6 ms·

Can anyone speak to success or usefulness of any of this Samsung software? In my experience, these are usually terrible and are in any case always worse than t

Can anyone speak to success or usefulness of any of this Samsung software? In my experience, these are usually terrible and are in any case always worse than the Google equivalent. The first hour I own a Samsung phone is spent stripping these back as much as allowed. Do people really use these? Does Samsung really make money from them? Naively it seems like they must if they exist, but I wonder if it's just a continuing bet Samsung is making that has never paid off. EDIT: To be clear, if experts consider the apps to be worse but consumers still use them, this would explain why Samsung builds them. My question is whether they are actually used and, if not, why Samsung does this.

wodenokoto 10y ago
If you install linageOS, the picture quality of the camera apparently falls dramatically, so the software does something better than stock. With that being said, I do know people who prefer Samsung to stock android.
- JoshTriplett 10y ago
  > If you install linageOS, the picture quality of the camera apparently falls dramatically, so the software does something better than stock. Drivers are another matter. But vendor replacement apps seem almost universally worse than the stock versions.
- lake99 10y ago
  I can't speak about Samsung, but the Moto G4 Plus also suffers from the same limitation, that the stock camera app can't use the hardware's unique features. But there are ways to overcome that. It's pretty easy to find deodex ROMs for just the camera apps. That way, we can run the manufacturers' apps even if they have crippled their software to run on only their ROMs.
- iOsiris 10y ago
  I thought it's because they don't release the blobs/binaries for the camera. So when you another ROM, you have to use generic post-processing for the camera
KaoruAoiShiho 10y ago
There are a lot of redditors that love samsung's apps. https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/62dmw4/samsungs_biggest_challenge_now_is_google_software/dflt71s/?utm_content=permalink https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/62dmw4/samsungs_bi... Messenger Cloud Pay Calendar Calculator Video Flow Secure folder Health Internet Contacts Camera All are apps I think are better than thier Google alternative According to a redditor. Also check out /r/samsung
- TwoBit 10y ago
  fwiw VR on Samsung is well ahead of Google.
MikusR 10y ago
I have a Note device. I use S Planner that is a better than Google Calendar. Messages for SMS. S Health in stead of google fit (doesn'waste battery). S note works better with pen. Samsung apps all support spen, you can drag and drop content between them.
- SyneRyder 10y ago
  I'll echo this, I have a Samsung tablet with an S-Pen, and S Note is really good and has improved a lot over the years. S-Pen & S Note were my entire reasons for buying the device. I think I mostly avoid the other Samsung apps though.
jaimex2 10y ago
You are overthinking it. Samsung is like Coke, its advertised everywhere and when it comes time to get a new phone consumers subconsciously go for whats familiar. The apps and what they offer has nothing to do with it.
- Spivak 10y ago
  Right, but the question is why they would even bother with the software. It's a lot of effort maintaining their substantial Android modifications for seemingly not a lot of payoff compared to just producing superior hardware.
  - ftlio 10y ago
    Less leverage for Google, more consumer lock in.
  - ma2rten 10y ago
    They must have some differentiator, so that people buy a Samsung phone instead of an Android phone. If you provide the same software as everyone else you become a commodity provider in the eyes of customers. It's as if Coke had the same recipe as Pepsi.
    - nikanj 10y ago
      There would still be intense brand rivalry. Not everyone can tell pepsi and coke apart by taste.
      - continuational 10y ago
        It's enough to know that they taste different, even if you don't notice it yourself. If nobody could tell Pepsi and Coke apart without the label, that would become public knowledge pretty quickly and defeat the branding.
        tracker1 10y ago
dingo_bat 10y ago
It used to be like that. Lately a lot of their apps are better than Google's equivalent. For example, the browser is the fastest, smoothest browser on any android phone, just slightly beaten by safari on ios. On the other hand, chrome is a bloated mess on Android, even on pixel phones.
wvenable 10y ago
> Can anyone speak to success or usefulness of any of this Samsung software? I'm one of those people who typically roots their phones and deletes all the carrier crap. My Samsung Tab S 8.4 came with so much crap that I literally spent an entire day uninstalling and disabling apps that it came with and I removed almost 50% of everything installed. However, I recently got a Samsung S7 and I was really surprised that I actually liked a lot of the built in software. S Health is a really good health app and, in my opinion, better than Google fit. I just wish Samsung would keep choice available -- it's really hard to use Google now/Assistant on Samsung phones to their full extent and their own S Voice isn't very good.
- sergers 10y ago
