Android Sunday Rant/Rage (Jul 25 2021) - Your weekly complaint thread! |
- Sunday Rant/Rage (Jul 25 2021) - Your weekly complaint thread!
- Google tried browser re-design, like Safari, internally but decided against it.
- Camera test: 2013 contender challenges the reigning champion
- Why Samsung phones failed in China
- The Surface Duo is wayyy better than some wankers make it out
- Another anti-competitive way Google is very silently using to "steal" users from third party stores back to the Play Store (and the possible profits related to it) ?
- Why i think Android Dessert names should come back.
| Sunday Rant/Rage (Jul 25 2021) - Your weekly complaint thread! Posted: 25 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT Note 1. [Join our IRC, and Telegram chat-rooms]Please see our wiki for instructions. This weekly Sunday thread is for you to let off some steam and speak out about whatever complaint you might have about:
Rules 1) Please do not target any individuals or try to name/shame any individual. If you hate Google/Samsung/HTC etc. for one thing that is fine, but do not be rude to an individual app developer. 2) If you have a suggestion to solve another user's issue, please leave a comment but be sure it's constructive! We do not want any flame-wars. 3) Be respectful of other's opinions. Even if you feel that somebody is "wrong" you don't have to go out of your way to prove them wrong. Disagree politely, and move on. [link] [comments] | ||
| Google tried browser re-design, like Safari, internally but decided against it. Posted: 25 Jul 2021 09:47 AM PDT
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| Camera test: 2013 contender challenges the reigning champion Posted: 25 Jul 2021 06:47 PM PDT
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| Why Samsung phones failed in China Posted: 25 Jul 2021 09:19 AM PDT
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| The Surface Duo is wayyy better than some wankers make it out Posted: 25 Jul 2021 08:56 AM PDT TL;DR -- Bought Surface Duo on launch, returned it, bought again 3 weeks ago. Best phone I've ever had despite each and every shortcoming. It's a digital moleskine well integrated with OneNote and I can't go back to smaller / non-stylus input phones. Professionals should be intrigued af imo. 1st Go On Release = Uber Premium (And Uber Quick Price Drops)Originally got it on release but had to return it to claim the $200 price drop within first 60 days of release. After returning it, I decided to stick with Pixel 4 and not re-order since $1.5k was a lot for an upgrade I didn't really need. I would've kept it if upgrading from Pixel gen 1 or 2 but Pixel 4 was too unnecessary at the time (and camera was still top tier). However, I couldn't stop thinking about the extra screen real estate and stylus input after returning and going back to the Pixel 4. See here. Having a high-quality camera is nice but I read / write on my phone way more than I take pictures. If you read a lot on your phone and want to have stylus input, the Duo is simply a brilliant device and I never stopped missing those features after returning it. My work means lots of calls and notes and whatnot (non-practicing attorney its kinda unique idk) so having a truly-digital-always-on-you-OneNote-integrated-moleskine is a godsend evolution vs. any other recent phone improvements in the past 5+ years for me. You tell me you're building a moleskine like that and I'd gladly sacrifice some things (e.g. wireless charging) for a usable, holdable, brilliant digital moleskine device. MS delivered sleeeeeeek hardware that fits that bill. The Duo x2 Post-Pixel 4I returned it originally, but the Duo has been on fire sale so I scooped one up at a rate where I didn't feel guilty spending on a phone upgrade that I didn't truly need. And goddamn am I glad to have it back. The hardware still feels absolutely incredible in your hand and is truly a technological marvel IMO (the thinness, holdability, and relative lightness cannot be understated). Gorilla glass coating all around the outside along with them sexy hinges give it the first iPhone feeling all over again for me where you feel "this is the future". I personally haven't been bothered whatsoever by processor/RAM. Simply put plenty smooth unless you're eyeballing side-by-side comparisons measuring by milliseconds (and again, willing to sacrifice 120hz, etc. performance luxuries for dual-screen real estate productivity). Camera isn't great but its not quite useless trash. I picked up a Panasonic Lumix and often wear Snapchat Spectacles so I'm good there anyway if you want technically the best shot do something like that. Lack of NFC doesn't really affect either given I have a Fitbit Sense. Wireless charging is missed -- but again if I wanted to build a device prioritizing stylus input and screen estate AND holdability/form factor I'm definitely willing to forgo niceties like that for a non-wireless charging phone battery that gets me through all day (I simply charge each night now vs as needed on my desk). The OS overall certainly still has some hiccups but nothing debilitating and much better than before; "issues" primarily center on the system just geeking out about which screen you want to input on