What do you think about Android?

[Kella65]

What do you think about Android?

[Kendo]

It is what it is and it is here to stay. Our stats are showing that our client's users are 69% Android.

Only two years ago all of our services were for Windows users only. So when we extended those services for use on all OS and devices, the revelation did come as a shock.

But in hindsight it should not be a surprise because what does everyone do when they are bored... pull out their phone and check for messages, research online or work, either at their job or doing an online course. iOS shows as being only 5% of their users so we can assume that phone cost is an influencing factor.

[ronin]

I really like Android.

My first iOS phone was an iPhone 4 in late 2010.

I used that from 2010-2014 and, after I lost it (it fell out of my pocket in the back of a taxi in Kota Kinabalu!) I replaced it with a refurbished iPhone 4S and used that for two more years.

In 2016, wondering if Android had evolved into a decent competitor to iOS, I bought a Huawei P10.

I was surprised how well it measured up to the iPhone 4S. I upgraded to a Huawei P20 in 2018, .

Several weeks ago I drowned that Huawei P20 (don't ask) and replaced it with a refurbished iPhone 8.

I was surprised again. Compared to the Android I was used to, the iPhone seemed a bit clunky.

Having gone from iOS to Android and back to iOS, I conclude that at some point in the 2010s, Android overtook iOS.

If anyone were to ask me now, Android definitely gets my vote over iOS.

[Kendo]

We are testing Android and iOS all the time to debug our software and I found that the Android keyboard is less prone to mistyping. But apparently Huawei is a bit of a nono when it comes to security checks such as validation of Android authenticity because they have been blacklisted in USA and by Google.

[not2easy]

A few years ago I needed a generic phone for a few months and the Android was free. I disabled all the apps I had no use for and used it only as a phone, it was a temporary thing. I did not like the idea of calling out "Hey, Google" for a search engine.

I agree that older iPhones were more useful to me, today's are burdened by trying to pretend they are smaller desktops. Just because a device can do all those things does not mean it needs to include everything in one place. I liked the old Palm OS..my age is showing. ;)

[lucy24]

my age is showing

Given the choice between a $20 Android I never use, and a $700 iPhone I never use...
Well, it's not a difficult choice.

[tangor]

Personally have no thoughts either way ... since I don't have one!

But I do remain "amazed" at the number of folks I see each day glued to phones of many types, almost to the threat of stepping into dangerous situations!

[Brett_Tabke]

I chased new phones since the late ninties - always had to have the latest and greatest.

Then they started taking away features. Used to come with:

• headphone jacks
  
• a dock
  
• replaceable batteries
  
• a charger
  
• some even came with cases
  

So in 2018, I found a phone I liked (S9+) and 4yrs later, I'm still using it today. Not regretted it for a second.
I assume my battery will fade, but so far, it hasn't been an issue.
I like android.

[ronin]

Then they started taking away features

I don't underestimate the level of technical challenge, but I can think of at least four good reasons:

• affordability
  
• customisation
  
• environment
  
• competition
  

for finding ways to enable Modular Phones to become the dominant paradigm over locked handsets with batteries that cannot be replaced etc.

[en.wikipedia.org...]

en.wikipedia.org Modular smartphone - Wikipedia

[Brett_Tabke]

Modular phones will never work unless there is agreed upon standardization. It is why they have been forgotten.

Replaceable batteries were dropped because dropping in water was #1 cause of failure for phones and they needed to seal up the cases. Also, if a battery fails, they more-than-likely sell a new phone.
Headphone jacks were dropped by Apple to hammer the cc swipe card readers and take major bite out of Stripe. Apple Pay skyrocked after they took away the headphone jacks and sales of over priced blutooth ear buds was a nice add for Apple.

[ronin]

Modular phones will never work unless there is agreed upon standardization. It is why they have been forgotten.

I don't doubt that sentiment with regard to the smartphone manufacturing giants.

But while the modular phone seems like an abandoned hardware trend from the 2010s, Fairphone is persisting in the 2020s:

[sciencefocus.com...]

www.sciencefocus.com Fairphone 4 review: The ethical phone outliving its competitors Can an eco-friendly smartphone compete with the best?

[Brett_Tabke]

Ya, and they will all end up on the ash heap of history. The issue is that these phones are on a path moving to one chip. There is nothing but the battery and charging system left to modularize.

[explorador]

My phone runs Android

• I like it.
  
