Android in Decline?

[iHorseHead]

Depends.
Imo Android is still king in SE Asia. Apple's lack of presence and focus in the region is to blame. Apple focuses so much on China that Samsung managed to gobble up majority of the market share in the region. Although many people want an iPhone, most cannot afford it simply because Apple's local pricing, making iPhones more expensive in the region than they actually are, especially when compared to Japan/US. Meanwhile Samsung had many local manufacturing that their pricing (and their aggressive marketing with bonuses and trade in promos) that Samsung has a huge advantage.

Many people in my country dont use iPhones because Apple doesn't care about my country. Android has my language and iOS doesn't.
Same with Siri. Android also dominates Europe and I know many Samsung fanboys who buy 1000€ Samsung phones.

 

[Mistborn15]

Yes, I mentioned that Sony Xperia L is still smooth (and honestly, it is) but it hasn't seen a single security update in at least 5 years.

After reading about the Xperia L, I charged my old Moto x 2013 (according to me the phone with the best form factor till now) and it very smooth swiping through the home screens but as soon as I install whatsapp or any app, it shows its age

 

[Blue Quark]

But do those upper midrange Android phones have better processor, camera, water resistance, wireless charging, security than the 'low end' iPhone? for equal features, you have to go for 'ultra' flagships which cost upwards of 1k.

Also, iPhones last significantly longer. A galaxy S7 or the first pixel is outdated while the iPhone 7 is still quite usable and gets updates.

I would think once you're talking about a $700 Android phone, yes, you'd be looking at many of those features being included. Heck, $200 Android phones have fingerprint readers. The lack of updates issue goes back to another post I wrote about fragmentation, which is in my opinion a significant issue.

I think that's a sad statement, we should (and many of us do) enjoy our privacy without needing to live off the grid. I think you're wrong that using technology requires that we give up all of our personal details. I for one work at protecting my privacy and its not very hard.

Well, what I was getting at is there are those sort of users who are absolutely manic about this stuff (paranoid may be a better adjective, but I'm trying to be polite) and those are the folks to whom I was referring with that part of my post you quoted. I agree with you on both points you made:

1. It is sad; and
2. There's plenty of sensible things one can do to help with personal security and privacy.

One particular discussion seen regularly is re-flashing an Android phone with one of the community-maintained AOSP ROMs (for example, LineageOS) and then installing none of Google's Google Play-related services. There are some really hardcore anti-Google folk out there, and while I agree there are valid points to be made in that discussion, personally I view it as going kind of overboard to strip out every last possible Google service, and then turn around and replace them with a bunch of other services and/or, for some folk, don't replace those services with anything at all.

I drive for a living. I make daily use, and fairly extensive use at that, of Google's various services, especially calendering and navigation. For me to try and work around the Google portion would, from what I've seen, require me to go backwards, technologically speaking, to say nothing of doing things with a lot more effort involved. Heck no! I do what I can not to share any more than I have to, but I also am aware of the bargain. It's one I've been willing to accept (if I hadn't, I would be doing things radically differently, or perhaps not at all) and I also try my best to keep my ear to the ground, so if at some point there's a good reason to consider alternatives, I know what those are.

 

[Blue Quark]

In the past, I have looked at three fairly different alternatives: Ubuntu Touch (which still has some legs to it, arguably, since it has been picked up by the community), the Librem 5 phone by Purism, and frankly the iPhone, one of which I owned very briefly a few months ago. Of those, the only one which suits my NWDs (needs, wants, and desires) would be the iPhone. However, at this point I still prefer Google's services to Apple's.

The other two could potentially be good choices, but that would require having services which totally replace, pretty much like for like in terms of functions and execution, all the services I get from Google. So, at this point, no dice.

 

[nickdalzell1]

There are many Android phones such as Oppo that doesn't have that problem, also Samsung releases security updates and I have 2 year old Huawei which still gets updates ( I use iPhone 12 mini as my main phone), but it still receives updates.
Never really had problems with such things since 2016

My Galaxy S4 can still run the Amex Serve app. Any hacker worth their salt would rather target the modern OSs not the 1% clinging to, say, Android 2.3. It would make no sense.

