Does Samsung do Android better than Google?

[decafjava]

Yes a first from me as I don't have either Samsung nor Google phones and almost certainly won't (Not getting a new iPhone for awhile yet either ).

However I am interested in what is out there and what is happening and came across this article.

https://www.howtogeek.com/360795/five-android-features-samsung-does-better-than-google/

Now this is mostly hardware oriented but what say you all?

 

[FFR]

Yes a first from me as I don't have either Samsung nor Google phones and almost certainly won't (Not getting a new iPhone for awhile yet either ).

However I am interested in what is out there and what is happening and came across this article.

https://www.howtogeek.com/360795/five-android-features-samsung-does-better-than-google/

Now this is mostly hardware oriented but what say you all?

Not when it comes to security patches.

Google
“Phones built by Google did not skip security updates.”

Samsung
“SRL found that one Samsung phone, the 2016 J5, was perfectly honest about telling the user which patches it had installed and which it still lacked, while Samsung's 2016 J3 claimed to have every Android patch issued in 2017 but lacked 12 of them—two considered as "critical" for the phone's security.”

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-manufacturers-not-delivering-security-updates/

 

[kasakka]

That's a poorly written article that has little to do with Android itself and more about hardware features. Google's Pixel devices are incredibly overpriced in my country for what they are, I prefer Samsung's hardware even if the curved screen is not a plus to me.

I think Samsung adds some valuable software features but overall I'm not a fan. Slow updates, crap icon set and depending on the device some performance issues that should not be there if I can use a 2015 phone with LineageOS without a hitch. IMO Samsung should discontinue a massive portion of their own apps and concentrate on making a good phone with some smart usability and customization options.

 

[decafjava]

Not when it comes to security patches.

Google
“Phones built by Google did not skip security updates.”

Samsung
“SRL found that one Samsung phone, the 2016 J5, was perfectly honest about telling the user which patches it had installed and which it still lacked, while Samsung's 2016 J3 claimed to have every Android patch issued in 2017 but lacked 12 of them—two considered as "critical" for the phone's security.”

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-manufacturers-not-delivering-security-updates/

This is interesting thanks for the link.

 

[FFR]

This is interesting thanks for the link.

Anytime.

 

[decafjava]

That's a poorly written article that has little to do with Android itself and more about hardware features. Google's Pixel devices are incredibly overpriced in my country for what they are, I prefer Samsung's hardware even if the curved screen is not a plus to me.

I think Samsung adds some valuable software features but overall I'm not a fan. Slow updates, crap icon set and depending on the device some performance issues that should not be there if I can use a 2015 phone with LineageOS without a hitch. IMO Samsung should discontinue a massive portion of their own apps and concentrate on making a good phone with some smart usability and customization options.

Hmmm never heard of LineageOS, just looking it up now.

 

[Michael Goff]

Not when it comes to security patches.

Google
“Phones built by Google did not skip security updates.”

Samsung
“SRL found that one Samsung phone, the 2016 J5, was perfectly honest about telling the user which patches it had installed and which it still lacked, while Samsung's 2016 J3 claimed to have every Android patch issued in 2017 but lacked 12 of them—two considered as "critical" for the phone's security.”

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-manufacturers-not-delivering-security-updates/

Didn't Google release a statement that kind of puts into question whether or not there is anything to fear?

 

[FFR]

Didn't Google release a statement that kind of puts into question whether or not there is anything to fear?

What else do you want them to say?

If security patches didn’t offer any additional security, why offer them in the first place.

 

[Michael Goff]

What else do you want them to say?

If security patches didn’t offer any additional security, why offer them in the first place.

Except the scan apparently didn't differentiate between needed patches and not needed or if the OEM patched the problem themselves. Also, not every fix in a patch level is for all devices

 

[Shanghaichica]

Its easy to release security patches when you only have 4 phones to push them out too.

When you have so many phones, with your own skin on top, plus waiting on carriers its always going to be slow.

Google can make as many project trebles as they want but it won't solve the problem of slow updates on non Google phones. It's the nature of the beast.

 

[FFR]

Except the scan apparently didn't differentiate between needed patches and not needed or if the OEM patched the problem themselves. Also, not every fix in a patch level is for all devices

If that were the case the Oem wouldn’t need to lie about it.

“In the worst cases, Nohl says, Android phone manufacturers intentionally misrepresented when the device had last been patched. [n]"Sometimes these guys just change the date without installing any patches. [/b]Probably for marketing reasons, they just set the patch level to almost an arbitrary date, whatever looks best."

But the security researchers tested over 1200 phones it sounds like they knew what they were doing.