from time to time. You're definitely early-adopting here still so if you have no tech patience then stay away. Battery life is also some of the most predictable I've ever had -- lasts all day for my workflow/SoT and depletes at an extremely steady rate. Pixel 4 extreme battery saver is missed but the extreme consistency of the Duo's battery depletion always has me feeling confident re: estimating charge levels prior to outings away from outlets (and I have power bricks in all my bags, etc). The 3:2 screens deserve way more praise. The Pixel 4 has 120 hz yada yada but I don't miss that anywhere near as much as I missed a) more screen estate (obviously since I'm beating this cannot-be-understated point to death), b) extremely vibrant colors and darks that pop in dark and extremely bright daylight scenarios, and c) Surface-style stylus input that 1) does wrist recognition extremely welllll and 2) reacts to handwriting w/ AI straightening, etc. MS knows screen tech for tablet/stylus hybrid devices and it really, really, reallllly shows with a surprisingly practical phone with hardware that absolute delights in everyday scenarios. Gamepass Entertainment Shift Major Plus TooThe cherry on top has been Gamepass games in a 3DS form. See here. Absolutely incredible for short burst of gaming. Gamepass in general is a ridiculous value but I was surprised how having it portable with decent input helped me further delve into games I wouldn't normally (esp. since never a question of hard drive space). I'm a big casual gamer (i.e. frequently play short, single player games on easy) so this turns my productivity device into a whole other entertainment thing (video viewing also incredible because a) hinge kick stand action and b) huuuuuge screen real estate) Having access to Gamepass with 3DS style touch input that games are now being built around is lowkey exciting IMO. Not Made For EveryoneI feel like folks have mistaken expectations about the device. You're def early adopting re: software jank (I remember 0 apps for iPhone days...) and it's a bigass phone. You're sacrificing the currently very refined phone systems for a somewhat surprisingly usable, versatile, productivity-based "phone" system. Be aware there are real sacrifices (worse cell signal, bluetooth, camera, etc vs. my previous Pixel 4) BUT note things e.g. "big bezel" complaint -- bezels are hugely helpful for stylus input tech (if you've ever actually used it...). Idealized world is edge-to-edge like a piece of paper but what a stupid thing to prioritize IMO -- if bezels help with not only stylus input but battery life, screen quality, thinness and holdability, etc. then give me some bezels and other cool major functionality improvements. If you prioritize things like I do then this is a super dank phone that keeps you in a pretty pure Google ecosystem (Google Workspace, etc.) well supplemented by Microsoft (OneNote, Office, etc.). If you're not looking for something to supplement your workflow (or entertainment flow) and want extreme battery life or camera quality or compactness or something then stay away -- it's an extreme phone. Foldable devices are undoubtedly the future for all consumers (e.g. Moto's Razr foldable for minimalists, Samsung Fold for consumption junkies, etc.). This is the dual screen for professionals and it's brilliant IMO. [link] [comments] | ||
| Posted: 25 Jul 2021 07:36 AM PDT EDIT: Alright, you guys for sure know better than me. Seems like this is a non-issue, and it's "all working as expected". This should only happen for apps that have the exact same build and signature on both stores (apps that are 1:1 clones on each store, devs submitted the exact same package for both stores). I still feel like the Play Store should just ask like the Galaxy Store does, since Android knows the source from which any app was installed. If an app has a different build (for example it has different in-app purchases APIs) it will have a different package and signature, and Play Store won't even recognize it is installed, and won't touch it. So yea, Google (and others, Samsung too) is far from perfect in terms of abuse of power, but on this aspect I think everything is fine. This behavior still feels extremely anti-competitive though... This was just mostly a very big question that me and a lot of people on r/Samsung had and I am thankful for all the helpful answers and insights on this topic. I created this post exactly because I couldn't find any answers to this anywhere. Thank you all, again. I've discussed this already on the Samsung subreddit since I first noticed this happening between the Galaxy Store and Play Store, and people over there recommended me to post this here too. I'll leave a link to my other post at the end. Since I've basically described everything in detail in that other post, and I don't want to literally copy past it, I'll just keep it simple here and state the important points: - Basically me and many other users have started to notice that in the past months, when you install some apps from third party sources that are not the Play Store, like the Galaxy Store, sometimes the Play Store eventually shows an "update" for that exact app on it. You cannot ignore or skip it, and if you have the