Why are there 2 clients now? There doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference between the 2 and you can just not use the features in the full version.
Edit: I found this post from Calyx: https://www.reddit.com/r/CalyxOS/comments/169toc1/calyxos_fdroid/ It seems to be a way for them to push changes like seamless updates without requiring bringing up the entire F-Droid codebase. Seemless updates is in the full client now, so I don’t know what else they will be testing with it, but it seems cool regardless.
No, their app is focused on supporting EOL devices with Android 9 or something, so their main (!) Client is completely outdated.
Modern Libraries allow automatic background updates, if the app is also modern. F-Droid basic is the modern client so it may not work on extremely old devices, but it is the one anyone on Android 11+ should use.
They rewrote parts of the app so they left that unused offline share feature out.
I think that they are working to bring up all of it, but it is taking quite a while. The nearby share feature seems the be specifically for people who live in places with either poor internet or under oppressive regimes. With it, all you need is one person to get a copy of a communication app like Briar, and then they can immediately share it out to lots of people directly through F-Droid. F-Droid isn’t there just to be a FOSS app store, but it also seems to specifically serve as a source of apps for people who can’t get these apps safely. This also explains the high focus on legacy support.
Yes for sure not needing such a feature is a pretty privileged position.
Thats why I wanted to clear that misinformation up