“Even worse is the fact that the lying seems to be a pretty common practice. The team tested firmware from a hefty 1,200 phones from the likes of Google, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, ZTE, and TCL, and found that even major releases from massive companies like Samsung occasionally skipped a security patch.”

 

[Michael Goff]

If that were the case the Oem wouldn’t need to lie about it.

“In the worst cases, Nohl says, Android phone manufacturers intentionally misrepresented when the device had last been patched. [n]"Sometimes these guys just change the date without installing any patches. [/b]Probably for marketing reasons, they just set the patch level to almost an arbitrary date, whatever looks best."

But the security researchers tested over 1200 phones it sounds like they knew what they were doing.

“Even worse is the fact that the lying seems to be a pretty common practice. The team tested firmware from a hefty 1,200 phones from the likes of Google, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, ZTE, and TCL, and found that even major releases from massive companies like Samsung occasionally skipped a security patch.”

Isn't Nohl one of the people who did the flawed test?

 

[FFR]

Isn't Nohl one of the people who did the flawed test?

This guy?

“Karsten Nohl, founder of Security Research Labs in Berlin, told the New York Times on Sunday that he has discovered a flaw in the encryption technology used in some SIM cards. This vulnerability could allow hackers to eavesdrop on the device owner while in a call, make purchases through mobile payment systems, and possibly even impersonate the device owner. Around 750 million devices could be vulnerable to attacks thanks to this flaw.”

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/SIM-Cards-D.E.S.-Karsten-Nohl-encryption-SMS,news-44976.html

And

“German researcher Karsten Nohl, who initially disclosed the SS7 issues at the end of 2014, last year demonstrated how it could be used to hack into users’ mobile phones, eavesdrop on their calls and determine their location.

Nohl demonstrated the flaw for CBS news programme 60 Minutes in the US by hacking an off-the-shelf iPhone provided by the programme to Representative Ted Lieu, a California politician who’s part of a House of Representatives committee that oversees IT issues.

Provided only with the phone number of the new handset, Nohl, based in Berlin, was able to record Lieu’s conversations, read his text messages and track his movements within districts of Los Angeles.”

https://www.silicon.co.uk/security/bitcoin-ss7-security-221967

Don’t know why your calling it flawed?

“This meant that they looked for evidence in the binary itself to determine whether a patch was installed.”

https://threatpost.com/dont-trust-android-oem-patching-claims-researcher/131183/

 

[Macalicious2011]

At my work and other technically sensitive work places, big OS updates or upgrades are always deferred until they have been robustly tested by the IT department. This can take weeks, months or even years. Just look at how long Win XP was supported.

Samsung’s issue is two fold, they have a gazillion hardware configurations and secondly the media is obsessed by “the latest android”. In some cases a phone is better off sticking with an old OS than being bogged down by one that is better suited to newer phones.

Overall I don’t mind the Samsung skin but I would love an option to run stock on Samsung’s amazing hardware. More then often Samsung phones end up feeling very slow or poor at registering taps on the screen.

 

[Tig Bitties]

LOL is the OP serious ?

The Pixel 2 XL was the best smartphone of 2017. If you like lag free, and no bloatware, and just the smoothest and most fluid OS, get a Pixel. If you like a bloated up OS, with microstutters and hiccups then get a Samsung.

 

[decafjava]

LOL is the OP serious ?

The Pixel 2 XL was the best smartphone of 2017. If you like lag free, and no bloatware, and just the smoothest and most fluid OS, get a Pixel. If you like a bloated up OS, with microstutters and hiccups then get a Samsung.

Yup just initiating a discussion, the article raised my eyebrows to be honest especially as others have said it seems to really talk about hardware. No doubt the Pixel is a smooth experience, but most of the comments there are focused on hardware too...strange.

 

[Shanghaichica]

LOL is the OP serious ?

The Pixel 2 XL was the best smartphone of 2017. If you like lag free, and no bloatware, and just the smoothest and most fluid OS, get a Pixel. If you like a bloated up OS, with microstutters and hiccups then get a Samsung.

MKBHD has something else to say.

 

[Tig Bitties]

MKBHD has something else to say.

OnePlus runs a stock vanilla type Android UI very similar to the Pixel phones, but One plus tweaks it like a custom ROM, improving performance to be even faster and more fluid. Just like a ROM on XDA is for the Pixel 2 XL.

Both the OnePlus and Pixel are the two top Android performing phones. All the others not so much.

So yes the OnePlus 6 is the best, smoothest, and fastest Android phone so far of 2018, but you also don't get the great camera on the Pixel 2.

