I’m seeing a bunch of posts about how Google has decided to stop allowing side loading on Android phones. But the EU relatively recently forced Apple to do the exact opposite. Won’t they just do the same thing for Android phones? Sure, people outside the EU market will lose this ability as a default, but presumably you can just order a Euro phone on ebay if you are outside the EU.
So why is everyone panicking? I think Google is definitely being shitty by trying to do this, and I support the development of other open source alternatives. I like the fact that this could be a big wakeup call for that effort. But I am wondering if this is also not as big of a deal as everyone is making out.
“as long as they are signed”
As long as you want to pay the fee and have your identity and address verified and get big brothers permission to have it signed. A lot of people who make apks don’t want to do all that so they can freely release their apk for the appreciation of anyone who would want to use it. “As long as they are signed” is nearly gatekeeping away anyone who wants to make a program without monetizing or gaining from it in any way.