ASUS is apparently killing the ability to root Zenfones (Update: Maybe not?)
www.androidauthority.com
ASUS is reportedly telling customers they can no longer unlock the bootloader on their phones, including the Zenfone 9 and Zenfone 10.

Update from Asus

The service team reply misunderstood the situation. Unlock tool is unavailable at this moment but we are allowing the possibility to unlock, please stay tuned.

**TL;DR

  • ASUS has apparently withdrawn the ability to unlock the bootloader on its phones.
  • As per the company’s technical support team, Zenfone 10 and Zenfone 9 users won’t be able to root their phones.
    • TwilightVulpine@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      1 year ago

      Once digital media got away with “actually we are just letting you borrow it and can take it away whenever we want”, hardware manufacturers have been drooling to do the same. Apple and game console manufacturers are most of the way there already.

      • zaplachi@lemmy.caEnglish
        7·
        1 year ago

        Well it sure is a good thing they are making everything smart nowadays….

        But seriously I can’t believe how fast the car industry locked previously free features behind a subscription

        • TwilightVulpine@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          I agree with the sentiment, but even the claim that they were free is part of their narrative. Their cost was included in the price of the car, everyone paid for it already. They are double-dipping.

      • arglebargleEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        When I was young that was an aspiration. Now it is a curse.

    • Uriel238 [all pronouns]@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      I suspect we’ll eventually need to create a standard much like th PC Clone, in which hardware, OS and software are independently produced and support compatibility standards.

      Not in the current clime of unregulate capitalism, though.

      • redcalcium@lemmy.instituteEnglish
        6·
        1 year ago

        I’m afraid the PC ecosystem is one-of-a-kind, and perhaps once it’s gone, we’ll never have anything like it again. Companies are obsessed with vertical integration now, owning everything from software to peripherals and accessories. The closest thing we have to PC ecosystem where multiple independent companies works to support a single platform is perhaps the raspberry pi ecosystem, but even then it’s pale in comparison to the PC ecosystem in term of variety and number of manufacturers.