Android: convince me!

[DrCC]

On Android/ Google, you are the product. Everything you do on the phone is sent to Google, analyzed, profiled and used by Google and by other 3rd parties. Google knows you better than you know yourself. The same thing goes for countless apps that work on Android, the privacy is loosy woosy and heavy tracking and profiling is also done by 3rd party apps. You don't pay with your money for Android, you pay by willingly giving away all your digital life to Google and 3rd parties.

On iOS/ Apple, the whole ecosystem is built around privacy. Yes, Apple still tracks what you are doing, but your info never leaves Apple and is not sold to anyone else. Also, the privacy control on 3rd party apps is strict and it is going to get a lot stricter. iOS is not free and it is not funded by advertizing.

Before going into hardware details and software functionality, decide what you want in terms of privacy, this is what it comes down to. The rest of the hardware and software functionality becomes a non issue since your 2 choices are: No Privacy but free (Google) or Privacy all the way but paid for and more expensive (Apple).

 

[cubeover]

LDAC is Sony's, and aptX is Qualcomm's. So I'm guessing Apple just doesn't want to deal with paying licenses to them...

This why i choose product from companies that spend some of their riches with those who do R&D that positively affects my uX mood and wellbeing from a great-sounding music of my choice.
Another option is let Me pay for bluetooth extensions like Microsoft does with Dolby.

 

[TechRunner]

I also find that Chrome and GMail do a much better job vs Safari and Mail. With GMail you actually get the notification and can view the contents without going to GMail. Chrome seems to have more compatibility and works better with websites vs Safari.

Agreed. And notifications seem to work better on Android in general than on iOS/iPadOS.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

On Android/ Google, you are the product. Everything you do on the phone is sent to Google, analyzed, profiled and used by Google and by other 3rd parties. Google knows you better than you know yourself. The same thing goes for countless apps that work on Android, the privacy is loosy woosy and heavy tracking and profiling is also done by 3rd party apps. You don't pay with your money for Android, you pay by willingly giving away all your digital life to Google and 3rd parties.

On iOS/ Apple, the whole ecosystem is built around privacy. Yes, Apple still tracks what you are doing, but your info never leaves Apple and is not sold to anyone else. Also, the privacy control on 3rd party apps is strict and it is going to get a lot stricter. iOS is not free and it is not funded by advertizing.

Before going into hardware details and software functionality, decide what you want in terms of privacy, this is what it comes down to. The rest of the hardware and software functionality becomes a non issue since your 2 choices are: No Privacy but free (Google) or Privacy all the way but paid for and more expensive (Apple).

FUD

 

[The Game 161]

question is are you deep in the ecosystem? if the answer is yes chances are the switch won't be worth it.

 

[DrCC]

FUD

That is not my intention. My intention is to open your eyes, keeping them closed won't make the stuff that you don't like to see go away.

I have been in the Android / Google ecosystem for almost 10 years and I have seen the Google tentacles in action. I have now switched to Apple everything not because I disliked the Android / Google hardware and software, they are better than Apple in a lot of ways. From a functionality perspective only, I would choose an Android phone over an iPhone: Android notifications are better, you have full access to the file system, you can side-load apps, you have phones with foldable screens, bleeding edge hardware, etc. But the invasion of privacy by Google (and Microsoft too) is beyond ridiculous. Apple is far from perfect but it is the only viable alternative there is if you care about privacy.

Still don't believe me?...watch a random video that will show you what I mean. And there is so much proof and tests done on the internet and yes, the invasion is real. Some people acknowledge it and do something about it, some pretend it doesn't happen or it is not real and ignore it. The choice is yours.

Is Google always listening ?

 

[JahBoolean]

That is not my intention. My intention is to open your eyes, keeping them closed won't make the stuff that you don't like to see go away.

I have been in the Android / Google ecosystem for almost 10 years and I have seen the Google tentacles in action. I have now switched to Apple everything not because I disliked the Android / Google hardware and software, they are better than Apple in a lot of ways. From a functionality perspective only, I would choose an Android phone over an iPhone: Android notifications are better, you have full access to the file system, you can side-load apps, you have phones with foldable screens, bleeding edge hardware, etc. But the invasion of privacy by Google (and Microsoft too) is beyond ridiculous. Apple is far from perfect but it is the only viable alternative there is if you care about privacy.

