Why even Android anymore?

[slitherjef]

Serious question...

With the recent line of android phones and software leaks leaning closer and closer to iPhone doppelgangers, what is the point of Android anymore? If so many manufacturers are doing this trend to look and almost act like an iPhone, why not just get an iPhone?

I've been an Android user since the HTC g1 because I was not an apple user and because Android was what interest me, I liked using it, felt natural.

Nowadays it just seems like I might as well get an iPhone for my next Nexus 6 replacement since it looks as if that is the current trend.

Locked bootloader
Apple like stance on modifications
Useless bloatware
Foreced (almost!) Security Updates (many of which I still see as "just to push something out security
wise")
Your flagship device may get one update (that may or may not work)
Design language starting to look like apple.

If it looks like an apple functions like an apple and taste like an apple, shouldn't you just get an apple?

Not sure if I'm making sense or missing the point? Just pondering out loud I guess.

 

[Tsepz]

I am a Galaxy Note8 user and there are still tons of things I can do on my Note8 that are either painful to do on an iPhone or just not possible at all.

Maybe all the things YOU do are now replicated on iPhones, but for me iPhones are still incredibly limited in functionality that I use daily for me to even consider one.

 

[5105973]

I can only hope at this point that Samsung keeps going its own way while also continuing to streamline the look, feel, and functioning of their proprietary version of Android.

Anyway, I'm glad you made this post @slitherjef

I was excited to make my foray into the world of Android because Apple was stripping me of choices, and telling me their way was the future, even as I found their version of the future needlessly costly, inconvenient and downright annoying.

In the Android world, I thought with so many manufacturers, there would be a little something for everyone. But now I see a lot of them are struggling to survive. And Google themselves are shamelessly acting like Apple's adoring little sibling.

I see everyone converging on a stifling uniformity. Samsung is a notable holdout.

 

[bigjnyc]

Yeah so that Apple could charge us $2,000 for a phone since they are the only option. By all means let’s just get rid of Android altogether.

 

[IowaLynn]

Just can’t live with only iOS. It’s home desktop, Status, Notifications, settings, are dated and even iOS 13 won’t change that.

Oreo and P(each pie) offer a nicer UI. The apps I use there was a time not too long ago were better on iOS but not now. And it seems like Apple got the wrong compiler for iOS 11 and a full 64-bit OS.

just bought Essential (Amazon dropped price $399), love the Note 8, along with iPhone X. The 7 and 7 Plus weren’t enough to change from the 6S Plus.

 

[Michael Goff]

Yeah so that Apple could charge us $2,000 for a phone since they are the only option. By all means let’s just get rid of Android altogether.

I didn’t read the post as saying we should get rid of Android. Where did you get that?

 

[hallux]

Sorry, I like having my homescreen-resident widgets for email, notes, my data usage. The notifications on the lockscreen on Android are superior. I prefer the app-drawer method for the main list of apps, rather than having everything on the homescreens and having to bury unwanted apps in a folder someplace. I can't tell you how many times I've scrolled through pages of folders on someone's iPhone looking for a particular app, while on an Android I could have just gone to the app drawer and found it - alphabetically.

 

[Regime2008]

Sorry, I like having my homescreen-resident widgets for email, notes, my data usage. The notifications on the lockscreen on Android are superior. I prefer the app-drawer method for the main list of apps, rather than having everything on the homescreens and having to bury unwanted apps in a folder someplace. I can't tell you how many times I've scrolled through pages of folders on someone's iPhone looking for a particular app, while on an Android I could have just gone to the app drawer and found it - alphabetically.

I never understood how some claim ios as "simpler" or "cleaner" look. It is a clustertruck to scroll through apps and folders on iOS. Everything seems to be in Androids favors over the last couple of years. I just do not see any aspects of the iphone being better than Android devices.