• No need to buy a new phone every X years (take that! apple)
  
• Does what I need and runs fast (always depends on hardware)
  
• It's not piece of cake to develop apps (depends on features) but it's also not a nightmare, iOS and Xcode are a whole diff universe
  
• In most cases apps can enjoy long term life and compatibility across versions
  
• I like it less on tablets, specially the keyboard
  
• It quickly became a fragmented OS, IMHO
  
• You won't find similar truly powerful apps as you will find on iOS
  
• The TV ecosystem is quite a mess, and there is no easy way to go around this, so, certain apps will run terribly on those systems (aspect ratios, menu, interface, etc)

I was long time Android user and moved to iOS, then moved back to Android and been there since then, still there. In many cases it's not easy not to get a sense of "this is cheap, looks cheap, feels cheap".

[jimji]

Last year I had a relapse and because it was clear I'd be in the hospital for a long time my family folks got me one of the Android things, which I call an Andy phone. Before that I had a smaller communications device that was also some sort of phone, but it was no where near as fancy as that Andy phone.

So I studied the manual and was briefed by my wife on many things about that Andy phone and my conclusion was I was scared as heck. So many informational things were not easy to get to, or simply not allowed to be gotten to. So many things seemed to link this and that and all those this-and-that things seemed to be owned by one company and I just got the general impression that a particular company wanted total control and also wanted the phone owners to know as little as possible about what was making everything tick.

Frankly, it still scares the heck out of me and I haven't had time to do what appears to be needed --- a couple hundred hours of hard studying to get a handle on all that's going on with that little machine. And so many humans are using those little machines, too.

Oh yes, I want one of you wizards here to invent an Andy phone deflector, please. I put that machine on my belt and in the train station or super market or wherever I turn on that deflector and when some human is coming at me and reading her/his Andy phone and not paying attention the deflector automatically pushes them around me. Right now my habit has become to simply stop in my tracks when I see somebody is reading the Andy phone and is not seeing me. It's the safest way. I am not moving and they run into me and it is clear who is at fault and they mutter an apology, maybe, and move around me. But I saw a lady in a car recently that wasn't paying attention and the light turned green and she had to get honked at to get moving. That seems almost dangerous. Like some folks that seem to think they can ride that fancy bicycle and read that love message on their Andy phone and do both at the same time.

"Oh, I love you so much, honey!" BAM and 'honey' is on the ground because 'honey' wasn't watching where he/she was going. (I'll put the male member of our species first, this time.)

Yep, them Andy phones scare me.

[Kuzmenko Vlad]

Looking for whom, for users or for projects? This question needs to be considered ONLY comprehensively! Comparing every android update with every IOS update is silly. Here it is better to consider a commercial and user-friendly approach. In this android has made everyone. What other system has this level of user interaction? Everything from installing apps to setting up the Android camera is OBJECTIVELY better.

[blend27]

What do you think about Android?

Don't say NO to Droid, never, It will bug u with a Cris..Carol song till it is time to wake up and a day after, and a day after.

Everybody whoz spouses name starts with a soft A asked that question before, now that I think of it.

[mack]

I have been using Android since around 2010 and continued to do so with each subsequent upgrade. For many people, the question should really be what do you think of the [insert phone company here] interface because in many cases you are using the manufacturer's UI over the Android OS. The look and feel will be very different between different manufacturers. I tend to stick with stock (vanilla) Android. Currently, the Pixel range is the closest you can get to Stock Android.

The reason I didn't go with an IOS device is because I have never been a fan of how Apple do business. I want to be able to install an app without the OS developer saying I can. If my battery fails I want to be able to change it. If I drop my phone and crack the screen I want to be able to fix it. I know there is Apple care for Apple devices but I literally want to be able to buy a part to fix my own phone.

There is an entire "right to repair" rabbit hole we could go down, but in short, I don't like it when any device manufacturer makes it difficult (or even impossible) for someone to fix their own device or have an independent repair company do it for them.

In terms of the user experience, when you are used to something, anything else feels alien. I had a play around with a friend's iPhone 14 a couple of weeks back and it just felt very counterintuitive. Things just didn't work the way I was used to. In reality, the same would be true if an IOS user was to use my Android phone. It's all about things operating as we expect.

My suggestion is... if you like your iPhone well done, stick with it. If you like your Android the same applies. There is no point in change just for the sake of change.

Mack.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Hate it, screen is too small. lol. I much prefer desktop.

When I'm out, I'm out, leave a message on my home answering machine.

[blend27]

--answering machine--

Yo answering machine is out of tape, so is mine :)

[jimji]

It may not be new, but I only recently read that a portable device like one of these little machines, asked about in this thread, can allow a bad person or organization to track you, if you don't turn off certain applications or such. I also read that even when you think you are safe, you may not be.

I use "bad" in the sense that maybe only health monitoring folks would be "good" if they were using your little machine to track you, if you agreed to that.