  I went Samsung s2, s3, 3 different nexus phones, back with s7 edge now. I don't find there is much bloatware now. And they had good multi-window support, long before nougat update to s7.
praneshp 10y ago
I was on Samsung devices (S3, S4, S5, Note) before moving to Pixel, and at that time, I found those apps crap. The Note was a corp phone, so no rooting; I had to live with Old Android + Samsung Crap + AT&T Crap. I recently got the S Health app to pair with my smartwatch, and it's pretty good. The apps on the watch itself are decent as well.
isaac_is_goat 10y ago
Based on the users that use our dating web app - about 10% of our revenue comes from the Samsung browser. Which says to me that lay people can't be bothered to use anything but the default "productivity" apps that come pre-installed on the phone. It has "Internet" so installing Chrome doesn't matter to them. Samsung's browser is complete garbage too. It's the IE of Android and I hate supporting it.
- zmmmmm 10y ago
  > Samsung's browser is complete garbage too It's certainly a pain to support ... I get quite a few compatibility / layout issues with web sites. However I use it anyway because it has a bunch simple incredibly obvious features that for my use make it infinitely better than Chrome for simple browsing.
  - tannhaeuser 10y ago
    Could you elaborate on what these features are? Personally I'm a fan of FF mobile.
    - tracker1 10y ago
      I actually liked when chrome tabs showed up in the app switcher... I don't like FF much at all, but I at least get ublock on it. So FF is my default (so launches from twitter/fb go there), but the sites I go to directly, usually done in Chrome.
    - zmmmmm 10y ago
      The main one is simple but effective bottom navigation functions and quick access bookmarks. Stretching up to reach the navigation bar on a large phone is almost impossible one handed in chrome but easy with the Samsung browser.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- jessriedel 10y ago
soupbowl 10y ago
My experience with Samsung software is that it is garbage.
- amiga-workbench 10y ago
  Likewise, and that paticular quality isn't limited to just their phones. Samsung Television UI's suck terribly too.
4258HzG 10y ago
Samsung apps are used because Samsung makes it hard to avoid using their apps and custom skins without a bit of dedication and persistence of a reasonably technically savvy user. (Think why people used early versions of IE and then imagine if windows had also gone out of the way to automatically reset the default browser to IE if the user changed it.) I don't bother with Samsung phones after my first, after I found that their custom keyboards started crashing and freezing (Chinese mode), and then started to reappearing over the Google ones I set after each automatic app update. My only regret, is that I didn't pay the Apple tax earlier. (I'm sure there is a more permanent solution to that phone, but why should I sink more time when I'm one update away from fixing some other issue again.) If it weren't for the manufacturers, I'd like how you can customize an Android phone. Its the best feature of Android vs IOS. However, between the poor quality customizations and the delayed to non-existant updates it leads to, it's also Android's worst feature.
- canuckintime 10y ago
  > I don't bother with Samsung phones after my first, after I found that their custom keyboards started crashing and freezing (Chinese mode), and then started to reappearing over the Google ones I set after each automatic app update. My only regret, is that I didn't pay the Apple tax earlier. (I'm sure there is a more permanent solution to that phone, but why should I sink more time when I'm one update away from fixing some other issue again.) Huh? Replacement keyboards are notoriously[1] buggy[2] and[3] limited[4] on iOS. I'm at my wit's end trying to find even a temporary solution. If Apple doesn't sufficiently improve the keyboard experience by iOS 11 this summer I will have to switch to Android. [1] https://www.macstories.net/roundups/my-favorite-ios-8-keyboards-so-far/ https://www.macstories.net/roundups/my-favorite-ios-8-keyboa... [2] http://www.hanselman.com/blog/iOS83rdPartyKeyboardsReviewsSwiftKeyAndSwype.aspx http://www.hanselman.com/blog/iOS83rdPartyKeyboardsReviewsSw... [3] http://bgr.com/2017/02/07/android-vs-iphone-comparison-stolen-features/ http://bgr.com/2017/02/07/android-vs-iphone-comparison-stole... [4] https://www.macstories.net/notes/on-the-limitations-of-ios-custom-keyboards/ https://www.macstories.net/notes/on-the-limitations-of-ios-c...
  - rtpg 10y ago
jankotek 10y ago
Samsung Web Browser is excellent compared to other alternatives. (adblocker, video in floating window...)
- QSIITurbo 10y ago
  Agree with this one. Chrome has a much worse UI (hides commonly used stuff under menus) than Samsung's "Internet" and is just as fast. At least File Browser, Calculator are good. Samsung Smart Switch is just awesome.
petters 10y ago
The reason Samsung bothers with software of their own is that they are a little scared of Google. What if Google started charging a lot for the non-free parts of Android?
on_and_off 10y ago
