Smartphone doldrums
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The problem I have with Android is that it's not stable. I've been using Android since before the HTC Evo 4G on that crap network Sprint never really rolled out. My biggest complaint - stability. I had to reboot my phone weekly or more.
Life was full of less reboots while I was on the Windows Phones for the past 18 months, but since moving to the Nexus 6P last summer, the regular reboots are back. Now I do think that my reboot woes are because of a game I have installed and play a lot of, and as of yet aren't willing to forgo, but still the phone is laggy and requires reboots often.
I know the Nexus line isn't suppose to be a flagship line, but it really pretty much is/was, yet still tons of performance issues.
My wife is on a Samsung Galaxy S6, she seems pretty happy with it. She's not all into customization like @stacksofplates with app drawers, etc, she's a normal user - wants a few apps, a few games and the ability to take pictures. To her, her phone is fine.
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I do find it odd that @Kelly is demonizing the new Google Pixel line of phones because it doesn't (source unknown) come with pure Android on it. Kelly believes that it has an overlay just like Samsung or HTC do. I'm not sure I agree that Google Assistant is an overlay - but maybe it is. I guess I'll be surprised if you can't uninstall it if it's not part of the base OS, one of the nice things you could do with the Nexus phones.
I'm willing to wait and see before crucifying Google for the Pixel line.
But I do have a 4 month old Nexus 6P, I don't really see a need for an upgrade unless it's going to get rid of my performance issues.
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Other than wireless charging and two cameras, The rest is a matter of UI. Then considering the UI, one platform is more open and allows the modification of that UI and one doesn't.
Some people want that openness so they can bend that system to their will, others just want it to work. Currently it's rare, if not impossible for you to have a system that allows you to fully customize it (think Android) and yet not have all kinds of potential issues.
Back in the Windows 7 days, Windows 7 almost never gave you any fits - it was almost always the crappy ass apps running on Windows that caused issues. So consider that akin to Android - the more open it is, the more variables you allow for, the more likely you'll have issues.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
The problem I have with Android is that it's not stable.
Same here. To me, this is what matters most. No amount of features or anything gets Android up to par with iOS because of this. Until they "innovate" to the point of being on par with iPhone platform, I see iPhone as out innovating them.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
I do find it odd that @Kelly is demonizing the new Google Pixel line of phones because it doesn't (source unknown) come with pure Android on it. Kelly believes that it has an overlay just like Samsung or HTC do. I'm not sure I agree that Google Assistant is an overlay - but maybe it is. I guess I'll be surprised if you can't uninstall it if it's not part of the base OS, one of the nice things you could do with the Nexus phones.
I'm willing to wait and see before crucifying Google for the Pixel line.
But I do have a 4 month old Nexus 6P, I don't really see a need for an upgrade unless it's going to get rid of my performance issues.
Demonizing might be a bit strong...
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
So for a list of features that I'm wondering Apple is missing that WP or Android have:
Notifications - as one who's never used an iPhone, I don't know what's missing there
App drawer - Don't think WP had that, nor does stock Android
Travel time - part of Google Now, not Android
Car location - part of Google Now, not Android
Wireless chargingFeature that works better on ... than iOS
Voice searching
2 cameras - though new dual camera on iphone isn't for 3d, it's two different focal lengthsApp drawer is a default on stock Android.
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package. -
@scottalanmiller said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
The problem I have with Android is that it's not stable.
Same here. To me, this is what matters most. No amount of features or anything gets Android up to par with iOS because of this. Until they "innovate" to the point of being on par with iPhone platform, I see iPhone as out innovating them.
But is this even possible while maintaining their openness? I'd argue that a Windows PC will never be as stable as and iPad, because there are just to many unknowns, things that users can do that they just can't on something like and iPad. So we have to give up one thing to gain another.
But I do wonder, what makes Android so much less stable than I hear iOS/iPhones are? I don't know they are more stable, heck, maybe they aren't.