 

[JackieInCo]

I still prefer to use both Samsung phones and iPhones and probably always will. I can still do things on my Android phones that aren't possible on the iPhone thanks to Apples restrictions. On Android, I've been favoring the unlocked devices lately although my Note 8 was a T-Mobile version, it's unlocked and I'm using it on AT&T now. I'm also using a factory unlocked S7 Edge simply because it has the most outstanding battery life out of any phone I currently have, it's just simply amazing and it was year old on December 26.

I don't care about Samsung locking the bootloaders lately because I no longer have the need to root my phones. I used to root to run custom ROMs to improve battery life and to block ads systemwide but battery life has come along ways since the Note4-5 days and I use Adguard Pro to block ads systemwide.

When Apple loosen their restrictions, I will go Apple only but they never will.

 

[Septembersrain]

Only reasons I got an android this go were because of band 71 and the quad DAC. Overall, both are okay but hardware wise, I like how android takes initiative with certain components like the modem.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

I'm grateful that Android exists, since it keeps iPhone prices lower than they'd be otherwise lol thanks google

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Too many reasons I can't make the iPhone my daily driver ..........

Cellular data restrictions (Can't believe this still exists)
Lighting port/cable
Limited Bluetooth
Limited NFC
No option to change default apps
Issues with 3rd party cloud services auto uploading in the background
No true call recording apps
No Always On Display (as of yet)
Lack of finger sensor on the X and upcoming models
No SD external storage
No split-screen multitasking
Notifications suck (Apple really needs to revamp that)
Removal of headphone jack
Fast charging is a hoax, it's not true fast charging
Notch on the X and upcoming models
No OTG ... You can buy specific USB/lighting drive, matched with an app, but even then it barley works
Siri lacks compatibility with other music services like Spotify and Google Music. Only plays playlists from Apple Music.
No WPS push button compatibility. Yes I actually use this often as I travel a lot and many people and businesses can't remember their wifi password offhand.
Ever since the 6S, I've experienced weaker signal strength on iPhones versus Android flagships. People I know with the X say they still experience weaker signal.
No mirror/cast support to anything non-Apple. Yes some apps can work, but they pretty much suck compared to natively doing so on Android.
Compatibility with non-Apple wearables limited.
Very limited homescreen customization
No manual pro-mode in the default camera UI
And a bunch of other small things, like fragmented placement of settings, inconsistent back button placement & swipe, etc ............


Now I can deal with several things without a problem. Only several things on the list are a big deal for me. But when you lump them all together, my experience with the iPhone gets frustrating when used as my daily driver. Which is why I use my iPhone just occasionally nowadays.

 

[5105973]

Too many reasons I can't make the iPhone my daily driver ..........

Cellular data restrictions (Can't believe this still exists)
Lighting port/cable
Limited Bluetooth
Limited NFC
No option to change default apps
Issues with 3rd party cloud services auto uploading in the background
No true call recording apps
No Always On Display (as of yet)
Lack of finger sensor on the X and upcoming models
No SD external storage
No split-screen multitasking
Notifications suck (Apple really needs to revamp that)
Removal of headphone jack
Fast charging is a hoax, it's not true fast charging
Notch on the X and upcoming models
No OTG ... You can buy specific USB/lighting drive, matched with an app, but even then it barley works
Siri lacks compatibility with other music services like Spotify and Google Music. Only plays playlists from Apple Music.
No WPS push button compatibility. Yes I actually use this often as I travel a lot and many people and businesses can't remember their wifi password offhand.
Ever since the 6S, I've experienced weaker signal strength on iPhones versus Android flagships. People I know with the X say they still experience weaker signal.
No mirror/cast support to anything non-Apple. Yes some apps can work, but they pretty much suck compared to natively doing so on Android.
Compatibility with non-Apple wearables limited.
Very limited homescreen customization
No manual pro-mode in the default camera UI
And a bunch of other small things, like fragmented placement of settings, inconsistent back button placement & swipe, etc ............


Now I can deal with several things without a problem. Only several things on the list are a big deal for me. But when you lump them all together, my experience with the iPhone gets frustrating when used as my daily driver. Which is why I use my iPhone just occasionally nowadays.

