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I feel like this is a counter productive non-solution. The free market, in this case, isn't as free and full of competition as we would like. Smartphone OS's are basically a duopoly, and Android has serious challenges of its own.

That being said, a choice has to be made because two different entities have mutually exclusive rights: Do you side with an individuals' right to install whatever they want on a device they purchased? Or, a large company's right to restrict devices however they see fit?



Personally I side with an individuals' right to install whatever they want on a device they purchased. Without that "right to repair" individuals are only renting their devices from a duopoly. Very unsatisfying!


There's competition of regulatory regimes—mandatory and strict (could be stricter, IMO) vs. optional and looser.

Absent government outlawing a bunch of the bad behavior Apple tries to curb, I like being free to have that choice to opt into their regime. When corporate dragnet spying and other hostile bullshit is outlawed and the laws are effectively enforced, sure, I'd want Apple to tear down the walls on their garden.

(please don't just post "but you wouldn't have to use alt stores!" in response—it's been done to death on here, and everywhere else, differences opinion are apparently irreconcilable and we're not likely to gain any ground here today, and Android's still kickin', so the option for that kind of environment does exist for those who want it)

Amusingly, advocacy of optional regulatory regimes enforced by corporations is usually a right-Libertarian position. Not that that's necessarily a point in its favor (see again: I'd much prefer this crap simply be illegal) but those folks do love free markets.


> There's competition of regulatory regimes—mandatory and strict

Ok, well then there is similarly competition of regulator regimes in the literal sense.

> I like being free to have that choice to opt into their regime

Different governments, are competing with different set of laws. I like the fact that I can have these government laws.

And if Apple does not like these laws, then it can opt out of the EU market, when their laws come into effect.

They can opt into a different country, by not selling their product in a place that has laws that they don't like.


Except that it takes 5 mins even for a non-technical person to install CalyxOS and you get full control over your device and what apps you install using between FDroid and Aurora Store with 100% feature parity with mainline Android.




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