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@Kelly said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
I do find it odd that @Kelly is demonizing the new Google Pixel line of phones because it doesn't (source unknown) come with pure Android on it. Kelly believes that it has an overlay just like Samsung or HTC do. I'm not sure I agree that Google Assistant is an overlay - but maybe it is. I guess I'll be surprised if you can't uninstall it if it's not part of the base OS, one of the nice things you could do with the Nexus phones.
I'm willing to wait and see before crucifying Google for the Pixel line.
But I do have a 4 month old Nexus 6P, I don't really see a need for an upgrade unless it's going to get rid of my performance issues.
Demonizing might be a bit strong...
LOL, I know - I was just givin' ya some crap at the same time I couldn't think of a less strong description.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
My wife is on a Samsung Galaxy S6, she seems pretty happy with it. She's not all into customization like @stacksofplates with app drawers, etc, she's a normal user - wants a few apps, a few games and the ability to take pictures. To her, her phone is fine.
That's not customizing. The app drawer has been a staple of Android since before Froyo.
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@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
So for a list of features that I'm wondering Apple is missing that WP or Android have:
Notifications - as one who's never used an iPhone, I don't know what's missing there
App drawer - Don't think WP had that, nor does stock Android
Travel time - part of Google Now, not Android
Car location - part of Google Now, not Android
Wireless chargingFeature that works better on ... than iOS
Voice searching
2 cameras - though new dual camera on iphone isn't for 3d, it's two different focal lengthsApp drawer is a default on stock Android.
So to make sure we were talking about the same thing (we weren't) I looked what everyone was calling an app drawer (basically it's the all programs button on Windows). I've seen some Android devices that had a virtual drawer that would come up from the bottom of the screen with apps in it, I though that was the drawer @stacksofplates was talking about. I stand corrected.
And now I'm in agreement with @stacksofplates I would hate having all the apps just scattered all over the screens like Apple does it on iOS.
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
My wife is on a Samsung Galaxy S6, she seems pretty happy with it. She's not all into customization like @stacksofplates with app drawers, etc, she's a normal user - wants a few apps, a few games and the ability to take pictures. To her, her phone is fine.
That's not customizing. The app drawer has been a staple of Android since before Froyo.
Yeah, see above, we're now on the same page.
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And now I'm in agreement with @stacksofplates I would hate having all the apps just scattered all over the screens like Apple does it on iOS.
Ya and in android I can drag the icon where ever I want. On iOS, it forces it to be next in line. You can't move it anywhere else, you can only change the order.
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@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package.
This is true if you're paying Google for access to the Google Play Store, but is it really a requirement of Android OS?
of course the next thing you might say is, well who cares if it is or isn't... who would want a phone that doesn't have the Google Play Store? and to that I'd say you do have a good point.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package.
This is true if you're paying Google for access to the Google Play Store, but is it really a requirement of Android OS?
of course the next thing you might say is, well who cares if it is or isn't... who would want a phone that doesn't have the Google Play Store? and to that I'd say you do have a good point.Google now has nothing to do with the play store. It's the default launcher of android.
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@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package.
This is true if you're paying Google for access to the Google Play Store, but is it really a requirement of Android OS?
of course the next thing you might say is, well who cares if it is or isn't... who would want a phone that doesn't have the Google Play Store? and to that I'd say you do have a good point.Google now has nothing to do with the play store. It's the default launcher of android.
So when Amazon downloads the latest version of Android to build their Fire devices, it comes with Google Now? That seems odd.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package.
This is true if you're paying Google for access to the Google Play Store, but is it really a requirement of Android OS?
of course the next thing you might say is, well who cares if it is or isn't... who would want a phone that doesn't have the Google Play Store? and to that I'd say you do have a good point.Google now has nothing to do with the play store. It's the default launcher of android.
So when Amazon downloads the latest version of Android to build their Fire devices, it comes with Google Now? That seems odd.
