Pixels are cool phones, but they are niche, expensive, and accessible only to a small portion of the population. If we want to promote a culture of privacy and security through free & open source software, we need a much broader and more flexible hardware base.
I know they are considering producing their own phone, but I fear this is not a solution for the average user. This is also because creating, distributing, and maintaining large-scale hardware support is an extremely challenging and risky operation.
Obviously, this hypothetical fork will not be able to guarantee the same security as a phone with selected hardware, but it will have a setup that will ensure good basic protection and, above all, *educate* users in the use of free and open software through a dedicated store. If it were possible to install it on $100 phone, we would have the opportunity to educate entire new generations of young people.
quoting"Verified Developers" are coming to Google Play.
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Yes, this even applies to sideloading applications. Yes, sideloading will still technically be allowed, but only if the app comes from a verified developer.
Sideloading apps from unverified developers will be blocked on certified Android devices/OS, regardless of how you obtain the APK.
It seems the only way to install apps from Zapstore (nprofile…qyqq) in the future might be to run a custom ROM such as Graphene, etc.
https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2025/08/elevating-android-security.html