4 ms·

Now that the nexus is gone what alternatives exist for developer friendly phones ?

by HugoDaniel 10y ago

randomsofr 10y ago
Oneplus
- Eridrus 10y ago
  How are they with the monthly security updates?
- asenna 10y ago
  Have they improved their OS yet? (Cyanogen or Oxygen? I am not sure what it is right now) I got a OnePlus One when they launched (Ditched the Nexus for the first time in years). Can't say about the development experience on it but I've had some terrible experience with their Cyanogen OS. It was fine at first, and then every single update broke something major (Like getting stuck on fullscreen video, Speakerphones not working, etc). The next update would fix it but break something else. I decided to only stick to vanilla Android Nexus after that.. And now that's gone.. sigh
pasbesoin 10y ago
Haven't heard/read about this aspect, yet. Pixels are more locked down?
- archiepeach 10y ago
  One of the things that makes a phone developer-friendly is how accessible it is from a price perspective, i.e. not a £599 price tag.
  - mankyd 10y ago
    Is that true? Usually developer friendly means not-carrier-locked, which has always commanded a _higher_ price tag. Meanwhile, iPhones have no cheap developer option either. When has developer equated with cheap?
    - archiepeach 10y ago
      You're right, not being carrier-locked is another attribute of a developer-friendly phone. I wasn't saying developer equates with cheap, but typically "developer" phones are secondary devices that people feel comfortable hacking on without risking destroying their daily driver. Therefore it wouldn't make a huge amount of sense to pay for a top-of-the-range phone when it will likely be a secondary device.
  - VikingCoder 10y ago
    $27 a month is pretty dang accessible for a developer, in my opinion.
    - apocalyptic0n3 10y ago
      That's on contract. As a developer at a small agency, getting a $650 purchase approved can take months or even longer because every expense is larger than you think.
      - VikingCoder 10y ago
        That's not on contract with a carrier. That's direct through Google. "From $649 or $27.04/month for 24 months with Google Store Financing*" https://store.google.com/config/pixel_phone https://store.google.com/config/pixel_phone
  - pasbesoin 10y ago
    Ah. I did think a bit of that. Agree. Not that I'm defending it, but it looks like Google is moving from being a platform provider to a (for profit) device provider. Given the endless bullshit surrounding third party vendor foot dragging, abandonment, etc., I'm not sure they had any other choice. For my part, I'm done with anything Android that isn't directly from Google (or maybe Samsung, for a phone). And even Google, I distrust, after they left Motorola and my Moto X to "rust" before I was even done with its contract/payments term.
    - paublyrne 10y ago
      And even Google, I distrust, after they left Motorola and my Moto X to "rust" before I was even done with its contract/payments term. The Moto X is still getting prompt updates, regardless of the sale, no? My Moto G does at least. Certainly no rust on it.
      - pasbesoin 10y ago
        My 2013 Moto X, bought in early 2014, got left by Google/Moto/Verizon on the 5.whatever that doesn't fix Stagefright. Until I switch away from Verizon, I stuck my already activated SIM into a Nexus 5x -- the first Nexus to work on Verizon's network. That Nexus 5x just got the upgrade to Android 7. Because the update is shipped directly from Google and Verizon has no control over it with respect to my independently acquired Nexus 5x. At the time I bought the Moto X, from a Motorola then owned by Google, Google/Motorola/Verizon was promising that this new ownership/alliance would ensure timely updates. Yeah... so much for that. Updates came slower, and all too soon choked out.
  - hesarenu 10y ago
    In India you can get a Marshmallow devices for low as $100. Performance is acceptable for the price.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  It's been rumored to be getting much harder, yes: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/178843/20160922/are-you-planning-to-root-the-google-pixel-smartphones-sorry-you-might-have-to-wait-a-while.htm http://www.techtimes.com/articles/178843/20160922/are-you-pl...
dhruvio 10y ago
The Zuk Z2 is good for devs. Costs around USD 260 from online Chinese retailers. Great specs and battery life, easily unlockable bootloader, and lots of unofficial cyanogenmod builds available if you search github.

