Android

Yeah, this is garbage. Nobody should accept this. People need to keep fighting this because the "hobbyist account" bullshit still gives Google full control over what apps you can install by creating an arbitrary restriction that they can change on a whim.

Nothing short of leaving the process of installing apps from outside the Play Store exactly the same as it is now should be accepted.

The Verge is laundering Google's Big Brother bullshit with their headline by making it sound like Google responded in an adequate manner, which is exactly what Google wants.

The company says it is now developing an “advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.” This installation flow will include safeguards to protect people who are being coerced into installing a dangerous app, or tricked by a scammer, along with “clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved.”

Seems like there will also just be a toggle somewhere (probably developer settings) that lets someone install from any source

Where are you getting this from? The article makes it clear that the solution will be a settings-based solution similar to how it is today.

There's really no need to spread FUD over this, is there.

You're conflating two changes the article claims they're making. Do you have another source that you're basing this on?

This article outlines two changes:

• a workflow for experienced users to install unverified apps, with safeguards in place to prevent scams
• a new account type for students and hobbyists that doesn't require verification

This article is worded to make these two appear as individual changes, not the same change.

The company says it is now developing an “advanced flow that allows experienced users to accept the risks of installing software that isn’t verified.” This installation flow will include safeguards to protect people who are being coerced into installing a dangerous app, or tricked by a scammer, along with “clear warnings to ensure users fully understand the risks involved.”

Google is also working on a new developer account type for students and hobbyists, which won’t have to go through “full verification requirements,” but will only allow app installs on “a limited number of devices.”

Note the word "also" in the above quote.

I think that's for Play Store accounts, so you can share an app there with a small audience without the otherwise necessary verification, not for installs from Github / F-Droid etc. which will have some new kind of "are you sure you're not getting scammed here?" confirmation for installing apps from completely unverified developers.

Good summary right there. Clean up your own house before you start preaching under the guise of user safety, fools.

So far the only "cleanup" I've seen in the Play Store is removing old apps that haven't been updated in a while but still run just fine, which means things like a physical Bluetooth air quality sensor I have needs the APK sideloaded now. Totally fighting scammers, Google. Totally.

Wouldn't it be great if these tech companies just dropped the verbal diarrhea filter and just spoke plainly?

"We're doing this to try and increase revenue by making ourselves a walled garden like Apple, because there isn't really competition anymore, we're greedy, and we lost the plot," is what they should be saying.

worse… they'll happily sell ad space to any scammer

Why TF would Google start caring about what users want now, especially since this issue is way less visible to most people?

EU Digital Markets Act. Google is already on the list. The watchdog is watching Google.

How is it only a half solution?

Luckily early next year Valve releases a version of SteamOS that runs on a phone processor. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Steam Frame with Qualcomm SoC is just a first step for a phone several years down the road, kinda like a non-crap resurrection of the XPeria Play.