Still don't believe me?...watch a random video that will show you what I mean. And there is so much proof and tests done on the internet and yes, the invasion is real. Some people acknowledge it and do something about it, some pretend it doesn't happen or it is not real and ignore it. The choice is yours.

Is Google always listening ?

I do think that most of the people commenting on these kind of threads on a technology forum are at the very least aware of those issues. I do also believe that given some adeptness one can rid it's device from such snooping (but an argument could be made about those invasive features eing enabled *by default*).

Disclaimer, I have not owned an android device in almost ten years.

Back to the matter at hand, I'll echo a question about the amount of apple devices you own. My gut feeling being that smartphones wheter android or ios have all been pretty mediocre since silicon valley consolidated their vertical pipelines (but that may simply be my own taste in computing reflected).

One area that would personnaly tempt me is the ability of some smartphones to be used with a mouse, keyboard and external display to emulate a more vanilla computing environnement (samsung DEX I reckon ?).

 

[SteveJUAE]

That is not my intention. My intention is to open your eyes, keeping them closed won't make the stuff that you don't like to see go away.

I have been in the Android / Google ecosystem for almost 10 years and I have seen the Google tentacles in action. I have now switched to Apple everything not because I disliked the Android / Google hardware and software, they are better than Apple in a lot of ways. From a functionality perspective only, I would choose an Android phone over an iPhone: Android notifications are better, you have full access to the file system, you can side-load apps, you have phones with foldable screens, bleeding edge hardware, etc. But the invasion of privacy by Google (and Microsoft too) is beyond ridiculous. Apple is far from perfect but it is the only viable alternative there is if you care about privacy.

Still don't believe me?...watch a random video that will show you what I mean. And there is so much proof and tests done on the internet and yes, the invasion is real. Some people acknowledge it and do something about it, some pretend it doesn't happen or it is not real and ignore it. The choice is yours.

Is Google always listening ?

I think we all know who is deluding themselves here

Apple does not have to bother policing little app developers from monetarising statistical user data, they just make it extremely difficult, but plenty still get through as reported here on MR

The reason is they already get reportedly 9 billion from just a few big companies, blocking all the apps in the store is just chump change and marketing BS to the real sell out on privacy via search engines of it's users, where most do not alter defaults

For the few that are trying to stuff the genie back in the bottle they may as well ask King Canute for advice on the tides of change. Unless your a social hermit with no data package all your doing is slowing down the direct leaks that people believe they can stop. Most are just scratching at the surface with little overall success

 

[ian87w]

Nobody said one can only use one platform. Most people here have multiple devices anyway. I don't see why one cannot just have both. Enjoy both platforms, best of both worlds.

 

[orionquest]

Nobody said one can only use one platform. Most people here have multiple devices anyway. I don't see why one cannot just have both. Enjoy both platforms, best of both worlds.

Oh come on that makes too much sense, where would the high level discussions and put downs go, and vague convincing 1 platform is better then the other, when in the end everyone will be just watching funny cat or dog videos and emailing jokes and memes... ?‍♂️

 

[jimimac71]

FUD

I’ve been with Gmail for what seems like forever. I’m always made aware of even the smallest concern.
While my iPad is my go to device, I’m still more fond of Android.
I think people confuse Google and Android.
I stopped using the Opera browser as it was giving me too many problems.
Only Safari on iPad has ad blocking.
Android doesn’t have ad blocking on the browsers I like.
I’m reduced to Firefox and Chrome now.
Even MacRumors has a lot of ads. They are Google ads and probably free money for MacRumors.
I don’t worry about Android. I don’t worry about Google that much either. Targeted ads have been around a long time. That’s the Internet, not Apple or Android.

 

[jimimac71]

Oh come on that makes too much sense, where would the high level discussions and put downs go, and vague convincing 1 platform is better then the other, when in the end everyone will be just watching funny cat or dog videos and emailing jokes and memes... ?‍♂️

I have a favorite donkey video.
Funny how you can have a phone with two providers.
Why not have a dual boot phone or tablet?
Kind of like running Windows on a Mac.

 

[doggukan]

On Android/ Google, you are the product. Everything you do on the phone is sent to Google, analyzed, profiled and used by Google and by other 3rd parties. Google knows you better than you know yourself. The same thing goes for countless apps that work on Android, the privacy is loosy woosy and heavy tracking and profiling is also done by 3rd party apps. You don't pay with your money for Android, you pay by willingly giving away all your digital life to Google and 3rd parties.

