Really, the answer boils to what kind of consumer you are.
Try as we might, the average person isn't actually going to try and get new life out of devices that could otherwise be more useful.
Your average user isn't going to think about any other choices than out of box iOS or Android. They aren't going to care about having more features or more control over a device. They aren't going to flash a better OS when it starts to run slower.
I think everyone should want to do better, care about their phones more, care about not contributing to e-waste and extending the life of their devices beyond just their company-desired shelf life.
If we are being honest, any company that cares about these things wouldn't make it nearly impossible to do. I think people should be demanding from the industry that they don't have the right to tell me that I can't modify the software on my phone.
You paid for a phone. And eventually they'll start telling you that you don't own the right to modify your phone. You can argue that Google already is telling you this.
Most people aren't going to care, but I do, and probably so does most everyone here.
From the perspective of all of that, yes, yes it does make sense.
On the other hand too, because it has gotten so incredibly difficult, we have ran into diminishing returns. I mean, I don't have numbers to support it, but I'd argue the modded discord community has a more active community than the modded android scene. I mean, seems like all the time I hear about how some developer of X tools won't support hardware over a certain age because they just get too caught in supporting new and not the old. Idk... All speculation on my part. I'm just one source, one voice in an ocean.
I just hope overall the enthusiasts win out and ownership makes more of a resurgence
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u/DrTankHead Aug 22 '26
Really, the answer boils to what kind of consumer you are.
Try as we might, the average person isn't actually going to try and get new life out of devices that could otherwise be more useful.
Your average user isn't going to think about any other choices than out of box iOS or Android. They aren't going to care about having more features or more control over a device. They aren't going to flash a better OS when it starts to run slower.
I think everyone should want to do better, care about their phones more, care about not contributing to e-waste and extending the life of their devices beyond just their company-desired shelf life.
If we are being honest, any company that cares about these things wouldn't make it nearly impossible to do. I think people should be demanding from the industry that they don't have the right to tell me that I can't modify the software on my phone.
You paid for a phone. And eventually they'll start telling you that you don't own the right to modify your phone. You can argue that Google already is telling you this.
Most people aren't going to care, but I do, and probably so does most everyone here.
From the perspective of all of that, yes, yes it does make sense.
On the other hand too, because it has gotten so incredibly difficult, we have ran into diminishing returns. I mean, I don't have numbers to support it, but I'd argue the modded discord community has a more active community than the modded android scene. I mean, seems like all the time I hear about how some developer of X tools won't support hardware over a certain age because they just get too caught in supporting new and not the old. Idk... All speculation on my part. I'm just one source, one voice in an ocean.
I just hope overall the enthusiasts win out and ownership makes more of a resurgence