Now that the nexus is gone what alternatives exist for developer friendly phones ?

randomsofr 10y ago

Oneplus

Eridrus 10y ago
How are they with the monthly security updates?
asenna 10y ago
Have they improved their OS yet? (Cyanogen or Oxygen? I am not sure what it is right now) I got a OnePlus One when they launched (Ditched the Nexus for the first time in years). Can't say about the development experience on it but I've had some terrible experience with their Cyanogen OS. It was fine at first, and then every single update broke something major (Like getting stuck on fullscreen video, Speakerphones not working, etc). The next update would fix it but break something else. I decided to only stick to vanilla Android Nexus after that.. And now that's gone.. sigh

pasbesoin 10y ago

Haven't heard/read about this aspect, yet. Pixels are more locked down?

archiepeach 10y ago
One of the things that makes a phone developer-friendly is how accessible it is from a price perspective, i.e. not a £599 price tag.
- mankyd 10y ago
  Is that true? Usually developer friendly means not-carrier-locked, which has always commanded a _higher_ price tag. Meanwhile, iPhones have no cheap developer option either. When has developer equated with cheap?
  - archiepeach 10y ago
    You're right, not being carrier-locked is another attribute of a developer-friendly phone. I wasn't saying developer equates with cheap, but typically "developer" phones are secondary devices that people feel comfortable hacking on without risking destroying their daily driver. Therefore it wouldn't make a huge amount of sense to pay for a top-of-the-range phone when it will likely be a secondary device.
- VikingCoder 10y ago
  $27 a month is pretty dang accessible for a developer, in my opinion.
  - apocalyptic0n3 10y ago
    That's on contract. As a developer at a small agency, getting a $650 purchase approved can take months or even longer because every expense is larger than you think.
    - VikingCoder 10y ago
      That's not on contract with a carrier. That's direct through Google. "From $649 or $27.04/month for 24 months with Google Store Financing*" https://store.google.com/config/pixel_phone https://store.google.com/config/pixel_phone
- pasbesoin 10y ago
  Ah. I did think a bit of that. Agree. Not that I'm defending it, but it looks like Google is moving from being a platform provider to a (for profit) device provider. Given the endless bullshit surrounding third party vendor foot dragging, abandonment, etc., I'm not sure they had any other choice. For my part, I'm done with anything Android that isn't directly from Google (or maybe Samsung, for a phone). And even Google, I distrust, after they left Motorola and my Moto X to "rust" before I was even done with its contract/payments term.
  - paublyrne 10y ago
    And even Google, I distrust, after they left Motorola and my Moto X to "rust" before I was even done with its contract/payments term. The Moto X is still getting prompt updates, regardless of the sale, no? My Moto G does at least. Certainly no rust on it.
    - pasbesoin 10y ago
      My 2013 Moto X, bought in early 2014, got left by Google/Moto/Verizon on the 5.whatever that doesn't fix Stagefright. Until I switch away from Verizon, I stuck my already activated SIM into a Nexus 5x -- the first Nexus to work on Verizon's network. That Nexus 5x just got the upgrade to Android 7. Because the update is shipped directly from Google and Verizon has no control over it with respect to my independently acquired Nexus 5x. At the time I bought the Moto X, from a Motorola then owned by Google, Google/Motorola/Verizon was promising that this new ownership/alliance would ensure timely updates. Yeah... so much for that. Updates came slower, and all too soon choked out.
- hesarenu 10y ago
  In India you can get a Marshmallow devices for low as $100. Performance is acceptable for the price.
ocdtrekkie 10y ago
It's been rumored to be getting much harder, yes: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/178843/20160922/are-you-planning-to-root-the-google-pixel-smartphones-sorry-you-might-have-to-wait-a-while.htm http://www.techtimes.com/articles/178843/20160922/are-you-pl...

dhruvio 10y ago

The Zuk Z2 is good for devs. Costs around USD 260 from online Chinese retailers. Great specs and battery life, easily unlockable bootloader, and lots of unofficial cyanogenmod builds available if you search github.