After a friend of mine corrected a misconception I had about Android, I made up my mind to let my next smartphone be one running stock Android...and then I came across this video, which changed my mind.
This blog post explains what almost made me decide to let my next smartphone be running stock Android. Along the way, I'll have to use some terms which I'll do my best to explain first so that everyone should be able to understand.
Computer programs can be written in programming languages such as C, C#, C++, Cobol, Algol, Fortran, Lisp, and many others. The code we can edit and read is called "source code". However, a computer might not be able to run a program in this plain text form. For a computer to run a program, it might need to be changed to machine language. This is called "compiling". The end result is a program in machine language, which we cannot view or edit.
Now, I know what the more seasoned computer users among you might be thinking, but I'm trying to keep it simple here.
When you get a program, you usually only get the machine language version of it; the version that the computer can run without translation. However, in some cases you also have access to the source code, so you can, at least in principle, edit the code and make your own version of that program. We say that the program is open source.
Now that I've explained the above terms, let me explain the nature of Android and of my former misconception.
For a long time, I've believed that Android was not open source, but it is open source. It's just that Samsung, Huawei and other companies have added some stuff to the Android code before putting it onto their phones. The end result of what these companies did is not open source. There are, however, smartphones that run plain Android, which was what I was considering switching to until...well, I already told you that part.
Not that I believe my current smartphone needs to be replaced already, but I have wondered what I'm going to replace it with. Since I really got started with Linux, I have been wanting to stick with open source, but from what I've seen, the PinePhone and the Librem 5 are not that good. I can only hope that, by the time I need to buy a new smartphone, there will be a new one that's good enough. If you have any suggestions, then please let me know.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. If you have any questions or comments, then please let me know in the form down below.
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