I suppose I should look for a thread around here about security of these devices, but just thought I'd add to this discussion, first. We humans sure do seem to be getting ourselves into a pickle with all this desire for convenience. Seems private control is slowly slipping away to some folks at a big company sitting at consoles and doing this or that in/on/to your device, and maybe some things you didn't ask them to do.

I still remember so many years ago, when I was on active duty, having to line up and wait to use a landline to call the states. I don't even think I dialed the number, either. If I remember correctly, we gave our desired number to some fella (there weren't any gals stationed there then) --- anyway, I think somebody inputted the number for us and then told us to go to such-and-such booth if a connection was made. So very, very different from the communications dreamland we have now. Humans are very aggressive about seeking convenience, aren't they? I wonder if that is a good thing for us? Maybe them folks that used smoke signals were the early communications specialists, eh? Or the mountain to mountain flag stuff. Of course, seems I read them folks in Greece had running types for message systems. Can you image the shock of some ... No, better not start that thought here. I'll get in trouble for going way too far off-topic, right?

One thing, though, that camera in my Andy recently was a great benefit when I saw a safety problem the city has to fix and could quickly take pictures of it. So that camera thingy in my Andy is useful. In fact, I think I take too many pictures now because of that convenience. And I suppose it is good for emergencies.

Yes, I remember those answering machines, too. Gosh how things have changed.

[Kendo]

that camera in my Andy recently was a great benefit

Yes the cameras are fantastic... better quality than our digital cameras and they seem to cater for lighting quirks much better.

[tangor]

Phone cameras do a very decent job, but are so massaged to a generic common denominator (low bar) they simply can't compete with "the real thing" (whether digital or film).

Film still exists. For a reason. :)

[mack]

I agree about mobile cameras. They take a decent image, but it's very much a manipulated image. Shoot a RAW file from even a low end DSLR or mirrorless camera and there is a huge difference. Phones are designed to be compact, but there is no replacement for a large sensor.

Mack.

[explorador]

tangor: Phone cameras do a very decent job, but are so massaged to a generic common denominator (low bar) they simply can't compete with "the real thing" (whether digital or film).

Film still exists. For a reason. :)

TRUE. There are huge physical barriers taking place for lens, and it's not easy to explain to the average user.

What most people don't know, it's... cell phone cameras are not exactly capturing what it's there, same as many point and shoot cameras. In the past, those producing sensors tried to make a good job around this, but then changed because the average user is too ignorant (not an insult, but a description) on how to shoot a picture. So, they modified the sensors and the image processors to produce what in average, the user said wanted, or how the user said the photos should look. This got increasingly worse with the introduction of "AI" on the image sensors.

Once you dive deep in the photography field, you discover many photographers praising specific old models, because those sensors (while old, and thus, having less megapixels), behaved better imitating the rules of nature (physics, optics). Today, there are some complaining on Youtube (including details and specifics), on how phone and camera makers tweak whatever comes via the sensor without allowing any user input.

[lucy24]

phone and camera makers tweak whatever comes via the sensor without allowing any user input

Plus ça change, et cetera. A few decades ago, automated film processing could yield vexatious results because they simply averaged out what a picture “ought” to contain. Good luck trying to get nice pictures of, say, the desert night sky.

[Martin Potter]

Something tells me that I should say "Shoot slides instead of film", but I stopped shooting slides myself years ago.

[lucy24]

What do you mean, “slides instead of flim”? Slides are film; they're just positive instead of negative.

[Martin Potter]

You are right of course. I should have explained my idea better. I found (or at least it seemed to me) that Kodak's processing of their slide films was pretty standard. If you exposed a shot for a darker image, you got a darker image, and if you exposed for a brighter image, you got that instead. On the other hand, local processors, even some so-called "labs" here, almost always processed for some "standard" brightness and contrast of the resulting print image. At one time I was doing a lot of nature photography and I quickly learned to use Kodak slide film with mail-in Kodak processing, rather than roll film with local processing. Perhaps your experience was different?

[lucy24]

No, that makes sense. The last time I took a long trip--decades ago, when I had a nice Minolta--I brought mountains of slide film, except a couple rolls of b/w for special circumstances. (I think I used one in Kyoto and the other somewhere in India.) The photo processor may work on the assumption that people who shoot slides know what they are doing, while people who shoot prints may not.

[explorador]

On second thoughts... it's a difficult discussion. There is Android, and Google Android.

Android is, supposedly, an open source project mostly managed by Google, and most of what's around it's Google Android. DEGOOGLED Android is quite incomplete, and it's missing a lot of stuff (you can't install everything and make it work). Cyanogenmode was a cool project but died, new attempts have brought stuff that rarely works, and not compatible with everything.

I know there are some new projects, but I can't say a word because there is no specific port for the devices I own, and thus, I can't test it.

This whole problem about Android and Google Android has been discussed on some articles and forums a few times.