On iOS/ Apple, the whole ecosystem is built around privacy. Yes, Apple still tracks what you are doing, but your info never leaves Apple and is not sold to anyone else. Also, the privacy control on 3rd party apps is strict and it is going to get a lot stricter. iOS is not free and it is not funded by advertizing.

Before going into hardware details and software functionality, decide what you want in terms of privacy, this is what it comes down to. The rest of the hardware and software functionality becomes a non issue since your 2 choices are: No Privacy but free (Google) or Privacy all the way but paid for and more expensive (Apple).

This is also what i noticed. Switched from android (lineage os) to ios and even if i search something on google with safari or any other social media app the thing just not pops up on other apps ads.

Yes i have nextdns with blocklist but i had them on android too.i was skeptical about the ios privacy but with 15 its pretty damn good for a regular user.even aosp sends stuff to google without google apps installed (i was setting up DoT from settings and noticed it sends that data and which DoT server used to google)

The annoying thing about iphone is that almost everything is paid and not free on market or in app stuff.On android you can install fdroid and have ton of open source apps that does the job.

 

[samcraig]

On Android/ Google, you are the product. Everything you do on the phone is sent to Google, analyzed, profiled and used by Google and by other 3rd parties. Google knows you better than you know yourself. The same thing goes for countless apps that work on Android, the privacy is loosy woosy and heavy tracking and profiling is also done by 3rd party apps. You don't pay with your money for Android, you pay by willingly giving away all your digital life to Google and 3rd parties.

On iOS/ Apple, the whole ecosystem is built around privacy. Yes, Apple still tracks what you are doing, but your info never leaves Apple and is not sold to anyone else. Also, the privacy control on 3rd party apps is strict and it is going to get a lot stricter. iOS is not free and it is not funded by advertizing.

Before going into hardware details and software functionality, decide what you want in terms of privacy, this is what it comes down to. The rest of the hardware and software functionality becomes a non issue since your 2 choices are: No Privacy but free (Google) or Privacy all the way but paid for and more expensive (Apple).

Honestly - this is a bit of a crock. Especially if you are using google apps on an iPhone. Regardless, both Android and Apple's TOS read almost identical. Both iOS and Android are handling 3rd party cookies, device IDs, etc similarly. Both operating systems let you go granular on any app on what they have permission to access or not.

 

[LiE_]

Honestly - this is a bit of a crock. Especially if you are using google apps on an iPhone. Regardless, both Android and Apple's TOS read almost identical. Both iOS and Android are handling 3rd party cookies, device IDs, etc similarly. Both operating systems let you go granular on any app on what they have permission to access or not.

I agree, some people get really bent out of shape with the privacy stuff when it boils down to an ad that is either targeted or not.

 

[Johns12]

I moved from IOS to Android about 5 years ago. It took me about 2 months to get used to Android. It's been fine since. I use a Macbook Pro, Roku for TV, my wife has an IPhone, and I use a Mac Pro for my business. Not much of an issue with any of it but I'm not deep into either ecosystem. Privacy. Yes, I believe Apple is slightly better in that respect but if you do anything else on the internet, most of that goes out the window. I use Duck Duck Go for a browser but there are times I have to use Google because I don't get all the results I need. I have to be on Facebook because of my job so there goes that. I have an Apple email for years but use a Gmail account for all of my purchases to keep the spam and ad emails in one place.

In my opinion, get what you like, experiment if you want, and don't let other people taint your decision. This is not life and death.

 

[orionquest]

In my opinion, get what you like, experiment if you want, and don't let other people taint your decision. This is not life and death.

Have you read the comments around here? ?

 

[ian87w]

I agree, some people get really bent out of shape with the privacy stuff when it boils down to an ad that is either targeted or not.

Personally, it depends on your comfort level.

On iOS, Apple has a lot of restrictions in terms of what data a 3rd party developer can obtain from the device. In contrast with Android, a 3rd party app can literally siphon everything from the phone. Even those permissions can be overidden by rouge developers. It's hard to believe, but after seeing how Chinese developers siphoned user data in my country (there are a ton of peer to peer lending app in my country, majority of them are from China, and they're Android only), I decided to get an iphone 7+ for my banking apps. But that's just me.

 

[Vegastouch]

That is not my intention. My intention is to open your eyes, keeping them closed won't make the stuff that you don't like to see go away.