Now, if you love looking at porn, using The Pirate Bay or mobile-P2P I can't help you. I've been running PCs without virus protection for years; it's all about being smart.

If you watch Kitboga or any of the scam-baiter YouTubers, you see a ton of those scammers target Windows 10 (although a few got played with Windows RG, which was a joke OS flash game!)

 

[hallux]

The lack of updates issue goes back to another post I wrote about fragmentation, which is in my opinion a significant issue.

It is, and Google/Android has done everything possible to make it as easy as possible for OEMs to issue the updates. The only thing further that can be done is to pull the approval to access the Google ecosystem from the manufacturer if they don't keep models current for 2 or more years post-sale. The problem with doing that is that I'm not sure Google can legally enforce such a policy as it can be considered forcing undue financial stress (to employ an appropriate team of developers) on the company.

However - that comes back to another argument, if you want an Apple-like experience from an update standpoint you have (now) two options, any Pixel model or a Samsung flagship.

 

[iHorseHead]

My Galaxy S4 can still run the Amex Serve app. Any hacker worth their salt would rather target the modern OSs not the 1% clinging to, say, Android 2.3. It would make no sense.

Now, if you love looking at porn, using The Pirate Bay or mobile-P2P I can't help you. I've been running PCs without virus protection for years; it's all about being smart.

If you watch Kitboga or any of the scam-baiter YouTubers, you see a ton of those scammers target Windows 10 (although a few got played with Windows RG, which was a joke OS flash game!)

if you look at Kitboga videos and other scam baiter videos they target Mac and Linux too, which they can't use so they'll get someone who can use a Mac or a PC. On Macs they turn your screen brightness all the way down to edit the source code to make it seem like they've refunded to you.

I've never really had a virus either. I think the last time I got a virus was when I was little and it was on Windows 98 when I was looking for free games online. Nowadays kids don't even play computer games but they're on their phones or there's Steam, so technically there's nothing to worry about. Windows isn't as bad as people here make it seem like and I use Windows daily at work. I've got literally no issues.
People here bash Androids for not receiving security updates, but what about Macs? MacBooks from 2011 and earlier don't receive updates anymore, but Windows PCs do.
I've never had problems with Androids either and I've used my bank app without the latest security updates. Never had any issues.
Android isn't bad either and most phones are pretty smooth nowadays.

 

[Mistborn15]

My Galaxy S4 can still run the Amex Serve app. Any hacker worth their salt would rather target the modern OSs not the 1% clinging to, say, Android 2.3. It would make no sense.

What if hackers create something that attacks every phone with security of Android 7.0 and less?

 

[iHorseHead]

What if hackers create something that attacks every phone with security of Android 7.0 and less?

What happens if hackers create something that attacks every Mac computer that has Snow Leopard, Lion, El Capitan on it?
What happens if hackers create something that attacks every iPhone that has iOS 10 or earlier on it?

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

There are more on updates on Android than "oh it gets x years of updates."
First, there's the Android version upgrade. Most Android phones would get at least one major version upgrade. Only Pixel and Samsung that promised 3 years of upgrades. The rest like Oppo, Vivo, etc are so inconsistent that most of their mid-rangers and lower don't even get a single version upgrade. (this is why I balked when these companies are trying to charge $1000 for their flagships. Complete waste of money as they have zero track on software support).

Then there's monthly security patches. Google send these monthly patches to OEMs 1 month in advance very month. Again, Pixel and Samsung lead the way. But for Samsung, it's not the complete story. Only their flagship lineups (S series, Fold series, Note series) get the security patches monthly, with few exceptions on models that has enterprise ready status. The rest of the lineup, even the premium A7x series, only get the security patches quarterly. To me this is unacceptable since Google has made it so easy to apply these patches. Security patches are that, security patches. There should not be any reason to not apply them in a timely manner. This is why I decided to go all the way, traded in my A71 to an S21. As for the Chinese, they are inconsistent. Many do give security patches, but there's almost no pattern to it.

