why are phones so locked down unlike pcs and laptops?
Nerds in here screeching about corporations and shit.
It’s because people don’t give a fuck and a locked down device is more simple to support and usually will provide a better experience.
And better security, theoretically.
TBH most Android users would absolutely install all sorts of malware if it wasn’t literally impossible with the OS’s architecture. Not that Google Play isn’t a scam-infested bog, but I do get the locked-down approach.
a locked down device is more simple to support
Not really. Locked down hardware specs are simpler to support, because, well, it’s the same hardware everywhere. Hence why standardized computers and phones like Apple’s stuff are theoretically easier and simpler to support: there’s very little variation.
The main support problem tends to be drivers and that’s a vendor-OS problem (nvidia on linux being a classic example). The experience is also entirely reliant on how well the OS behaves once it’s fully up and running, the boot sequence being locked or not makes no difference for that experience.
Normal users rarely, if ever, boot into recovery mode. To think that having full access to a well hidden feature that only advanced users are likely to even bother with will affect their experience at all makes no sense.
Android phones don’t have a BIOS for the same reason that Macs don’t have a BIOS and Raspberry Pis don’t have a BIOS — they run on the ARM architecture, not the Intel-compatible PC architecture.
As such, the bootloader system is compliant with a totally different reference system; ARM (Acorn Reference Machine) has been around almost as long as the IBM PC compatible architecture.
As for the “why are phones more locked down” bit, it’s because they’re supposed to be appliances, not general computing platforms. You want your phone to always work, so if you receive a phone call, text or email, it’s likely going to work.
Although the real answer is that if you buy a computer, you own the computer and get to decide what goes on it (well, unless it’s locked down to Windows or macOS). Phones contain bits that are owned by your carrier, bits that are owned by the manufacturer, bits that are owned by the software developer. And each of those groups doesn’t want anyone else messing with their private software.
Because phones have the most sensitive data out of all your devices for most people, and they are also the easiest to break, lose, get stolen, or have an unauthorized users access its contents.
Its just to protect the users from themselves and others.
I personally choose a phone that was easy to unlock and put e/os based on lineage on it. Its degoogled but i am pretty sure that at least the french police can get full access instantly. But at least the phone itself does not spy on me beyond the few unsafe apps i installed because they had no real alternatives
Because what are you gonna do? Buy all the individual components and put it together yourself?
Yes. Plenty of us already doing this and things like it.
The closest i can think of to that is buying a bunch of broken shiftphone/fairphone and making a new phone with the working parts.
But its not really choosing the design but instead a type of repair with spare parts.
in that sense other phones can also be repaired this way but they need a lot more skill like ungluing without breaking.