I have been in the Android / Google ecosystem for almost 10 years and I have seen the Google tentacles in action. I have now switched to Apple everything not because I disliked the Android / Google hardware and software, they are better than Apple in a lot of ways. From a functionality perspective only, I would choose an Android phone over an iPhone: Android notifications are better, you have full access to the file system, you can side-load apps, you have phones with foldable screens, bleeding edge hardware, etc. But the invasion of privacy by Google (and Microsoft too) is beyond ridiculous. Apple is far from perfect but it is the only viable alternative there is if you care about privacy.

Still don't believe me?...watch a random video that will show you what I mean. And there is so much proof and tests done on the internet and yes, the invasion is real. Some people acknowledge it and do something about it, some pretend it doesn't happen or it is not real and ignore it. The choice is yours.

Is Google always listening ?

You don't have 100% privacy with any of them. Only those that are timid or hugely private people have issues with this. I haven't used an iPhone or anything Apple since 2010 or 2011. I've no issues on Android or worried about privacy issues.

My Wife uses an iPad alot, more than her phone and says she gets ads on both for the same reasons and she is actually always thinking she is being watched. She is a hugely private person.

I just dont buy that Apple is more secure or don't allow info about you to get out there to third parties. Even if it was I don't care. I just don't like iOS and Apple still not being friendly with other platforms.

I know a guy who has an iPhone and a Windows laptop and has iCloud or whatever it is on his Windows laptop with his photos in it and such and it says it is full and won't let his phone store any more contacts and things like that. He spent all day with different techs with Apple support and nobody knew how to fix that for him. When one didn't know he would hang up to get another. He went round and round with them.

It wasn't as easy as just deleting things from his phone as that is what I thought and suggested to him. It was deleting things from his iCloud from the Windows. He just wanted to load those on a memory stick to clear it out but yes...... Something about permissions or something. And he is on the phone with them. I don't know the complete details as I wasn't listening to it all. This was over some hours. But that's the jist.

Who wants that headache? There's the security you are talking about and it's just stupid and seems backwards.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I don't know about the OP, but I'm using an HTC Thunderbolt that has narry a Google account logged into it. The only 'Google' app I use is Play Music for offline playback (Google officially considers it EOL so I doubt it reports anything now) and that's it.

Whether you choose to believe it or not, you can use Android without Google or Google Play Services. It ends up giving you extra battery, less sketchy background data usage, and hardly any lag if any. ROMs such as Lineage, Calyx, etc go even farther and eliminate Google completely from the equation, about as close to AOSP in 2022 as you can get.

I enjoy freedom, the ability to sideload any app version I like, and no forced updates with Android. I also enjoy the older Android versions. At least the apps don't break like using an iPhone 2G in 2022, like you can't even use apps like Facebook or Spotify on that. You can on the Thunderbolt, oddly, even on the oldest versions. So in a way, Android gives you far more 'support'. You're not forced to update or upgrade and can enjoy your muscle memory remaining intact.

I have an old iPhone 4 lying around stuck forever on iOS 7. People keep remarking that Apple has far more support than Android. But here's the thing. I cannot open Kindle on the iPhone 4. It complains I need iOS 13 or higher to 'open' the app since it demands an updated version. Funny thing, since the pre-loaded decade-old version on my Thunderbolt runs perfectly fine! So what's that longer support again?

I also got a 2015 iPod touch forever on iOS 12. I cannot use the Walmart or Kroger apps on it. They literally won't install, and don't even do the 'last compatible version' from the Purchased list on the App Store either, demanding I need iOS 13 or 14 to run or install them. My Galaxy S5 from 2014, a year prior, still supports the newest versions of those two apps fine, even on a phone 8 years old. Again, where's the longer support, Apple fans?

Plus, I only paid $50 for the Thunderbolt on Amazon. I feel it's more an 'upgrade' than whatever passes for the tablet sized mess phones are today. Today, they remove features and charge more $$ for a 'modern' phone. There's not one thing a modern phone can do that my HTC cannot. All I ever used a phone for is playing music, browsing/searching web, viewing PDFs, reading ebooks, taking notes, making/receiving calls, texting my close contacts, and email. Nobody needs a 'modern' phone with all the annoyances for that type of task list. I also get to enjoy the classic mobile games before in-app purchases/ads. Classic Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Plants vs. Zombies anyone?

