So Android has been around for a long time, and it is open source. How come we can't easily buy a cell phone with no OS, and install vanilla Android on it?
For comparison, you can buy a PC with no OS, or build one from scratch. They all have somewhat standardized hardware. I can easily install Windows 7, windows 10, Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc. I can even install something like the Debian minimal install that doesn't even start with a Desktop environment, and customize exactly what desktop environment I want. Sure you might need to install some wifi drivers and graphics card drivers but they are readily available.
So why is cell phone hardware and Android so different despite being open source and hardware being so competitive? How come I can't just buy a generic phone with no OS, download a Vanilla Android ISO, and install it? Then simply add whatever radio/sensor/gps drivers might be needed, which should be either generic, or else available from the phone hardware manufacturer, similar to how motherboard drivers are available from the motherboard manufacturer.
I realize there are experienced developers out there who are able to make custom roms, but I'm talking about something a general user can do with similar ease to installing and customizing linux on a PC? Why must we generally have to buy exploitable phones to root, overwrite the recovery, and then hopefully find and trust some community rom that some stranger on the forums made?
For comparison, you can buy a PC with no OS, or build one from scratch. They all have somewhat standardized hardware. I can easily install Windows 7, windows 10, Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc. I can even install something like the Debian minimal install that doesn't even start with a Desktop environment, and customize exactly what desktop environment I want. Sure you might need to install some wifi drivers and graphics card drivers but they are readily available.
So why is cell phone hardware and Android so different despite being open source and hardware being so competitive? How come I can't just buy a generic phone with no OS, download a Vanilla Android ISO, and install it? Then simply add whatever radio/sensor/gps drivers might be needed, which should be either generic, or else available from the phone hardware manufacturer, similar to how motherboard drivers are available from the motherboard manufacturer.
I realize there are experienced developers out there who are able to make custom roms, but I'm talking about something a general user can do with similar ease to installing and customizing linux on a PC? Why must we generally have to buy exploitable phones to root, overwrite the recovery, and then hopefully find and trust some community rom that some stranger on the forums made?
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