The flexibility afforded by sideloading, which allows that that an Android phone is still for the most part a pocket-sized computer that can operate in a mode not intended by its creators (as opposed to a restricted consumption appliance like the iPhone) is what has kept me on the platform for 16 years and counting. If they take that away, then I really don't see a compelling difference between the two platforms.
Android has been getting markedly more flaky for me ON MULTIPLE GOOGLE PIXEL DEVICES since 2018. My current Pixel 8a on Android 15 regularly has the underlying UI controls (separate from the launcher) crash and force me to restart if I want to use the app overview switcher since day 1. I also have no app overview button in the stock Android calculator since Android 14, the shipped OS, so if I want to switch between a calculation and another app I must first return to the home screen. Wasn't like this in previous releases! Furthermore, the day/date is routinely cut off in the statusbar and its pulldown. This product passed multiple reviews and 2 major OS releases with these (and many other) obvious and irritating bugs and shows no signs of improvement. If they left these holes in the surface, I can only imagine what's underneath. It's ridiculous, but I guess we're cranking out complexity at a rate that exceeds our ability to manage it (or our ability to manufacture new fucks at a rate exceeding their consumption).
If Purism is shopping for new users, all they would eventually need to do is not get worse at a rate as fast as Android, or more expensive at a rate as fast as iOS devices. Based on what I've seen from them so far...they're not at that point yet: meager specifications, high prices. I will continue to cling to my Android device, but I'll cheer them on from the sidelines.
I didn't know apple supported rooted iphones (I do not keep up with apple). Does apple at least provide a warning about invalidating warranties or whatever?
Been there, done that. It breaks too many things, prevents OTA updates, and some apps just won't run if they detect you've screwed with iOS. I ended up putting my iPad Pro and iPhone (which I have but only use when I need something they offer exclusively) back on official firmware.
Android has been getting markedly more flaky for me ON MULTIPLE GOOGLE PIXEL DEVICES since 2018. My current Pixel 8a on Android 15 regularly has the underlying UI controls (separate from the launcher) crash and force me to restart if I want to use the app overview switcher since day 1. I also have no app overview button in the stock Android calculator since Android 14, the shipped OS, so if I want to switch between a calculation and another app I must first return to the home screen. Wasn't like this in previous releases! Furthermore, the day/date is routinely cut off in the statusbar and its pulldown. This product passed multiple reviews and 2 major OS releases with these (and many other) obvious and irritating bugs and shows no signs of improvement. If they left these holes in the surface, I can only imagine what's underneath. It's ridiculous, but I guess we're cranking out complexity at a rate that exceeds our ability to manage it (or our ability to manufacture new fucks at a rate exceeding their consumption).
If Purism is shopping for new users, all they would eventually need to do is not get worse at a rate as fast as Android, or more expensive at a rate as fast as iOS devices. Based on what I've seen from them so far...they're not at that point yet: meager specifications, high prices. I will continue to cling to my Android device, but I'll cheer them on from the sidelines.