a lil Android knowledge you could permanently disable them over ADB and have a cheap usable phone

I'm glad they fixed the missing part in their minimalist experience.

No they fucking aren't

Finally! Heil Satan!!

Not to mine they ain't. Even if there was no device left without, because then I wouldn't have one.

Luigi Claus is coming for the executive officers of some smartphone manufacturers.

I've seen Carl Pei described as the biggest edgelord in the smartphone industry. I think it's a very apt description.

It only makes ad spam by Nothing so much funnier.

Check out the forum post by Nothing about this spam initiative:

https://nothing.community/d/45348-nothing-os-40-beta-on-phone-3a-series-lock-glimpse-future-plans/

It's rather funny corporate world salad. Fanboy comments are great too! :) Here is one example:

For me, Nothing doesn’t really have a choice. When you’re a young brand, you absolutely have to bring in cash to keep the business running. Sometimes you have to make decisions you’d never have considered at the start, simply because over time, you realize it’s essential to evolve, to develop, and to keep growing. Even if customers aren’t always happy, we have to remember that some constraints are unavoidable to survive in this sector, especially when competing with the giants.

I think the message shared by Nothing is helpful; it will definitely allow them to get feedback from the community. All in all, Nothing is still a very small company in the smartphone world — even if, for us enthusiasts or users, they already play an important role. It takes courage to communicate transparently about your choices, and I hope this will help them move forward in the right direction.

To me this almost reads like a parody of a fanboy.

If the spam/bloatware is great ("enhances the user experience"), why do the claim it's only for low end devices? Surely they'd want to enhance the experience for all Nothing devices.

Amazon be Like "yo. We offer Discount to do that. Lets fire some people".