 

[Vegastouch]

Okay, please school me as I have never owned an iPhone. I would like too but I am locked in with Google Call Screener and Google Assistant.

Regarding iMessages and Facetime. What do they both do better than Google Duo and Google Messages?

What do you mean locked in? Things you cant live without? I actually do love the call screening feature a lot and its a reason why i want to stick with Pixels. Not sure if its on other Android devices now, it was a feature on Pixel before i got it.

My main reason for not going to Apple is i just simply dont like iOS enough to switch from Android. Id lose too many things that iOS dont give you.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I don't understand the problem iMessage/RCS is trying to solve. SMS is supposed to be simple two-way text communication kinda like IM'ing via AOL or Windows Messenger back in the day. It's not meant to be complicated with 'typing indicators' and 'so and so has seen your message'. I mean why take something so simple and complicate it? I know, everyone always uses the 'but mah group chats ruined by SMS!' but I never participate in group chats. In fact, I hate hate HATE being placed into one. Another solution in search of a problem.

I've not had anyone so pretentious to call me out for 'green texts' yet and thankfully my girlfriend is an Android user herself so I haven't been screwed over in the dating world...yet.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Coming from an iPhone to Android, I'd highly recommend a Pixel phone first, it's basically the Google iPhone. Very smooth, fluid, and simple.

FaceTime, just use Google Duo it works perfectly fine between iOS and Android. I had all my iPhone users install it, and no problems, and we use it with zero issue.

iMessage? Never understood the hype, it's just another text app, nothing special. Install something like Telegram or Signal ( not WhatsApp no no no, that's owned by the devil ) Telegram is awesome, and again a lot of my iPhone friends have it installed and we share high res pics and videos on it daily and works great.

"Ecosystem"? No idea why that word's mentioned so often. You shouldn't let yourself be shoehorned into a corporations line of tech products. I have several computers on my house, but they're all high end Gaming PC's running Windows 11 Pro. We don't own any tablets, zero want or need for one. And no smartwatches, again just don't see the need, plus I personally hate wearing things like that whatsoever, never been a watch guy at all.

You could probably find a good deal on the regular Pixel 6 now, or if you like small phones, the Pixel 5 is a fun easy to pick up compact smartphone.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Ecosystem, what's that?

My devices are of multiple eras, from 2009 to the current day. I got Google TV (new Chromecast) mixed in with a classic 3G Galaxy Note tablet, to my HTC Thunderbolt, to Linux and I still get my email and content synced across the whole lot without tying to any one account.

Doesn't even matter my smartphone is 11 years old. I put in my buds (I can pair true wireless buds with it) and my music playlist for a nature hike plays and I just enjoy. Phone stays in pocket. Got a Galaxy Watch Active in standalone mode to monitor health, no need to pair to a phone, and more music on that for other tasks. When I work in my garage, I have classic episodes of M*A*S*H and Knight Rider playing on a 30+ year old Zenith System 3 30" TV from a 2009 Samsung Blu-Ray player (which has A/V out). I don't feel anything is missing, at all.

I even got Hey Google in the home to turn on lights and adjust my 2013 Nest Thermostat.

I feel far less stressed with the older stuff than with Apple stuff constantly telling me I must update or else, or anything else that just frustrates me or feels like work. I have hated so-called 'modern' UI design since Yosemite/iOS 7/Android "Lollipop" so I'll stick with whimsical fun skeuo for as long as I live. Most modern stuff just increases my frustration and stress level. I'm happier doing things as I did in 2010. If I could do it all with 2010 hardware I would as well but that'd mean replacing every TV, every speaker and every laptop in my home which isn't feasible. However, Android gives me the freedom to use whatever app, however old, on whatever version I want, and do things my way. No longer forced to update to the latest OS to keep using apps that have been installed for over a year. Seriously, why does Apple do that? Force you to buy a new phone when the old one worked with the Kroger app fine the week prior?

Why is it that the Youtube app no longer opens on the Apple TV 2? It works to this day on a 2012 Samsung Galaxy Tab 2! Or a 2013 PlayStation 4, or a 2012 blu-ray disc player. Seriously just leave me alone and let me do things the way I'm used to. People will buy new things anyway, I'm not stopping that. Just leave me alone!

 

[orionquest]

I think people forget Apple also had an app transition on iOS, meaning everything had to be updated to a 64 bit app. This is why so many apps are no longer working on older phones (probably iphone 5 and older).
Part of Apple's progression.