After the news cycle recently exploded with the announcement that Google would require every single Android app to be from a registered and verified developer, while killing third-party app stores …
Imo, the Android experience is far better than iOS. I have no love for either Google or Apple, but I would rather use a slower older Android phone over any iPhone.
What about it is better? Honest question, from someone who uses both.
So yeah, on Android you can do a little more with home screen customisation. It used to be a lot more — I can’t believe it took Apple how many years to figure out how to place an icon to the right of or below an open space? It’s closer now, they both steal from each other, but you can do a lot more. My Android phone is partly a cosplay prop: it’s a real-life NookPhone, from Animal Crossing. My icons are huge, they’re the ones from the game, but they open real apps, and they’re in a 3x3 grid. Definitely can’t do that on iOS. But I don’t need that on my daily driver. And many people say — and I’m inclined to agree — that when an app is on both, it’s better on iOS due to fewer hardware configurations to support.
Also, we have Delta, the emulator that backs everything up to, ironically, Google Drive. So I can show you this app on my iPhone. I can also AirDrop you any game I have. Long press, share, AirDrop, find your iPhone, you open it with the same app, you got it now. Super easy. But I can also uninstall the app, it removes all the files and whatnot. I can go into Files, double check all my games are gone. Saves, all of it. Then I reinstall it. Nothing… but as soon as I sign into Google Drive, it re-downloads everything. I just wish the emulator ran on the Mac, too — I’d have cross-device sync. Also, the emulator is Nintendo only, no PlayStation, no Sega, nothing like that.
And then the privacy issue. I think it’s wild so few people care about their private information being sold. Then again, Facebook, TikTok, and others are huge. So I might be the outlier caring about that. But I still do.
I don’t disagree but android was already clunky, with less integration across devices (for better or worse), and now you can’t even sideload. What advantages does it have left?
I’m not sure where the thought that it’s clunky comes from, but the advantage to me is that I like the Android OS way more the the Apple OS. I don’t care about integration across devices because I don’t have more than one android device. Anytime I switch phones I login and everything loads in from my latest back up and it just works. I can connect to my computer with KDE connect or plug in with USB C if needed.
I’m not claiming it’s a better functioning product, I’m just saying the Android UX > Apple UX. The pixel has the advantage of flashing something like grapheneOS which no iPhones can do. Even with locking down side loading apps, there is still more freedom on Android devices than there are on iOS.
Also, I don’t like the feel of iPhones. I’m sure it’s something I would get used to, but it’s not my first choice.
I’ve used Android since launch and occasionally switched back and forth with iOS. One of my main complaints is in virtue of Android’s versatility, which makes it less reliable and straightforward to use — no integrated password manager, no easy wireless connection to external computers, less smooth and pleasant (and easy) to use. Honestly, I’m just lazy. I want my text messages and calls migrated to my computer automatically, screen sharing, file sharing, passwords and security codes populating instantly, and so on.
I’m the complete opposite with respect to wanting all of those apps and features built into the OS, but I understand that’s what most people seem to want, which is largely why iPhones are so popular.
To me, all of that built-in stuff is bloatware that I have to remove just so I can use whichever software I want.
I’ll take a bit of jank if it means I have the freedom to do what I want on my device (and choose a device with the specs that matter to me within my budget). That’s why so many people are upset at this news.
The Apple ecosystem is perfectly suitable for the needs you described, and it’s not something Google will be able to match due to their lack of a real competitor in the desktop OS market. Microsoft had their chance with the Windows Phone but, knowing Windows, I doubt it would ever have had the same level of polish as iOS.
You can achieve most of that via third party apps, which is where the beauty of android comes. Instead of being forced to use Google if you want the best integration or be treated as a second class citizen if you try to use a third party service, most android features can have app defaults to set, so you can use bitwarden or proton if those work better for you (and imo that makes it more versatile, not less). In terms of integrating and syncing notifications with your desktop either KDE Connect, Microsoft’s companion app or Google’s companion app should work, though it’s not going to be automatic or as in depth as Apple’s. I’m not gonna touch the smooth and easy argument as that’s something you get used to over time really with these. I find iOS super clunky to use, you find android super clunky, it’s about which one you got used to first.
