Re: Prospects for an accessible and open version of Android?

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BrailleBack is /not/ a part of the Android accessibility suite, I suspect that it is just too embarrassingly limited to be placed in “the golden path”. I would recommend BRLTTY for Android for braille support. 

> On Jun 14, 2020, at 4:08 AM, Linux for blind general discussion <blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> I've been doing some web crawling, trying to get an idea of the prospects
> for a blind-accessible, (mostly) open source OS for Android HW devices.
> 
> The rest of this message is a mishmash of links and notes; if anyone can
> provide additions and corrections, I'd be most grateful...
> 
> -r
> 
> # Availability
> 
> The Android application package (APK) is the Golden Path for distribution,
> but some Google Play apps aren't available to "rooted" Android phones:
> 
> SafetyNet Explained: Why Android Pay and Other Apps Don’t Work on Rooted Devices
>  https://www.howtogeek.com/241012
> 
> It would be nice to have a Linux-friendly tool (e.g., APT) as an alternative.
> Meanwhile, some packages are available via microG (https://microg.org).
> 
> # Accessibility
> 
> ## Android
> 
> The Golden Path for a11y seems to be the Android Accessibility Suite, available
> on the Google Play Store:
> 
>  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.marvin.talkback
> 
> More general information is available on the Android accessibility overview page:
> 
>  https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6006564?hl=en
> 
> ## Celia
> 
> This seems interesting, even though it (currently) only supports Chinese.
> However, it (and EMUI) are proprietary.
> 
>> Celia is an artificially intelligent virtual assistant developed by Huawei
> for its latest Android-based EMUI smartphones that lack Google Services
> and a Google Assistant.
> 
> -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_(Virtual_assistant)
> 
> ## Screen Readers, etc.
> 
> TalkBack and BrailleBack (both found in the Android Accessibility Suite)
> seem to be the Golden Path for blind-friendly Android support.
> 
> Despite this title, there doesn't appear to be any APK version of Orca:
> 
>  Orca Download for Linux (apk, deb, eopkg, rpm, tgz, txz, xz, zst)
>  https://pkgs.org/download/orca
> 
> More generally, I can't find any open source screen readers listed for APK:
> 
>  Search Results for "screen reader"
>  https://pkgs.org/search/?q=%22screen%20reader%22
> 
> # OS Family Tree
> 
> TL;DR: There are lots of (all or mostly) free OS variants, but their a11y
> support is extremely limited.  Also, many of them are only intended to be
> used on a single vendor's devices.
> 
> Anyway, here is an OS family tree of sorts, with informational links.
> It's based on Wikipedia's "List of custom Android distributions"
> (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_custom_Android_distributions),
> supplemented with information gleaned from assorted web sites (YMMV).
> 
> Linux                   - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel
> - AOSP                  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#AOSP
> - - ConquerOS           - https://github.com/ConquerOS/manifest
> - - CopperheadOS        - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CopperheadOS
> - - CyanogenMod         - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod
> - - - LineageOS         - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LineageOS
> - - - - CrDroid         - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrDroid
> - - - - Project Sakura  - https://sourceforge.net/projects/projectsakura/files/Mido
> - - - - Replicant       - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicant_(operating_system)
> - - - - - /e/           - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//e/_(operating_system)
> - - DerpFest            - https://derpfest.org
> - - Emteria.OS          - https://emteria.com
> - - EMUI                - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMUI
> - - EvolutionX          - https://evolution-x.org/#
> - - Flyme               - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meizu#Flyme
> - - GrapheneOS          - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GrapheneOS
> - - GSI                 - https://source.android.com/setup/build/gsi
> - - Havoc-OS            - https://sourceforge.net/projects/havoc-os
> - - Ion OS              - https://sourceforge.net/projects/i-o-n
> - - MoKee               - https://download.mokeedev.com
> - - MIUI                - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIUI
> - - MSM-Xtended         - https://sourceforge.net/projects/xtended  
> - - OmniROM             - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OmniROM
> - - OxygenOS            - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OxygenOS
> - - Paranoid Android    - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoid_Android_(software)
> - - Pixel Experience    - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Experience
> - - Realme              - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realme
> - - Smartisan OS        - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartisan_OS
> - - ViperOS             - https://download.viperos.org/#
> 
> # Starting Points
> 
> My suspicion is that the LineageOS, Replicant, and /e/ flavors are the
> most promising starting points, but I could certainly be wrong.  If you
> know of something you think is better, please let me know!
> 
> Speaking of which, the definition of "better" is very context-dependent.
> If avoiding any and all proprietary software is your goal, Replicant may
> be the best choice.  If you want instant gratification, you might want
> to purchase a phone that already has /e/ installed...
> 
> Also, if you're only using Wi-Fi for connectivity, you can ignore some
> cell phone issues (e.g., CDMA, FDMA, and TDMA signal encoding).
> 
> ## Replicant
> 
> - https://replicant.us/
> - https://replicant.us/about.php#faq
> - https://replicant.us/freedom-privacy-security-issues.php
> - https://replicant.us/supported-devices.php
> 
> - https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/DeviceStatus
> 
> ## LineageOS
> 
> - https://lineageos.org
> - https://lineageos.org/blog
> - https://wiki.lineageos.org
> - https://wiki.lineageos.org/faq.html
> 
> ## /e/
> 
> - https://doc.e.foundation/devices/
> - https://doc.e.foundation/what-s-e
> 
> - https://e.foundation
> - https://e.foundation/about-e
> - https://e.foundation/about-e/#why-/e/
> 
> 
> 
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