could potentially lose certification of the entire android ecosystem
Certification by whom?
The Netflix app is older (2011) than Safetynet (2014?). Google probably didn’t need to provide remote attestation, but making non-Google Android unusable for most people is good for their bottom line.
Netflix being older is hardly relevant to this discussion.
Maybe you’re unaware, but the higher quality streams are only available on devices netflix has certified. You can still use netflix on GrapheneOS but you won’t get that quality, it’ll be downgraded.
This is a common problem for cheaper Chinese devices as well.
What would have happened if Google never created an attestation system for Android? Would Netflix give up such a large market?
Netflix can downgrade Chinese phones that aren’t common in the west and third-party ROMs because those represent a tiny fraction of their potential customer base. I doubt they’d be inclined to do so for all of Android.
It’s one thing to place limits on a few Chinese phones that have low market share outside China (Netflix is not available inside China), but only offering low-quality streams on the world’s most popular smartphone OS would surely have a significant impact on subscription numbers. Netflix may have even signed contracts with content providers requiring them to meet certain DRM standards.
I believe the situation would be different if Google hadn’t built a remote attestation system for Android. Netflix might have had to renegotiate a contract or two, but underserving a huge fraction of the market isn’t viable long-term.
Certification by whom?
The Netflix app is older (2011) than Safetynet (2014?). Google probably didn’t need to provide remote attestation, but making non-Google Android unusable for most people is good for their bottom line.
Netflix being older is hardly relevant to this discussion.
Maybe you’re unaware, but the higher quality streams are only available on devices netflix has certified. You can still use netflix on GrapheneOS but you won’t get that quality, it’ll be downgraded.
This is a common problem for cheaper Chinese devices as well.
What would have happened if Google never created an attestation system for Android? Would Netflix give up such a large market?
Netflix can downgrade Chinese phones that aren’t common in the west and third-party ROMs because those represent a tiny fraction of their potential customer base. I doubt they’d be inclined to do so for all of Android.
Who said anything about Netflix giving up a market, they just offer a worse service. But hey, iPhones offer a premium service, right?
It’s one thing to place limits on a few Chinese phones that have low market share outside China (Netflix is not available inside China), but only offering low-quality streams on the world’s most popular smartphone OS would surely have a significant impact on subscription numbers. Netflix may have even signed contracts with content providers requiring them to meet certain DRM standards.
I believe the situation would be different if Google hadn’t built a remote attestation system for Android. Netflix might have had to renegotiate a contract or two, but underserving a huge fraction of the market isn’t viable long-term.