u/InsideResolve4517

I would like to request r/AndroidDevLearn.

I am interested in reviving the subreddit as a place for Android development learning, open-source discussion, beginner guidance, projects, and educational resources.

I meet the RedditRequest requirements including account age, karma, verified email, and 2FA enabled.

Thank you.

I'm basically happy lineageos user (without even microg) from past 8~9 months. I've still secondary phone with android os.

So I thought I'll use microg and if it'll work then I'll try to degoogle secondary device more.

So I installed microg. Then I tried 1 banking app which first asked me to turn of developer mode (bad banking app) then second shown that I've not installed it from official play store.

SO BASICALLY.

Above was experience as a user.

NOW I'LL TELL YOU AS A DEVELOPER (WHO PUBLISHES APP IN PLAY STORE)

I personally feel tired, bored whenever I need to publish new application or update old application.

---

Now Let's come to the point. As a developer I'm aware whenever we upload applications then play store provides option to let "NOT ALLOW TO RUN APP IF NOT DOWNLOADED FROM PLAY STORE" I think this is introduced in recent time (apprx few week/months ago)

So Now google is trying to make andrioid platform more close and strict.

For your info some bad tactics by google:

• Android Developer registration (no matter you publish your app to play store or just sharing to your friend. IT"S JUST KILL SWITCH)
• Not allow to run app if downloaded from crappy official playstore
• Delay release of AOSP Code for recent androd version apis (not actively onsidering to maintain AOSP)
• Introducing captcha solving via QR scan only by official CRAPPY android and apple devices. No matter how secure your os is no matter if it's robust linux, lineage, graphene or something else. (NOT EVEN WINDOWS IS CONSIDERED AS TRUSTED ATLEAST AS OF NOW)
• Installing own apps and updating own apps without user knowledge (If this pattern is done by any application in any device then we've name for this activity ":VIRUS" so technically google is also virus we can say. (SORRY, If big tech does then it's not virus it's for peoples good)

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So what to do now?

You'll not get designed custom clocks.

You'll not get gms.

You'll need license from central crappy organization to public apps on Android (a closed source OS)

You'll need to register your identity to just share apk you made which will be tried by your 2 non-tech friends.

It's have kill switch.

If there is known-issue (like VPN "always on exposing user's IP which makes VPN useless) and fix is already presented then they'll refuse it to fix (even grapheneos fixed it and grapheneos is more secure and have more fixes).

You need to handover your data to use your mobile.

You need to pay rent to use your hardware.

You cannot use your hardware to run your favorite OS.

Basically:

• “Android Is Open-Source” Is a Marketing Gimmick
• AOSP Is Open-Source. Android Isn’t.
• Android ≠ AOSP
• Android’s “Open-Source” Claim Is Misleading
• AOSP Is Open. The Android Ecosystem Isn’t.
• Android Is Only “Open” Where Google Has To Be

And they are keeping AOSP open not because they want to. But because AOSP is made from linux and it's the linux (penguin) who is forcing via open license to keep it open else companies like google don't care about openness, open-source at all.

I'm curious about whether there can be another OS besides Linux, Windows, Android, and iOS. All of them fulfill their purpose and are good in their own domain.

There are tons of other OSes too, but I'm mainly considering these four because they are fundamentally different by design, fundamentals, and philosophy.

Maybe if you try a new OS, you would want a completely different way, approach, or experience. But with the current OSes, things are kind of fixed now. They came from years of feedback and evolution, and that's okay.

But assuming you want to try something different, something new, then what would you expect from it?

What is YOUR thinking of an OS?

DO YOU SEE AN OS AS JUST AN OS?

Or do you think it is something more than that?

I'm really curious to know.

You can share all your perspectives, ideas, paths, or whatever you want to share.

1st client came through my network.
2nd client came through a referral from the 1st client.

3rd potential client maybe I'll get in 1~2 months (I think slightly high paying)

Apart from that, I tried outreach:

• Sent ~200 WhatsApp messages
• Created 3 demos
• Conversion = 0

What should I do?

I think I’m failing at marketing, while the product itself is actually quite good.

And yes, I know claiming your own product is “the best” is usually not ideal : )
But for the sake of this discussion, assume:

• the product is genuinely very good
• and I’m extremely weak at marketing/sales

Then what should be the focus?

What’s interesting is:

• my existing client has already given me around 4–5 referrals and continues to send more
• another client I got also has a strong network and can potentially bring more referrals

So where should I focus now?

• Improve the product even more? (Not random feature bloat, but real improvements)
• Keep pushing marketing/sales even if conversions are very low and it takes a lot of time?
• Or something else entirely?

PS:
This is not a side project anymore. I left my job to build my own serious business.

Current revenue is still around 4x lower than my previous salary, but thankfully I have some backup, and honestly, I genuinely enjoy building my own business. Even with lower income, I feel happier.

I just want to grow enough so I don’t have to go back to a job/freelancing again.

If anyone is curious, the product is a billing application:
knowivate[.]com/intl/en_gb/products/ledgerknow

1st client came through my network.
2nd client came through a referral from the 1st client.

3rd potential client maybe I'll get in 1~2 months (I think slightly high paying)

Apart from that, I tried outreach:

• Sent ~200 WhatsApp messages
• Created 3 demos
• Conversion = 0

What should I do?

I think I’m failing at marketing, while the product itself is actually quite good.

And yes, I know claiming your own product is “the best” is usually not ideal : )
But for the sake of this discussion, assume:

• the product is genuinely very good
• and I’m extremely weak at marketing/sales

Then what should be the focus?

What’s interesting is:

• my existing client has already given me around 4–5 referrals and continues to send more
• another client I got also has a strong network and can potentially bring more referrals

So where should I focus now?

• Improve the product even more? (Not random feature bloat, but real improvements)
• Keep pushing marketing/sales even if conversions are very low and it takes a lot of time?
• Or something else entirely?

PS:
This is not a side project anymore. I left my job to build my own serious business.

Current revenue is still around 4x lower than my previous salary, but thankfully I have some backup, and honestly, I genuinely enjoy building my own business. Even with lower income, I feel happier.

I just want to grow enough so I don’t have to go back to a job/freelancing again.

If anyone is curious, the product is a billing application:
knowivate[.]com/intl/en_gb/products/ledgerknow