Oh and for Samsung promising 4 years of security patches? Cross that out. Just read it as 3 years of security patches. Why? The 4th year is biannual delivery, meaning you will only get 2 security patches in 1 year. That's just BS. It's better than nothing, sure, but again, Google has made it so simple to apply these. It's so easy that some OEMs were caught that they just changed the text to fool users into thinking they have the latest security patches, without actually applying the patch. These attitude towards security is inexcusable imo.

In short, best of the best on Android are still Google Pixel and Samsung with 3 years of software updates. Still a far cry from Apple, obviously. This is also a reminder whenever the likes of Oppo or Vivo are trying to sell their phones for $1000 (Oppo Find X3 Pro is about $1100 in my country). No way jose. Paying $1000 for only 1 year of software support at best is ridiculous. Might as well get an iPhone if you have that kind of money.

Reading your post reassures me about the iPhone after using it for 9 years now. Although I only use my iPhones for 2 years, I do pass them on to family members so the long term support is a bonus. I don’t know an awful lot about Android these days but then again I haven’t needed to because I’m happy with what I am using, plus I enjoy the AW. It’s cool these manufacturers are still pushing each other to deliver better products though and that’s what it’s all about.

 

[iHorseHead]

Reading your post reassures me about the iPhone after using it for 9 years now. Although I only use my iPhones for 2 years, I do pass them on to family members so the long term support is a bonus. I don’t know an awful lot about Android these days but then again I haven’t needed to because I’m happy with what I am using, plus I enjoy the AW. It’s cool these manufacturers are still pushing each other to deliver better products though and that’s what it’s all about.

Personally I think you should try Android as well.
I use Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Ubuntu and I could manage with everything. Some people that say: "A computer is a computer" and "a phone is just a phone" are right.

 

[Mistborn15]

What happens if hackers create something that attacks every Mac computer that has Snow Leopard, Lion, El Capitan on it?
What happens if hackers create something that attacks every iPhone that has iOS 10 or earlier on it?

It would be bad. Thats why it is a terrible idea to use a phone that doesn't have the latest security patch

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Personally I think you should try Android as well.
I use Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and Ubuntu and I could manage with everything. Some people that say: "A computer is a computer" and "a phone is just a phone" are right.

To be honest iOS does everything I need and everybody in my family uses it. I couldn’t use my Apple Watch as effectively if I had an Android phone and I’d be doing the same tasks whether I had Android or iOS to be fair. I moved from Android to iOS in 2012 and I’ve never felt like I was missing it. It would be a complete pain in the backside being on a different OS to my wife and daughters now.

 

[The Game 161]

To be honest iOS does everything I need and everybody in my family uses it. I couldn’t use my Apple Watch as effectively if I had an Android phone and I’d be doing the same tasks whether I had Android or iOS to be fair. I moved from Android to iOS in 2012 and I’ve never felt like I was missing it. It would be a complete pain in the backside being on a different OS to my wife and daughters now.

I certainly couldn’t cope Without my Apple Watch and activity rings and competing with family is great

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I certainly couldn’t cope Without my Apple Watch and activity rings and competing with family is great

Indeed, I’ve relied on it for nearly 5 years and I wouldn’t be getting rid of it. It’s more important to me than the iPhone lol.

 

[nickdalzell1]

What if hackers create something that attacks every phone with security of Android 7.0 and less?

The question should be 'why'? Why would any hacker target any OS that's no longer mainstream? Especially ones that don't even support their pop-up fakery or other methods? Wouldn't it be more prudent to target the 75% of users over the 25% of users to maximize the scam?

Also, why isn't this a concern for those on the PowerPC forum? those Macs are even more ancient than a Galaxy S4 or S Relay 4G.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Indeed, I’ve relied on it for nearly 5 years and I wouldn’t be getting rid of it. It’s more important to me than the iPhone lol.

I love my Galaxy Watch, too. It has sorta 'activity rings' in a heart shape, one for exercise, move and calories. Works pretty much the same, but unlike the Apple Watch, any 'special' achievements don't vanish a few months after you earn them. Soon as my Earth Day achievement disappeared in May, I had enough. My May "Lavender" badge from my Galaxy Watch shows no sign of vanishing anytime soon!