Imo, the Android experience is far better than iOS. I have no love for either Google or Apple, but I would rather use a slower older Android phone over any iPhone.
What about it is better? Honest question, from someone who uses both.
So yeah, on Android you can do a little more with home screen customisation. It used to be a lot more — I can’t believe it took Apple how many years to figure out how to place an icon to the right of or below an open space? It’s closer now, they both steal from each other, but you can do a lot more. My Android phone is partly a cosplay prop: it’s a real-life NookPhone, from Animal Crossing. My icons are huge, they’re the ones from the game, but they open real apps, and they’re in a 3x3 grid. Definitely can’t do that on iOS. But I don’t need that on my daily driver. And many people say — and I’m inclined to agree — that when an app is on both, it’s better on iOS due to fewer hardware configurations to support.
Also, we have Delta, the emulator that backs everything up to, ironically, Google Drive. So I can show you this app on my iPhone. I can also AirDrop you any game I have. Long press, share, AirDrop, find your iPhone, you open it with the same app, you got it now. Super easy. But I can also uninstall the app, it removes all the files and whatnot. I can go into Files, double check all my games are gone. Saves, all of it. Then I reinstall it. Nothing… but as soon as I sign into Google Drive, it re-downloads everything. I just wish the emulator ran on the Mac, too — I’d have cross-device sync. Also, the emulator is Nintendo only, no PlayStation, no Sega, nothing like that.
And then the privacy issue. I think it’s wild so few people care about their private information being sold. Then again, Facebook, TikTok, and others are huge. So I might be the outlier caring about that. But I still do.
Are you high?
A little, but that’s not a factor in this opinion. I think iOS is awful to use.
I don’t disagree but android was already clunky, with less integration across devices (for better or worse), and now you can’t even sideload. What advantages does it have left?
I’m not sure where the thought that it’s clunky comes from, but the advantage to me is that I like the Android OS way more the the Apple OS. I don’t care about integration across devices because I don’t have more than one android device. Anytime I switch phones I login and everything loads in from my latest back up and it just works. I can connect to my computer with KDE connect or plug in with USB C if needed.
I’m not claiming it’s a better functioning product, I’m just saying the Android UX > Apple UX. The pixel has the advantage of flashing something like grapheneOS which no iPhones can do. Even with locking down side loading apps, there is still more freedom on Android devices than there are on iOS.
Also, I don’t like the feel of iPhones. I’m sure it’s something I would get used to, but it’s not my first choice.
I agree about Graphene OS, of course.
I’ve used Android since launch and occasionally switched back and forth with iOS. One of my main complaints is in virtue of Android’s versatility, which makes it less reliable and straightforward to use — no integrated password manager, no easy wireless connection to external computers, less smooth and pleasant (and easy) to use. Honestly, I’m just lazy. I want my text messages and calls migrated to my computer automatically, screen sharing, file sharing, passwords and security codes populating instantly, and so on.
I’m the complete opposite with respect to wanting all of those apps and features built into the OS, but I understand that’s what most people seem to want, which is largely why iPhones are so popular.
To me, all of that built-in stuff is bloatware that I have to remove just so I can use whichever software I want.
I’ll take a bit of jank if it means I have the freedom to do what I want on my device (and choose a device with the specs that matter to me within my budget). That’s why so many people are upset at this news.
The Apple ecosystem is perfectly suitable for the needs you described, and it’s not something Google will be able to match due to their lack of a real competitor in the desktop OS market. Microsoft had their chance with the Windows Phone but, knowing Windows, I doubt it would ever have had the same level of polish as iOS.
You can achieve most of that via third party apps, which is where the beauty of android comes. Instead of being forced to use Google if you want the best integration or be treated as a second class citizen if you try to use a third party service, most android features can have app defaults to set, so you can use bitwarden or proton if those work better for you (and imo that makes it more versatile, not less). In terms of integrating and syncing notifications with your desktop either KDE Connect, Microsoft’s companion app or Google’s companion app should work, though it’s not going to be automatic or as in depth as Apple’s. I’m not gonna touch the smooth and easy argument as that’s something you get used to over time really with these. I find iOS super clunky to use, you find android super clunky, it’s about which one you got used to first.