auto-updates enabled on the Play Store (like most people do since it's on by default) it will eventually update it, effectively replacing the Galaxy Store version of the app with the Play Store version. We should note that many times, Samsung does partnerships with many apps so they come to the Galaxy Store, and many apps and games offer special in-app bonuses or discounts exclusive for Galaxy Store users. Samsung invests a lot of money into this so that they can convince users to choose the Galaxy Store instead of the Play Store. This is done on purpose so that Samsung themselves can later get some profits because of the 30% in-app purchases tax they have on their store, so it's for they own interest to get as many users as possible on the Galaxy Store. However, Google is silently "converting" some of these apps back to their Play Store version, making the using lose any special promotions for Galaxy Store users and grabbing back any in-app purchases tax that Samsung could be getting out of them. The problem here is that Google is doing this without asking anyone for consent and most people won't ever notice this happening. The app is the same exact version on both stores but still shows as an "update" on the Play Store. Android itself knows the origin of any app when you go into that app info in settings, and check where it's installed from, at the bottom. The Galaxy Store uses this info and refuses to auto update any Play Store app with the message "Can't auto update: Installed from Google Play Store", but still shows the update button so the users can choose by themselves to update it, that converts that app to the Galaxy Store version. This gives users choice and only updates with their consent, which is the fair and legal way to do it. This proves that this functionality exists on Android, but Play Store is ignoring it on purpose. If it's a bug, it's a bug they are "forgetting to fix" on purpose for many months now, because it's actually benefiting them. This goes in line with the current anti-trust cases that are going on against Google and it's Play Store abusive practices, so it wouldn't surprise me if this was just one more of those abusive ways Google is trying to do to keep users glued to the Play Store. My original post about this on r/Samsung : Note: This is just a rumour and nothing is certain, we might very well be all wrong. But that doesn't make this any less creepy. There could also be some kind of partnership between Google and Samsung about this stuff, but if it was true it wouldn't make sense for Samsung to keep investing millions into Galaxy Store partnerships and promotions to get new users, since they will "run away" to the Play Store again before giving Samsung any profit. Some users also stated that sometimes this also happens with sideloaded apps. However this can be normal if the apps are 1:1 mirrors of the ones uploaded to the Play Store, with the correct and same signatures. Still, Google is changing app sources without user's consent and it's still very wrong. [link] [comments] | ||
| Why i think Android Dessert names should come back. Posted: 25 Jul 2021 06:28 AM PDT So today i was scrolling through Reddit and i found a post about why older phones are cooler than newer phones. They had interesting designs, they were more compact than newer phones that are almost just huge pieces of screen. And this post got me thinking about the good old days of Android Lollipop and Marshmallow. Some people would say that these names have no relevance and the fact that Android versions just have numbers makes no difference. But maybe there are still some users out there who will disagree. For me the dessert names used to be part of Android, something that gave the OS personality and made it stand out even more than other operating systems. Also these dessert names bring so much nostalgia for me from the days when almost any Android version used to bring a lot of features, but never integrated customization so people used custom launchers more than ever. Since Android Pie these updates became minor, bringing only small improvements and design changes. This happened until this year when Google unveiled Android 12. Being considered by most one of the biggest major software updates in years, i thought it would be a good time to bring back these names to the public (because internally, Android 10, Android 11 and even the new Android 12 have dessert names). Yes, maybe for some people it was confusing, but most of these people just used the phone for communicating with others. Unfortunately, this phenomenon of small improvements happens with OEMs like One UI and MIUI too(this will most likely change when Android 12 with Material You rolls out) , meaning that the software is already pretty mature and good enough. But i think that something like a dessert name would give everyone that nostalgia for those days when Samsung was adding too much features in Touchwiz, or Google was just launching the Material Theme. I know it's kinda late to call Android 12 Snow Cone (this is the dessert name used internally), i'm hoping that someone from Android will see the post or bring the names back with Android 13 🙏. [link] [comments] |
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