My experience as an Android developer is that samsung phones are garbage. The ones I tested perform so much worse than same generation Google devices that it feels like a joke. Samsung also does freaky stuff to AOSP, like making some random fields static, leading to some nice samsung bugs. As far as the OS features and apps, I don't really expect anything better from them. Think of a feature, Samsung has probably already implemented it. It is probably going to be clunky and badly thought out but it will be there. Sometimes it leads to interesting things though, like larger phones. There are other shitty OEMs, but since Samsung has such large sales, it makes them all the more annoying to deal with.
- jazoom 10y ago
  Back when I was developing Android apps I grew to dislike Samsung for these very reasons. At least they are now letting people put the "back" button on the left.
- QSIITurbo 10y ago
  As a user, my experience is the opposite (Note 3). And that's what matters in the long run. The question is more whether they can keep up bringing new stuff into their high-end phones. Apple was not able to do so.
  - monkmartinez 10y ago
    Note 3 here too, currently looking at the S8+ with rational techno lust. I am a samsung fanboy, as I wouldn't buy any other Android phone. I may wait to see what the iPhone 8 looks like before I jump... although the pre-order with GearVR seems like a really good deal.
    - QSIITurbo 10y ago
      I'm actually considering just buying a new battery for my Note 3 and S8+ is way out of my price range for maybe two years and the competitors are offering interesting phones at very low price-point. I'm amazed how ahead of time the Note 3 was and is such a perfect phone still. (For example a lot of cores for sharing network connections etc.) It only lacks the fingerprint reader and water-proofing that I'd like. And I'd rather have a phone that allows easily replacing the battery but we'll see.
pjmlp 10y ago
Like in the old days, to differentiate the product. That is the sin of being an OEM, if everyone sells the same Android image, or back in the day the same MS-DOS, there is zero value going between vendor A or B. Well, there is value, if they cared about the quality of the hardware, but givne that most use the same factories, it is kind of debatable. However, back then we could just throw away the tapes, floppies, CD, DVDs that were given away in the Bundle X at shop Y. Now with ROMs we cannot any longer and those pesky apps take space, memory and CPU time. Worse, buying a clean Android device means paying Google for something that costs more than a computer in many countries, with mere two years of OS updates.
mattfrommars 10y ago
I bought Samsung only because of the features they offer! I really like TouchWiz and all the hate is overrated. Stock Android feels featureless and pretty boring.
pmontra 10y ago
The notes app on my old Galaxy S2 was good. I had to look for a replacement when that phone eventually died and I bought a new one. I'm using Private Notepad now. Samsung's calendar was also ok. I wasn't syncing anything. I'm using Sony's one now (I got an Xperia X Compact). It's ok but I think that Samsung's was better.
throwaway_374 10y ago
In terms of pre-loaded crapware, I was really infuriated by their Peel Remote Control app recently introducing a custom lockscreen overlay and ads without any warnings. http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/29/peel-remote-app-upsets-users-ton-ads-lock-screen-overlays/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/29/peel-remote-app-upse...
tyingq 10y ago
Even if the software is bad, it can still add stickiness. Switching away from a Samsung phone would introduce unfamiliarity, so the user might perceive the better vanilla apps as bad. That said, Samsung's main reason for all of this is probably to gain some leverage against Google's fairly aggressive licensing terms. If they can threaten to release a Google free Android device, they have something to negotiate with.
NikolaNovak 10y ago
Background: I'm a computer-nerd, but since Treos and my first HTC G1, I have not been a phone nerd in years, just a semi-power-user. My Android phones have been G1, S2, S5, Xperia X Performance. I've frequently borrowed and used various Nexuses/Nexi though. Verdict: I love Samsung base apps (messages, phone, etc). I've used Nexus, and now have Xperia [don't ask why], and I miss a million little things about Samsung. Changing font sizes in messages, integration between contacts & phone & logs, the design & usability. Can provide examples and details if interested - all of them are LITTLE things, but make my hourly life easier. I do not in general use their "bigger" apps - with eventual exception of Fitness/health app, which I found pretty nifty. I also repeatedly find that I prefer Samsung quick-bar to Google's Quick Bar, as absolutely hate Google's Wi-Fi button and selection. Oh, and the fact I cannot have a simple button on home screen to start USB Tethering is driving me crazy (trivial on Samsung).
abandonliberty 10y ago
The point of the software isn't to be good. It's to lock people into the Samsung ecosystem and stave off becoming a commodity hardware producer - the real threat proposed by Android. For 6 years Samsung has been desperately trying to make Touchwiz sufficiently different from stock to make it hard for people to switch to any other kind of android. It seems their focus was on switching costs, rather than making a better product, as most of these differences made touchwiz inferior. It has worked relatively well; many consumers have Samsung brand recognition. However, every release of Android brings a bit more uniformity.

