alt Hacker NewsGoogle is doing better here than Apple. Most google devices have an unlockable bootloader.
I have old Chromebooks and Nexus Tablets that are EoL, but I can install linux on them and give them a second life.
The source code for my old EoL pixel phones is out there, it's just a matter of effort to port Ubuntu or PureOS or one of the other Linux phone distros to them.
It's Apple that is being as evil as possible when it comes to stomping down alternatives, they don't release iOS source code, they bricked most of my old devices when they EoL'd them by not letting me unlock the bootloader and install my own OS, they don't release drivers.
I'm deeply unhappy with Google's current direction, but they're still lightyears from the level of evil Apple inflicts upon us.
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> Most google devices have an unlockable bootloader.
But that's not the case for other manufacturers, including ones way more popular than Google. Especially Samsung.
On average, a new Android device is almost as locked as iPhone is.
Yeah, while I am loathe to trust Google again, will never be buying another Apple hardware again too - I used an alternative map app on an old iDevice and wrote them a 5-star review for their good features, for being better than Apple and Google maps (in some aspects) and especially for still supporting older devices. A new update for the app was released and suddenly I couldn't install it because App Store reported that my ios was outdated and not compatible with the new release. So I revised the review for the app to 2-stars pointing out they had suddenly dropped support for older iDevices which was one of their main attractive features. The developers of the app contacted me asking me to reconsider the review. According to them, they had released the latest update for the app for the "outdated" ios version / older iDEvices too, but Apple deliberately sat on it without approving it for the App store. According to them, Apple hasn't clarified the issue. If the developers are being truthful (and I do believe them), this is a deliberate and malicious act by Apple to push planned obsolescence of older iDevices.