Google will require developer verification to install Android apps, including sideloading

I’m really surprised that in a thread as big as this one on a topic introducing such a dramatic change, there’s hardly any mention of Fairphone (5 posts?) and absolutely nothing about /e/OS.

I had the misfortune of having just bought a new Android phone when it became clear that creepy Google was serious this time. Everyone who is a little tech-savvy can see right through the smoke screen for Google’s real intentions. But a Murena Fairphone with /e/OS seemed like a way out to me. I used to install Cyanogen on my old smartphones whenever possible, but most of the time it couldn’t really be a full-fledged replacement.

That’s why I decided to try the /e/OS Murena Fairphone 6 version, and I didn’t expect to be able to switch over completely, but to my surprise, I’ve now fully migrated. The /e/OS device became my daily driver.

There’s one issue I’m still running into: Android Auto. /e/OS does support it now, but then you have to install the Google App, Google Maps, and Google Speech—and that defeats the whole purpose, of course. The devs are however stating that they are on it. Fingers crossed. Anyway, my other newish Google Android phone (Moto Edge 60 Pro) can now serve as an expensive car gps.

There is just this one really strange thing: I’m a developer, always in tech environments, but literally nobody is dealing with this. It’s really an “Is anybody out there? (echo)” experience. Very strange. Maybe I’m missing something :-).