wodenokoto 10y ago

If you install linageOS, the picture quality of the camera apparently falls dramatically, so the software does something better than stock. With that being said, I do know people who prefer Samsung to stock android.

JoshTriplett 10y ago
> If you install linageOS, the picture quality of the camera apparently falls dramatically, so the software does something better than stock. Drivers are another matter. But vendor replacement apps seem almost universally worse than the stock versions.
lake99 10y ago
I can't speak about Samsung, but the Moto G4 Plus also suffers from the same limitation, that the stock camera app can't use the hardware's unique features. But there are ways to overcome that. It's pretty easy to find deodex ROMs for just the camera apps. That way, we can run the manufacturers' apps even if they have crippled their software to run on only their ROMs.
iOsiris 10y ago
I thought it's because they don't release the blobs/binaries for the camera. So when you another ROM, you have to use generic post-processing for the camera

KaoruAoiShiho 10y ago

There are a lot of redditors that love samsung's apps. https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/62dmw4/samsungs_biggest_challenge_now_is_google_software/dflt71s/?utm_content=permalink https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/62dmw4/samsungs_bi... Messenger Cloud Pay Calendar Calculator Video Flow Secure folder Health Internet Contacts Camera All are apps I think are better than thier Google alternative According to a redditor. Also check out /r/samsung

TwoBit 10y ago
fwiw VR on Samsung is well ahead of Google.

MikusR 10y ago

I have a Note device. I use S Planner that is a better than Google Calendar. Messages for SMS. S Health in stead of google fit (doesn'waste battery). S note works better with pen. Samsung apps all support spen, you can drag and drop content between them.

SyneRyder 10y ago
I'll echo this, I have a Samsung tablet with an S-Pen, and S Note is really good and has improved a lot over the years. S-Pen & S Note were my entire reasons for buying the device. I think I mostly avoid the other Samsung apps though.

jaimex2 10y ago

You are overthinking it. Samsung is like Coke, its advertised everywhere and when it comes time to get a new phone consumers subconsciously go for whats familiar. The apps and what they offer has nothing to do with it.