See that’s sort of the point of the thread. A lot of the things on your list are going to be an issue in the Android world due to a lot of manufacturers jumping on the Notch bandwagon and Google itself reported to be supporting it. And headphone jacks are coming off. Google took it off the Pixel 2 and 2XL because...no reason really other than they claim they’re heading to the future, which just happens to be Apple’s vision of the future to sell us more wireless accessories.

 

[Michael Goff]

See that’s sort of the point of the thread. A lot of the things on your list are going to be an issue in the Android world due to a lot of manufacturers jumping on the Notch bandwagon and Google itself reported to be supporting it. And headphone jacks are coming off. Google took it off the Pixel 2 and 2XL because...no reason really other than they claim they’re heading to the future, which just
happens to be Apple’s vision of the future to sell us more wireless accessories.

I happen to think Apple removed it because the Taptic Engine was made larger and width and height kind of ran out.

 

[Atomic1977]

Apple or bust I say.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

See that’s sort of the point of the thread. A lot of the things on your list are going to be an issue in the Android world due to a lot of manufacturers jumping on the Notch bandwagon and Google itself reported to be supporting it. And headphone jacks are coming off. Google took it off the Pixel 2 and 2XL because...no reason really other than they claim they’re heading to the future, which just happens to be Apple’s vision of the future to sell us more wireless accessories.

Like I mentioned, there are some things I can deal with individually, but everything I mentioned I can't deal with collectively.

The removal of the headphone jack won't bother me that much, although I much prefer it not to go.

I can also deal with a notch, but not the way it's designed on the X, that's a huge negative for me. Any phone with that kind of notch, would have to check all the other boxes for me to even consider it.

 

[mi7chy]

Choices are good. I see the reverse. Why pay $300+ for an iPad when you can pay $110 for an Amazon Fire HD 10 with the same dumbed down UI where you can't place your home icons anywhere by default but the OS is more capable and it has YouTube VP9 hardware accelerated decoding?

 

[5105973]

I happen to think Apple removed it because the Taptic Engine was made larger and width and height kind of ran out.

True. Apple has reasons. What reason did Google have to do that THIS year? It isn’t like we are kids who need training wheels to ride our bikes. We are adults, we get on the bike and push off and go, even our first time out on one. If they legitimately changed the design language so that they needed to eke our every bit of space this year, fine, as adults we’d cope. If wired headphones simply stopped being made and sold this year, we’d cope. But there was no engineering or design reason for it for this year’s model. So, why did they do it? They see it works for Apple as a way to push customers into buying their Bluetooth earbuds. I guess Apple did have the courage. The courage to annoy and inconvenience a good segment of their customers and pave the way for Google to do the same.

Apple also has reasons for their notch. Essential has reasons for their notch. But suddenly notches are springing up everywhere even when there’s still a chin/bottom bezel. WTH, Android dudes?

I can see the point everyone else is making—that even with the convergence toward common traits and features, Android phones retain enough unique advantages to remain a viable and necessary alternative.

But I still think the concern is valid that there are too many increasing points of convergence between the two camps. In some cases it’s a convergence toward features that might be an awkward fit for Android, because they sacrifice key advantages, just for the sake of change.

 

[Michael Goff]

True. Apple has reasons. What reason did Google have to do that THIS year? It isn’t like we are kids who need training wheels to ride our bikes. We are adults, we get on the bike and push off and go, even our first time out on one. If they legitimately changed the design language so that they needed to eke our every bit of space this year, fine, as adults we’d cope. If wired headphones simply stopped being made and sold this year, we’d cope. But there was no engineering or design reason for it for this year’s model. So, why did they do it? They see it works for Apple as a way to push customers into buying their Bluetooth earbuds. I guess Apple did have the courage. The courage to annoy and inconvenience a good segment of their customers and pave the way for Google to do the same.

Apple also has reasons for their notch. Essential has reasons for their notch. But suddenly notches are springing up everywhere even when there’s still a chin/bottom bezel. WTH, Android dudes?