 

[Mistborn15]

The question should be 'why'? Why would any hacker target any OS that's no longer mainstream? Especially ones that don't even support their pop-up fakery or other methods? Wouldn't it be more prudent to target the 75% of users over the 25% of users to maximize the scam?

Also, why isn't this a concern for those on the PowerPC forum? those Macs are even more ancient than a Galaxy S4 or S Relay 4G.

Because there is a higher success chance with those 25% than the 75% who want to be up to date with security. As for PowerPC forum, no idea why people aren't concerned. I'd never recommend anyone to use a hardware with out of date software.

I love my Galaxy Watch, too. It has sorta 'activity rings' in a heart shape, one for exercise, move and calories. Works pretty much the same, but unlike the Apple Watch, any 'special' achievements don't vanish a few months after you earn them. Soon as my Earth Day achievement disappeared in May, I had enough. My May "Lavender" badge from my Galaxy Watch shows no sign of vanishing anytime soon!

Not sure if it is still there but when I had the S3 frontier, Samsung had this fun race infographic for every month. Samsung Health is quite a bit cooler than Apple Health. Unfortunately, people started cheating with half a million steps per day

 

[nickdalzell1]

Samsung Health (the 2020 version on my FE, at least) has really gotten better since the S6, S7 and S8 era. I like some of the cute little graphics they added to it. Apple feels more like Google Fit, boring, data but no fun. That "race" infographic is still there, and right after Lavender was Brocolli, which I'm about done with as well. The names could use work, obviously, Samsung has not yet fired the guy who called their music app "Milk Music" I guess, but I adore that. It's one of those 'nature UX' things I have not seen since TouchWiz got EOL'd. It's far more detailed on the Samsung Health phone app, the watch just shows a simple widget. The Galaxy Watch (2018) has some additional graphical UI for when you're idle. Instead of the 'sleeping shoe' of the S3 era, you get an animated coach guy tapping his watch saying 'You need to get active!'. After walking a few minutes, it shows him giving a 'thumbs up' saying 'Yay! You're active again!'

I adore whimsy. Samsung had given up for awhile but I'm glad it's returned.

I also blocked all the 'ads' in the Samsung apps (including Health) by going into connection settings, private DNS, and inputting 'dns.adguard.com'. BAM! ads be gone!

It's themed to be my way, but OneUI 3.1 has really brought a lot of the classic Nature UX cues I have missed since TouchWiz died after the S5. I added some extra edge panels, a third-party control center (accessed via swipe from right side), a skeuo icon pack, and another theme (infinity) that brought some of the Galaxy S4 UI back to apps such as the keyboard, phone app and Messages (the wallpaper option).

 

[alien3dx]

Samsung Health (the 2020 version on my FE, at least) has really gotten better since the S6, S7 and S8 era. I like some of the cute little graphics they added to it. Apple feels more like Google Fit, boring, data but no fun. That "race" infographic is still there, and right after Lavender was Brocolli, which I'm about done with as well. The names could use work, obviously, Samsung has not yet fired the guy who called their music app "Milk Music" I guess, but I adore that. It's one of those 'nature UX' things I have not seen since TouchWiz got EOL'd. It's far more detailed on the Samsung Health phone app, the watch just shows a simple widget. The Galaxy Watch (2018) has some additional graphical UI for when you're idle. Instead of the 'sleeping shoe' of the S3 era, you get an animated coach guy tapping his watch saying 'You need to get active!'. After walking a few minutes, it shows him giving a 'thumbs up' saying 'Yay! You're active again!'

I adore whimsy. Samsung had given up for awhile but I'm glad it's returned.

I also blocked all the 'ads' in the Samsung apps (including Health) by going into connection settings, private DNS, and inputting 'dns.adguard.com'. BAM! ads be gone!

It's themed to be my way, but OneUI 3.1 has really brought a lot of the classic Nature UX cues I have missed since TouchWiz died after the S5. I added some extra edge panels, a third-party control center (accessed via swipe from right side), a skeuo icon pack, and another theme (infinity) that brought some of the Galaxy S4 UI back to apps such as the keyboard, phone app and Messages (the wallpaper option).

nearly bought combo samsung phone and watch but when they said bp apps only work with high price samsung phone , abandon the idea. now xr + apple watch.