Spivak 10y ago
Right, but the question is why they would even bother with the software. It's a lot of effort maintaining their substantial Android modifications for seemingly not a lot of payoff compared to just producing superior hardware.
- ftlio 10y ago
  Less leverage for Google, more consumer lock in.
- ma2rten 10y ago
  They must have some differentiator, so that people buy a Samsung phone instead of an Android phone. If you provide the same software as everyone else you become a commodity provider in the eyes of customers. It's as if Coke had the same recipe as Pepsi.
  - nikanj 10y ago
    There would still be intense brand rivalry. Not everyone can tell pepsi and coke apart by taste.
    - continuational 10y ago
      It's enough to know that they taste different, even if you don't notice it yourself. If nobody could tell Pepsi and Coke apart without the label, that would become public knowledge pretty quickly and defeat the branding.
      - tracker1 10y ago

dingo_bat 10y ago

It used to be like that. Lately a lot of their apps are better than Google's equivalent. For example, the browser is the fastest, smoothest browser on any android phone, just slightly beaten by safari on ios. On the other hand, chrome is a bloated mess on Android, even on pixel phones.

wvenable 10y ago

> Can anyone speak to success or usefulness of any of this Samsung software? I'm one of those people who typically roots their phones and deletes all the carrier crap. My Samsung Tab S 8.4 came with so much crap that I literally spent an entire day uninstalling and disabling apps that it came with and I removed almost 50% of everything installed. However, I recently got a Samsung S7 and I was really surprised that I actually liked a lot of the built in software. S Health is a really good health app and, in my opinion, better than Google fit. I just wish Samsung would keep choice available -- it's really hard to use Google now/Assistant on Samsung phones to their full extent and their own S Voice isn't very good.

sergers 10y ago
I went Samsung s2, s3, 3 different nexus phones, back with s7 edge now. I don't find there is much bloatware now. And they had good multi-window support, long before nougat update to s7.

praneshp 10y ago

I was on Samsung devices (S3, S4, S5, Note) before moving to Pixel, and at that time, I found those apps crap. The Note was a corp phone, so no rooting; I had to live with Old Android + Samsung Crap + AT&T Crap. I recently got the S Health app to pair with my smartwatch, and it's pretty good. The apps on the watch itself are decent as well.

isaac_is_goat 10y ago

Based on the users that use our dating web app - about 10% of our revenue comes from the Samsung browser. Which says to me that lay people can't be bothered to use anything but the default "productivity" apps that come pre-installed on the phone. It has "Internet" so installing Chrome doesn't matter to them. Samsung's browser is complete garbage too. It's the IE of Android and I hate supporting it.

zmmmmm 10y ago
> Samsung's browser is complete garbage too It's certainly a pain to support ... I get quite a few compatibility / layout issues with web sites. However I use it anyway because it has a bunch simple incredibly obvious features that for my use make it infinitely better than Chrome for simple browsing.
- tannhaeuser 10y ago
  Could you elaborate on what these features are? Personally I'm a fan of FF mobile.
  - tracker1 10y ago
    I actually liked when chrome tabs showed up in the app switcher... I don't like FF much at all, but I at least get ublock on it. So FF is my default (so launches from twitter/fb go there), but the sites I go to directly, usually done in Chrome.
  - zmmmmm 10y ago
    The main one is simple but effective bottom navigation functions and quick access bookmarks. Stretching up to reach the navigation bar on a large phone is almost impossible one handed in chrome but easy with the Samsung browser.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
jessriedel 10y ago

soupbowl 10y ago

My experience with Samsung software is that it is garbage.

amiga-workbench 10y ago
Likewise, and that paticular quality isn't limited to just their phones. Samsung Television UI's suck terribly too.