I can see the point everyone else is making—that even with the convergence toward common traits and features, Android phones retain enough unique advantages to remain a viable and necessary alternative.

But I still think the concern is valid that there are too many increasing points of convergence between the two camps. In some cases it’s a convergence toward features that might be an awkward fit for Android, because they sacrifice key advantages, just for the sake of change.

Companies think it’s okay to do something because Apple does it. They don’t realize that most people who buy Apple things do it because iOS and are at beat apathetic about the notch and lack of headphones.

Also, USB C is worse for sound than Lightning but they both suck for different reasons.

 

[Tsepz]

Too many reasons I can't make the iPhone my daily driver ..........

Cellular data restrictions (Can't believe this still exists)
Lighting port/cable
Limited Bluetooth
Limited NFC
No option to change default apps
Issues with 3rd party cloud services auto uploading in the background
No true call recording apps
No Always On Display (as of yet)
Lack of finger sensor on the X and upcoming models
No SD external storage
No split-screen multitasking
Notifications suck (Apple really needs to revamp that)
Removal of headphone jack
Fast charging is a hoax, it's not true fast charging
Notch on the X and upcoming models
No OTG ... You can buy specific USB/lighting drive, matched with an app, but even then it barley works
Siri lacks compatibility with other music services like Spotify and Google Music. Only plays playlists from Apple Music.
No WPS push button compatibility. Yes I actually use this often as I travel a lot and many people and businesses can't remember their wifi password offhand.
Ever since the 6S, I've experienced weaker signal strength on iPhones versus Android flagships. People I know with the X say they still experience weaker signal.
No mirror/cast support to anything non-Apple. Yes some apps can work, but they pretty much suck compared to natively doing so on Android.
Compatibility with non-Apple wearables limited.
Very limited homescreen customization
No manual pro-mode in the default camera UI
And a bunch of other small things, like fragmented placement of settings, inconsistent back button placement & swipe, etc ............


Now I can deal with several things without a problem. Only several things on the list are a big deal for me. But when you lump them all together, my experience with the iPhone gets frustrating when used as my daily driver. Which is why I use my iPhone just occasionally nowadays.

This.

And believe it or not it there is still stuff missing in this list such as Data Management of Individual WiFi Networks & Hotspots, which comes in very useful in countries where data tends to be expensive.

 

[Puddled]

I tried to clear some stuff (Cache) from my daughters iphone this weekend.
I gave up. The only way to do it would be to delete the app.


Android is far, far in front of IOS when it comes to device management.

 

[lowendlinux]

I won't buy a phone with a locked bootloader so that leaves only Android, when that is not available anymore I'll probably just get an iPhone

 

[Regime2008]

Companies think it’s okay to do something because Apple does it. They don’t realize that most people who buy Apple things do it because iOS and are at beat apathetic about the notch and lack of headphones.

Also, USB C is worse for sound than Lightning but they both suck for different reasons.

Out of curiosity, what makes you believe that?

 

[widgeteer]

Maybe aesthetically Android OEMs are moving closer to Apple, but that's about it. Android OS hasn't become more restrictive at all. Some devices may come with locked bootloaders, but that has to be the biggest "who gives a eff" want by the tiniest subsection of users.
[doublepost=1523888296][/doublepost]

Choices are good. I see the reverse. Why pay $300+ for an iPad when you can pay $110 for an Amazon Fire HD 10 with the same dumbed down UI where you can't place your home icons anywhere by default but the OS is more capable and it has YouTube VP9 hardware accelerated decoding?

Because the Fire HD 10, like virtually all Android tablets, is hot garbage.

 

[bigjnyc]

I didn’t read the post as saying we should get rid of Android. Where did you get that?

I guess I was answering this question:

what is the point of Android anymore?

I should have worded my response differently, what I was trying to convey is that the point of Android is to provide a competitor to iOS/Apple. Without it, well you know what happens if a greedy company had no competition.