There’s a certain “people’s republic” where they introduced a new government signature on all android apps. For “safety”, as they “check” the apps for you 😉
For now it can be bypassed after three pages of scary warnings but in the future?
Maybe it could be a big reason of why they’re liking harmony os that much, you don’t need to manually approve android apps if android apps are completely unsupported
That’s a perfectly acceptable plan, were it not that a laptop is much less handy. It’s cumbersome to use a laptop while standing in a crowded bus, for instance, that’s what a phone is good for.
I did exactly that many years ago. Ditched my phone and went with x86 UMPC with builtin 3G modem, the name of which I don’t remember because it was some random Chinese no-name. Unfortunately that experiment coincided with the era of “fuck websites, we’re going app-only because we’re so hip”. I was in a world of pain right off the bat when I got a carrier plan, specifically marketed for usage on PC’s, and it did not work. I called them and they said to me:
Turns out, the usage on PC’s meant tethering…
Lots of online things, if they were even available as websites, were highly cut down versions of apps. And SMS 2FA, goddamn. I remember not being able to buy booze and shoes because, apparently, phone confirmations were required in those establishments. Good thing they’re fading out in favor of TOTP and passkeys. But, at a time, I had to swtich to a carrier that allowed me to use “corporate” features like SMS forwarding and SIP telephony. Also, fuck WhatsApp, that shit can burn in all fires of hell.
On the other hand, I really miss that time. It was liberating, just not having like, a few dozen malwares in my pocket tracking me down just to track someone’s dog, or a bus, or to spy on someone’s buying preferences or whatever. But things have gotten quite a bet better over the years, so I’m kind of inclined to repeat the experiment with my new-ish OM3S which I carry because I still cannot imagine going out without a proper PC on me (don’t buy it, though, it is severely underpowered, better get something GPD instead).
I don’t think much has changed since then. There are still many services around that require an app, because it’s cool
And also there’s a million things that are app-only. You can use an emulator, I guess, and I suppose on a newer laptop than mine it might even run smoothly.
You’ll be treated as a freak if you can’t produce a smartphone in certain situations, though, and the impact of that is underrated.
What about a mini laptop?
Or, alternatively, one might opt to look at the world around them whilst they are using public transportation, instead of solipsistic immersion into a screen.
I was led to understand that “terminally online” was an undesirable state to exist in.
“Terminally online” is, indeed, an undesirable state to exist in, but so is the urban hellscape in which public transportation operates. The screen is a far lesser evil.