What Would A TRUE 3rd Party OS Entail

  

     The DOJ is relentlessly attempting to destroy Google, and while this effort will not succeed, I got to thinking about alternative search engines and alternative OSes and wondered about their feasibility. I am loyal to Google because they are good and the best at what they do. However, I am open to switching. I switched from Docs to Word, ChromeOS to Windows, and even tried out other browsers for a few weeks (check old podcast clips to see what I’m talking about). I’ve never owned a Google Pixel phone—only Samsung.

        I’ve gone hands-on with iPhones (they suck), played with “alt search” engines like DuckDuckGo and Freespoke, and still returned to Google. I have the expertise to switch if I wanted, and yet I continually choose Google Search, Gmail, and Android. Why? Because it’s better than the competition. I’d be willing to try a third-party operating system. However, those OSes are long dead because Google and Apple killed them—legally. Not with backroom deals or “monopolies,” nor with illegal IP theft, but simply by being better. The “free market” of OSes won, and now we have a “duopoly.” But what could a true third-party OS bring? Not one based on AOSP like so many privacy- or “minimalist”-focused phones, but a true third-party competitor.

        This competitor would have to be a web-based operating system. Not some weird Linux distro with marketing that boils down to “ads bad, privacy privacy privacy privacy privacy!!” That’s been done before and doesn’t sell. Unfortunately for innovation, everything is web-based. However, this makes app development much easier. The top, most important applications that would need to come over include Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok (for now), Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, Snapchat, Spotify, ChatGPT, and YouTube. As you know we have gone through the top 50 apps and these are the most important in that sad sack of apps. 

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        Now, Google may restrict access to YouTube (as is their right to do so, DOJ!!), but these applications are all web apps. They’re just clients accessing servers, which means developing apps for a web-based OS would be relatively easy since all these services already have websites, and the apps mostly just add extra features. We’re well past the era of “killer apps,” so as long as the OS developers aren’t incompetent, they could make basic apps for phone, SMS, notes, cameras, maps, and media playback. If the OS developers can convince these companies to bring their apps over, they could eventually attract more niche applications like games and video editors.

        To fill in gaps, they could make wrappers for apps that don’t want to be ported—like some Google Suite apps or maybe a favorite social media platform. Alternatively, they could add Android compatibility layers so users can install APKs to close the app gap.

    The second major hurdle for a secondary OS is hardware. There are phones that run Linux, and as a tech blogger, maybe I’d buy one. The aforementioned apps all have websites, so I wouldn’t even need those apps. (I don’t use Uber, Lyft, or TikTok anyway.) So why haven’t I bought an alt-phone? The specs are horrible. Let’s look at the PinePhone PRO.

    Only 64 GB of storage, 4 GB of RAM, a 13 MP main camera, and a screen that’s 1 inch smaller than my S24 Ultra—all with huge bezels. Its battery is described as “Samsung J7 form factor” (3000mAh), even though the J7 had a smaller screen and was released in 2016. The reason for this is simple: phones and phone specs are expensive, meaning only a big company could pull this off. A company with their own maps, and app development expertise—someone like Microsoft. And they famously failed years ago.

    So no, Google didn’t break the law or form a “duopoly.” They were simply the best. If a company like Microsoft can fail, then what hope is there for a new third-party OS, even if it’s web-based? Elon? 

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God bless and Tech Talk To You Later!!