Can anyone verify if this is the "new" update to the process? The article takes 75% of the way to get to this paragraph and isn't even clear if this is Google's proposed concession or an existing separate process:

To accommodate educational and noncommercial development, Google will introduce a new limited developer account type aimed at students and hobbyists. These accounts will not undergo full identity verification but will instead allow app installations on a restricted number of registered devices.

If that is the workaround, it sounds like it's still awful since it requires a Google developer account and really only would work for limited development deployment.