 

[iHorseHead]

To be honest iOS does everything I need and everybody in my family uses it. I couldn’t use my Apple Watch as effectively if I had an Android phone and I’d be doing the same tasks whether I had Android or iOS to be fair. I moved from Android to iOS in 2012 and I’ve never felt like I was missing it. It would be a complete pain in the backside being on a different OS to my wife and daughters now.

But I can see how closed minded you and many other users are here. The same goes for other forums. Everybody's bashing Apple and iOS and macOS but iOS and macOS are great as well. Why do people bash things they dont use? A lot has changed with Android since 2012. It's pretty great.
As I said a computer is a computer and phone is a phone. No matter what operating system.

At least people here aren't like: "Smartphones are just for showoffs. Real people use phones with buttons" and then there's someone else replying: "Yes, I have Nokia 1610 and it still works ever since I bought it. There's no need for a smartphone." etc…

I think you're from the US, because I'm from a place where everybody uses everything and in schools we are taught computer programming ever since 4th grade and to use every OS.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

But I can see how closed minded you and many other users are here. The same goes for other forums. Everybody's bashing Apple and iOS and macOS but iOS and macOS are great as well. Why do people bash things they dont use? A lot has changed with Android since 2012. It's pretty great.
As I said a computer is a computer and phone is a phone. No matter what operating system.

At least people here aren't like: "Smartphones are just for showoffs. Real people use phones with buttons" and then there's someone else replying: "Yes, I have Nokia 1610 and it still works ever since I bought it. There's no need for a smartphone." etc…

I think you're from the US, because I'm from a place where everybody uses everything and in schools we are taught computer programming ever since 4th grade and to use every OS.

I am not closed minded or bashing what I don’t use. I have been honest and admitted I have no reason to try Android because I am fully satisfied with iOS and all the devices I own and my family own. I’m aware whatever OS you use they essentially do the same thing but I have no interest in moving to Android at great expense and hassle for something that does what I have now. It’s not just the phone I’d need to change but the watch and tablet as I use all these in conjunction with one another. I’m sure Android is great, but so is iOS and it offers more than I need or realistically use too.

There are also enough clues on my profile here to tell you I am not from the US either.

 

[alien3dx]

I am not closed minded or bashing what I don’t use. I have been honest and admitted I have no reason to try Android because I am fully satisfied with iOS and all the devices I own and my family own. I’m aware whatever OS you use they essentially do the same thing but I have no interest in moving to Android at great expense and hassle for something that does what I have now. It’s not just the phone I’d need to change but the watch and tablet as I use all these in conjunction with one another. I’m sure Android is great, but so is iOS and it offers more than I need or realistically use too.

There are also enough clues on my profile here to tell you I am not from the US either.

not from us either. even i introduce my father ios , he still come back to android . It's still depend on how people acceptance.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

not from us either. even i introduce my father ios , he still come back to android . It's still depend on how people acceptance.

Exactly, we use what best suits us and I like the whole experience of iOS from the phone down to the watch and iPad. I don’t use a Mac as they aren’t capable for for work but apart from that it’s all iOS for my personal needs. The fact is I don’t need to switch now and I’m not missing anything that I don’t already have, plus all my family and friends are on iOS.

 

[Expos of 1969]

But I can see how closed minded you and many other users are here. The same goes for other forums. Everybody's bashing Apple and iOS and macOS but iOS and macOS are great as well. Why do people bash things they dont use? A lot has changed with Android since 2012. It's pretty great.
As I said a computer is a computer and phone is a phone. No matter what operating system.

At least people here aren't like: "Smartphones are just for showoffs. Real people use phones with buttons" and then there's someone else replying: "Yes, I have Nokia 1610 and it still works ever since I bought it. There's no need for a smartphone." etc…

I think you're from the US, because I'm from a place where everybody uses everything and in schools we are taught computer programming ever since 4th grade and to use every OS.

If you scroll over his avatar you can see he is from Wales.