Samsung removes bootloader unlocking with One UI 8

Have a Samsung phone (outside of the United States), and want to unlock the bootloader? Well, soon you won’t be able to do so anymore, as Samsung seems to be removing this option from their phones – including already sold models being upgraded to One UI 8.

Bootloader unlocking is a popular way to breathe new life into older devices, by loading unofficial software onto a device, like custom ROMs, gaining root access, custom kernels, etc. This option will be taken away from users with One UI 8.

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This means not only is the OEM Unlock not visible in Settings anymore, but the bootloader doesn’t even contain any of the code required to unlock itself. This means a workaround to brute force it open is not possible at all, unless Samsung updates the bootloader to add this logic back in.
↫ Josh Skinner at SammyGuru

And so, the ongoing process of locking down Android to a point where it becomes nigh-on indistinguishable from iOS’ locked-down, anti-user nature continues unabated. Samsung is the default choice for Android users in a lot of places around the world, and seeing them, too move ever closer to fully locking down their phones is terrible news for consumers. We should be striving for less restrictive computing, not more.

Combined with persistent rumours that Google is looking into effectively taking Android closed source, leaving only a stub AOSP behind, the future of Android as an least somewhat “open” platform looks quite grim indeed.