 

[FFR]

OnePlus runs a stock vanilla type Android UI very similar to the Pixel phones, but One plus tweaks it like a custom ROM, improving performance to be even faster and more fluid. Just like a ROM on XDA is for the Pixel 2 XL.

Both the OnePlus and Pixel are the two top Android performing phones. All the others not so much.

So yes the OnePlus 6 is the best, smoothest, and fastest Android phone so far of 2018, but you also don't get the great camera on the Pixel 2.

One plus 6 is a 2018 handset the pixel xl2 is a 2017.
Not fair or compare the two.

 

[Tig Bitties]

One plus 6 is a 2018 handset the pixel xl2 is a 2017.
Not fair or compare the two.

Good point, I would think and hope the Pixel 3 XL at least perfornsas well as the OP6, and should best it.

 

[epicrayban]

I think OnePlus' Oxygen OS does Android better than Pixel "stock Android." OnePlus' OS feels like stock Android+.

Is Samsung's software better than stock Android though? That's ultimately up to the user and what their needs are. I think so.

I think the extra features give value-added functionality to the everyday user. There are many examples of this, and there's no question stock Android eventually adds some of Samsung's software features later, too.

 

[pika2000]

Samsung is essentially still a Japanese company copycat. Excel at hardware, mediocre at best at Software. They tend to pile on features, and overspec their devices (seriously, who uses the heart rate sensor on their phones?). It reminds me of the old Sony portable audio devices. Really nice hardware and build quality, but horrendous software and user experience. Thanks to Google, Samsung got an easy first step on the software part. But they still want their own identity on their devices, thus the so called Samsung experience that duplicates nearly every app on stock Android. Can’t blame them, but their nature is just not really into software. It shows on their own Tizen OS, which suffers a ton of security vulnerabilities.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Samsung is essentially still a Japanese company copycat. Excel at hardware, mediocre at best at Software. They tend to pile on features, and overspec their devices (seriously, who uses the heart rate sensor on their phones?). It reminds me of the old Sony portable audio devices. Really nice hardware and build quality, but horrendous software and user experience. Thanks to Google, Samsung got an easy first step on the software part. But they still want their own identity on their devices, thus the so called Samsung experience that duplicates nearly every app on stock Android. Can’t blame them, but their nature is just not really into software. It shows on their own Tizen OS, which suffers a ton of security vulnerabilities.

The EU commission disagrees with you. It’s not Samsung that’s at fault for putting their own apps on the phone. They are allowed to and should. It’s google that need go stop bundling their own apps.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Samsung is essentially still a Japanese company copycat. Excel at hardware, mediocre at best at Software. They tend to pile on features, and overspec their devices (seriously, who uses the heart rate sensor on their phones?). It reminds me of the old Sony portable audio devices. Really nice hardware and build quality, but horrendous software and user experience. Thanks to Google, Samsung got an easy first step on the software part. But they still want their own identity on their devices, thus the so called Samsung experience that duplicates nearly every app on stock Android. Can’t blame them, but their nature is just not really into software. It shows on their own Tizen OS, which suffers a ton of security vulnerabilities.

Bingo

Samsung are total copycats. Duplicate apps of the stock Google ones is just sacrilege and should be banned. And bloatware, my God the bloat that comes on Galaxy phones, it's like 3 pages of app drawers when the phone is brand new out of the box. And the always present Lagwiz, yes it's more hidden nowadays, but it never went went away.

Bottom line, if you want a smooth performing phone, that's fast, and pleasant to use, you have two options only, the OnePlus 6 or Pixel 2 XL.

Lastly, if your into rooting and ROM'ing forget about that on a Samsung, they've locked their bootloader's since like the Galaxy S4 now. With One plus they almost encourage ROM'ing.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Bingo

Samsung are total copycats. Duplicate apps of the stock Google ones is just sacrilege and should be banned. And bloatware, my God the bloat that comes on Galaxy phones, it's like 3 pages of app drawers when the phone is brand new out of the box. And the always present Lagwiz, yes it's more hidden nowadays, but it never went went away.

Bottom line, if you want a smooth performing phone, that's fast, and pleasant to use, you have two options only, the OnePlus 6 or Pixel 2 XL.

Actually the EU want Google’s stock apps banned.


https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....record-multibillion-fine-from-eu-over-android


The European commission imposed the record penalty after finding that the US tech firm required smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google’s search and browser apps on devices using its Android operating system, which is used on 80% of all phones. Manufacturers that refused Google would not be allowed to use its Google Play online store and streaming service.