Smartphones would be far more useful devices and we would have a far healthier software landscape if developers could just access these features and deploy software as is. It is the official provisioned apps through proprietary stores that track users far more than apps you can download and install on other systems. Apple would deny this but they have a clear business incentive here.
Sure, the user would have the responsibility again but it is easy to explain to them that they shouldn't do anything they have no idea about.
> As an end user, the things that give developers maximum freedom are not necessarily the things that let me use my device with maximum freedom.
No, that is usually untrue and the distinction is arbitrary. The exception is malicious software perhaps but this is an edge case. But even with that the user can choose to just don't install software he doesn't know. You can be pretty sure the average FOSS device will track you far less than Apple or Google alternatives and it is not even close on pretty much all metrics. You also don't need to play administrator if you don't want to.
What tracks you is the random H&M app that has access to bluetooth you got provision through the app store.
Sure, the user would have the responsibility again but it is easy to explain to them that they shouldn't do anything they have no idea about.
> As an end user, the things that give developers maximum freedom are not necessarily the things that let me use my device with maximum freedom.
No, that is usually untrue and the distinction is arbitrary. The exception is malicious software perhaps but this is an edge case. But even with that the user can choose to just don't install software he doesn't know. You can be pretty sure the average FOSS device will track you far less than Apple or Google alternatives and it is not even close on pretty much all metrics. You also don't need to play administrator if you don't want to.
What tracks you is the random H&M app that has access to bluetooth you got provision through the app store.