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My biggest challenge with Samsung was the software customizations they put on their phones. A lot of it is just bonafide bloat -- there's even a Samsung Printi

My biggest challenge with Samsung was the software customizations they put on their phones. A lot of it is just bonafide bloat -- there's even a Samsung Printing Service on my phone, and some of it is just completely unwanted UI modifications like "TouchWiz". Samsung even acts as an intermediate layer of bureaucracy that further delays receiving OS updates (i.e. first the update has to come from Google, then Samsung takes Google's update and has to take time to make their customizations to it adding in their Printing Service and their completely redundant Samsung Messages app, then the carriers take Samsung's update and apply their own modifications like restricting tethering and adding Verizon Messages, NFL, and VZ Maps Navigation, all with restricted uninstallations). My perfectly-capable Galaxy S6 will likely never see the day when it can run Android N. I have since switched to the Google Nexus 6P, which has a vanilla Google version of Android, and I am much happier with a cleaner, much more streamlined personal device. On the other hand, given that Android is open source, I'm curious why Samsung can't just put something like Cyanogenmod on the S8 (or their own forked "custom ROM") and call it a day?

massysett 10y ago
They could, but you would then have something like a Kindle Fire, or the touchscreen thingy in a new car: something that runs the same code as Android, but doesn't run Google apps. As far as a consumer is concerned, this isn't Android at all.
- Hydraulix989 10y ago
  I'm confused, you can download and install Google Apps for Cyanogenmod. Is it a licensing issue?
  - bitmapbrother 10y ago
    I think you mean Lineage OS as CyanogenMod is no longer. Google doesn't really care about Lineage OS because their install base is insignificant. There was a time when CyanogenMod started preinstalling Google Apps on their OS, but Google told them to stop doing it so now they just install it separately after installing the OS.
    - 0x0 10y ago
      The closed-source Google Play Services and the Google APIs ecosystem is Google's single life-line to stay somewhat in control of Android. They have been moving more and more core Android stuff into these closed source libraries and making sure the convenience offered to developers is too good to refuse. This all happened circa Android 4.x. They must have realized they were giving away the farm for free to OEMs and so almost all new Android innovation is now implemented in the Google APIs SDK + Google Chrome. Good for google, sucks for AOSP OEMs and developers who just like to look at the source code of the libraries&system apps that they interface with. Android developers got lazy and started adding heavy gapi dependencies in almost every app, so much so that OEMs need to support this and the Google Play Store to stay relevant, at least at this moment. If Samsung, for example, started implementing a Google Play Services compatible shim, then there would be a pretty big power shift overnight. Heck, reimplementing other companies' APIs is par for the course on Android (oracle's java cough cough)
heeen2 10y ago
My wife's note 4 had split windows long before my 6p got that with nougat and even allows her to play youtube in an off screen floating window. So they have that going for them.
bitmapbrother 10y ago
Samsung's version of Android is forked. That's why only they can update their OS and not Google. In fact, every OEM uses a forked version of Android. In order for an OEM to use Google Apps and Services the OEM must agree to the terms in the MADA and pass the Android Compatibility Test Suite.
0xelectron 10y ago
Believe it or not, but, there are people who don't like stock android. They want to be able differentiate themselves. Why do you think companies like Xiaomi, vivo, oppo, etc are a huge success.
- jtmcmc 10y ago
  In part because you can't use google services in China so you don't get all those parts of Android...
- pound 10y ago
  they are huge success not because of software differentiations, they just plain cost less
ptaipale 10y ago
I could live with the Samsung software customizations (I've been able to switch to use the generic Google apps without much trouble). The real pain was their PC software, Kies, which was so bad it made Nokia PC Suite look good. Fortunately, now it looks I no longer need it at all.

massysett 10y ago

They could, but you would then have something like a Kindle Fire, or the touchscreen thingy in a new car: something that runs the same code as Android, but doesn't run Google apps. As far as a consumer is concerned, this isn't Android at all.

Hydraulix989 10y ago
I'm confused, you can download and install Google Apps for Cyanogenmod. Is it a licensing issue?
- bitmapbrother 10y ago
  I think you mean Lineage OS as CyanogenMod is no longer. Google doesn't really care about Lineage OS because their install base is insignificant. There was a time when CyanogenMod started preinstalling Google Apps on their OS, but Google told them to stop doing it so now they just install it separately after installing the OS.
  - 0x0 10y ago
    The closed-source Google Play Services and the Google APIs ecosystem is Google's single life-line to stay somewhat in control of Android. They have been moving more and more core Android stuff into these closed source libraries and making sure the convenience offered to developers is too good to refuse. This all happened circa Android 4.x. They must have realized they were giving away the farm for free to OEMs and so almost all new Android innovation is now implemented in the Google APIs SDK + Google Chrome. Good for google, sucks for AOSP OEMs and developers who just like to look at the source code of the libraries&system apps that they interface with. Android developers got lazy and started adding heavy gapi dependencies in almost every app, so much so that OEMs need to support this and the Google Play Store to stay relevant, at least at this moment. If Samsung, for example, started implementing a Google Play Services compatible shim, then there would be a pretty big power shift overnight. Heck, reimplementing other companies' APIs is par for the course on Android (oracle's java cough cough)

heeen2 10y ago

My wife's note 4 had split windows long before my 6p got that with nougat and even allows her to play youtube in an off screen floating window. So they have that going for them.

bitmapbrother 10y ago

Samsung's version of Android is forked. That's why only they can update their OS and not Google. In fact, every OEM uses a forked version of Android. In order for an OEM to use Google Apps and Services the OEM must agree to the terms in the MADA and pass the Android Compatibility Test Suite.

0xelectron 10y ago

Believe it or not, but, there are people who don't like stock android. They want to be able differentiate themselves. Why do you think companies like Xiaomi, vivo, oppo, etc are a huge success.

jtmcmc 10y ago
In part because you can't use google services in China so you don't get all those parts of Android...
pound 10y ago
they are huge success not because of software differentiations, they just plain cost less

ptaipale 10y ago

I could live with the Samsung software customizations (I've been able to switch to use the generic Google apps without much trouble). The real pain was their PC software, Kies, which was so bad it made Nokia PC Suite look good. Fortunately, now it looks I no longer need it at all.