https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
"However, most devices run on the proprietary Android version developed by Google, which ships with additional proprietary closed-source software pre-installed, most notably Google Mobile Services (GMS) which includes core apps such as Google Chrome, the digital distribution platform Google Play, and the associated Google Play Services development platform. Firebase Cloud Messaging is used for push notifications. "
Hyperbole aside, let's remember that "better" and "safer" exist in dialectic tension. Or, "convenience" vs. "security". Often, functionality or features are removed because they were insecure, so now your device is "safer". If you've got a big feature update pending, consider how many bugs/flaws it may introduce as the software gets "better".
It's totally on google who's refusing to release the QPST files. It's creating ewaste for no acceptable reason.
Hopefully, someone will leak the QPST files to allow a restore from the Qualcomm EDL firehose mode.
There's a bullet proof recovery mode, check my comment below ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39145490 ) where I detail the steps and provide links.
The EDL firehose mode is just the phone showing up on a very unique USB-ID and waiting to be spoon fed the data to be rewritten to its flash. It needs partition specifications (think like a GPT partition table) + the binary data for each partition (think like the EFI partition for the bootloader, the Windows partition for the actual operating system etc)
It would take litteraly 1 minute for someone with access to the QPST to post it to archive.org and help all the people who've been affected by the bug.
It would take each of them about 5 minutes to restore their phone to a working state. You may object that not everyone may have the technical ability to do that, but I'm sure the small businesses fixing phones in the malls would be happy to charge for the "service" of plugging the phone on a Windows computer, double-clicking on an icon, drag and dropping the right files and clicking on another button.
IMHO, the fact this situation is allowed to persist, even after multiple reports of similar pixel phone problems in the past, can only have 2 explanation: 1) the good people at google writing this software have less understanding that you and I, 2 random HN users or 2) there's money to be made in not fixing the problem, as it will increase the update cycle (people with a dead phone will buy another phone)
I'm all for making money, but not if the consequence is creating ewaste, and forcing people who may not have deep pockets to spend more money on yet another broken-by-design phone.
Those of us in large corporations see that pattern quite often.
It's sad there's such a dilution of responsibility such problems are allowed to persist, and that nobody cares they are killing random people phones.
To take a broken phone to the mall where there're a small store that's known to fix phones?