So that's a good point. I see what you meant with the play store comment now, I thought you were saying they were tied together.
I don't know what launcher it comes with, maybe it doesn't even have one. However the Kindle has more customizing than I've seen on anything else.
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@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package.
This is true if you're paying Google for access to the Google Play Store, but is it really a requirement of Android OS?
of course the next thing you might say is, well who cares if it is or isn't... who would want a phone that doesn't have the Google Play Store? and to that I'd say you do have a good point.Google now has nothing to do with the play store. It's the default launcher of android.
So when Amazon downloads the latest version of Android to build their Fire devices, it comes with Google Now? That seems odd.
So that's a good point. I see what you meant with the play store comment now, I thought you were saying they were tied together.
I don't know what launcher it comes with, maybe it doesn't even have one. However the Kindle has more customizing than I've seen on anything else.
I've only heard that the Nexus was a close as you could get to stock Android, but it's not stock. It comes with the Google Play store, and all of Google's services tied in.
You mention that Amazon's devices have more customizing than on anything else - really? Have you installed stock Android and see what Amazon did compared to Google on the Nexus line? I haven't - oh and I'm not saying you're wrong either, in fact I'm guessing you're probably right. But all the non Nexus devices I've used have had significant differences between them so I wouldn't be calling out Amazon here. Another thing to remember, the Kindles aren't phones, they're tablets, so the general use case will be different too.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
All of the Google Now features are part of stock android. Just because companies remove the launcher and add their own, doesn't mean it's not part of the stock package.
This is true if you're paying Google for access to the Google Play Store, but is it really a requirement of Android OS?
of course the next thing you might say is, well who cares if it is or isn't... who would want a phone that doesn't have the Google Play Store? and to that I'd say you do have a good point.Google now has nothing to do with the play store. It's the default launcher of android.
So when Amazon downloads the latest version of Android to build their Fire devices, it comes with Google Now? That seems odd.
So that's a good point. I see what you meant with the play store comment now, I thought you were saying they were tied together.
I don't know what launcher it comes with, maybe it doesn't even have one. However the Kindle has more customizing than I've seen on anything else.
I've only heard that the Nexus was a close as you could get to stock Android, but it's not stock. It comes with the Google Play store, and all of Google's services tied in.
You mention that Amazon's devices have more customizing than on anything else - really? Have you installed stock Android and see what Amazon did compared to Google on the Nexus line? I haven't - oh and I'm not saying you're wrong either, in fact I'm guessing you're probably right. But all the non Nexus devices I've used have had significant differences between them so I wouldn't be calling out Amazon here. Another thing to remember, the Kindles aren't phones, they're tablets, so the general use case will be different too.
I've had android tablets from honeycomb up and the launchers all work the same. Kindle fire doesn't have an app drawer like everyone else. It's different panes of types of applications and media. There's a pane (don't know the proper term) for books, video, music, apps, etc.
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@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
I've only heard that the Nexus was a close as you could get to stock Android, but it's not stock. It comes with the Google Play store, and all of Google's services tied in.
So I think the app drawer is built in stock, but the cards from Google Now might be an add on. From everything I can find, the app drawer is material design with search at the top.
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@stacksofplates said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
I've only heard that the Nexus was a close as you could get to stock Android, but it's not stock. It comes with the Google Play store, and all of Google's services tied in.
So I think the app drawer is built in stock, but the cards from Google Now might be an add on. From everything I can find, the app drawer is material design with search at the top.
Now that I know what the App Drawer is, yeah - i tend to agree that it's probably part of the base Android project, and that Amazon removed it.
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@scottalanmiller said in Smartphone doldrums:
@Dashrender said in Smartphone doldrums:
2 cameras - though new dual camera on iphone isn't for 3d, it's two different focal lengths
Which, I think, makes it innovative. First of its kind.
Amazon fire phone has multi camera and its been there for a while
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5821294/amazons-fire-phone-uses-four-cameras-to-offer-3d-perspective
