IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Changes to Android Open Source Project

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. Hostility Towards AOSP Forks

Users see biannual releases as deliberate sabotage of custom ROMs like GrapheneOS/LineageOS, delaying bugfixes for non-OEMs.
Groxx: "Great. So now nobody gets bugfixes until after the main vendors get priority access to it. for six months. There's no way this isn't intentional hostility towards forks."
bossyTeacher: "This is them trying to strangle Graphene and LineageOs."

2. Google's Control and Privacy/Spyware Concerns

Complaints about Google/Samsung remote control, Play Integrity blocking de-Googled devices, and spyware forcing reliance on Google services for banking/gov apps.
drnick1: "it is fully under Google and Samsung's control, and is choke full of spyware."
3abiton: "play integrity is being used a some sort of 'anti cheats' by bank apps and other essential services."

3. Need for Alternatives to Android/iOS Duopoly

Calls for privacy-focused OSes (GrapheneOS, postmarketOS, Sailfish, Librem 5) hampered by chicken-egg app ecosystem, proprietary drivers, and hardware barriers.
exabrial: "We need a third alternative, based on freedom with your device."
crote: "Mobile is a massive chicken-and-egg problem. The main purpose of a smartphone these days is to run apps."

4. Android Decline vs. User Satisfaction/Stability

Some decry falling quality (edge-to-edge, fragmentation); others praise long device lifespans or OEM stability benefits.
cyberax: "The recent Androids have been going downhill. E.g. the mandatory edge-to-edge nonsense."
mixermachine: "after two years [S23 Ultra] still does everything I need. OneUI 8.0 and Android 16."

🚀 Project Ideas

AOSP-as-a-Service (AaaS)

Summary

  • Currently, Google is making it harder for manufacturers and forks to keep up with Android updates by delaying source releases and batching bugfixes.
  • This project provides a managed, white-label "Upstream Maintenance" service for niche smartphone manufacturers and enterprise hardware (HMI, kiosks, specialized tablets) that ensures they stay on the latest version of AOSP/Linux with security backports.
  • The core value proposition is offloading the "integration headache" caused by Google’s new biannual release cadence.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Niche OEMs, Enterprise Tablet/HMI Makers
Core Feature Continuous integration of AOSP security patches and kernel backports
Tech Stack Android (AOSP), Linux Kernel (LTS), Yocto/BitBake, Rust
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: SaaS/Maintenance retainer per device model

Notes

  • HN users are worried about "hostility towards forks" and "intentional complexity." Small OEMs cannot afford dedicated teams to handle this "glacially slow" but complex upstreaming.
  • This solves the "OEM risk being pushed later" and "stability language" concerns mentioned by practitioners in the discussion.

Attestation-Box (Hardware Identity Module)

Summary

  • Banks and government apps use Google's "Play Integrity" to spy on devices and block users with root access or open-source ROMs (GrapheneOS/Lineage).
  • This is a physical, open-source hardware dongle (like a YubiKey or Nitrokey) that provides trust and identity for banking transactions independent of the phone's OS status.
  • It bypasses the need for "Play Integrity" by moving the "Strong Customer Authentication" (SCA) to a separate, user-controlled hardware module.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Privacy-conscious users, EU banking customers, GrapheneOS users
Core Feature Independent SCA/TOTP generation for bank-approved authentication
Tech Stack ARM Cortex-M, USB/NFC, Nitrokey/OpenSK framework
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Unit sales (Hardware)

Notes

  • Directly addresses the frustration that "government apps in the EU force you to be spied on by Google" and the "Play Integrity" blocker.
  • User baq specifically advocated: "I advocate that the hardware attestation module be separate from the computing device - so I can be in control."

PWA-First "App-less" Browser Shell

Summary

  • The "chicken and egg" problem of alternative mobile OSes is that they can't run native apps (banking, Uber, etc.).
  • This project is a specialized "Mobile Browser OS" meant for devices like the PinePhone or Librem 5, focusing exclusively on aggressive Progressive Web App (PWA) optimization.
  • It bridges the gap by providing a seamless, native-like experience for the 90% of apps that have a mobile web equivalent, bypassing the Google/Apple store duopoly.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Early adopters of Linux-based phones (PostmarketOS/Librem users)
Core Feature Deep PWA integration (notifications, offline, local storage) in a sandbox
Tech Stack Chromium/Blink, Wayland, Rust, GTK/Qt
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Responds to the observation that "most Android apps are pretty much useless as native... they would be okay as a webapp."
  • Users noted that the "only way to break the cycle" is through PWA standardization to reduce OS lock-in.

UnGoogled Android Auto (Sandboxed Integration)

Summary

  • Many users switch to GrapheneOS or LineageOS but are tethered to Google because of Android Auto (infotainment).
  • This is a standalone, open-source implementation of the Android Auto protocol (DHU) that runs as a sandboxed app without requiring system-level Google Play Services.
  • It allows users to use maps and media in their cars without giving Google "full remote code execution access" at the OS level.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience GrapheneOS/LineageOS daily drivers
Core Feature Open-source Android Auto protocol client
Tech Stack Java/Kotlin, Android IPC (Binder), Video codecs (H.264)
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Addresses the pain point of "Phone by Google" being "disgusting" while acknowledging the practical "participation in society" (like using car infotainment) that currently requires Google.
  • "GrapheneOS users use Google's Play Store with a burner account... even sandboxed Android Auto works." This project would make that native and open-source.

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