4258HzG 10y ago

Samsung apps are used because Samsung makes it hard to avoid using their apps and custom skins without a bit of dedication and persistence of a reasonably technically savvy user. (Think why people used early versions of IE and then imagine if windows had also gone out of the way to automatically reset the default browser to IE if the user changed it.) I don't bother with Samsung phones after my first, after I found that their custom keyboards started crashing and freezing (Chinese mode), and then started to reappearing over the Google ones I set after each automatic app update. My only regret, is that I didn't pay the Apple tax earlier. (I'm sure there is a more permanent solution to that phone, but why should I sink more time when I'm one update away from fixing some other issue again.) If it weren't for the manufacturers, I'd like how you can customize an Android phone. Its the best feature of Android vs IOS. However, between the poor quality customizations and the delayed to non-existant updates it leads to, it's also Android's worst feature.

canuckintime 10y ago
> I don't bother with Samsung phones after my first, after I found that their custom keyboards started crashing and freezing (Chinese mode), and then started to reappearing over the Google ones I set after each automatic app update. My only regret, is that I didn't pay the Apple tax earlier. (I'm sure there is a more permanent solution to that phone, but why should I sink more time when I'm one update away from fixing some other issue again.) Huh? Replacement keyboards are notoriously[1] buggy[2] and[3] limited[4] on iOS. I'm at my wit's end trying to find even a temporary solution. If Apple doesn't sufficiently improve the keyboard experience by iOS 11 this summer I will have to switch to Android. [1] https://www.macstories.net/roundups/my-favorite-ios-8-keyboards-so-far/ https://www.macstories.net/roundups/my-favorite-ios-8-keyboa... [2] http://www.hanselman.com/blog/iOS83rdPartyKeyboardsReviewsSwiftKeyAndSwype.aspx http://www.hanselman.com/blog/iOS83rdPartyKeyboardsReviewsSw... [3] http://bgr.com/2017/02/07/android-vs-iphone-comparison-stolen-features/ http://bgr.com/2017/02/07/android-vs-iphone-comparison-stole... [4] https://www.macstories.net/notes/on-the-limitations-of-ios-custom-keyboards/ https://www.macstories.net/notes/on-the-limitations-of-ios-c...
- rtpg 10y ago

jankotek 10y ago

Samsung Web Browser is excellent compared to other alternatives. (adblocker, video in floating window...)

QSIITurbo 10y ago
Agree with this one. Chrome has a much worse UI (hides commonly used stuff under menus) than Samsung's "Internet" and is just as fast. At least File Browser, Calculator are good. Samsung Smart Switch is just awesome.

petters 10y ago

The reason Samsung bothers with software of their own is that they are a little scared of Google. What if Google started charging a lot for the non-free parts of Android?

on_and_off 10y ago

My experience as an Android developer is that samsung phones are garbage. The ones I tested perform so much worse than same generation Google devices that it feels like a joke. Samsung also does freaky stuff to AOSP, like making some random fields static, leading to some nice samsung bugs. As far as the OS features and apps, I don't really expect anything better from them. Think of a feature, Samsung has probably already implemented it. It is probably going to be clunky and badly thought out but it will be there. Sometimes it leads to interesting things though, like larger phones. There are other shitty OEMs, but since Samsung has such large sales, it makes them all the more annoying to deal with.

jazoom 10y ago
Back when I was developing Android apps I grew to dislike Samsung for these very reasons. At least they are now letting people put the "back" button on the left.
QSIITurbo 10y ago
As a user, my experience is the opposite (Note 3). And that's what matters in the long run. The question is more whether they can keep up bringing new stuff into their high-end phones. Apple was not able to do so.
- monkmartinez 10y ago
  Note 3 here too, currently looking at the S8+ with rational techno lust. I am a samsung fanboy, as I wouldn't buy any other Android phone. I may wait to see what the iPhone 8 looks like before I jump... although the pre-order with GearVR seems like a really good deal.
  - QSIITurbo 10y ago
    I'm actually considering just buying a new battery for my Note 3 and S8+ is way out of my price range for maybe two years and the competitors are offering interesting phones at very low price-point. I'm amazed how ahead of time the Note 3 was and is such a perfect phone still. (For example a lot of cores for sharing network connections etc.) It only lacks the fingerprint reader and water-proofing that I'd like. And I'd rather have a phone that allows easily replacing the battery but we'll see.

pjmlp 10y ago

Like in the old days, to differentiate the product. That is the sin of being an OEM, if everyone sells the same Android image, or back in the day the same MS-DOS, there is zero value going between vendor A or B. Well, there is value, if they cared about the quality of the hardware, but givne that most use the same factories, it is kind of debatable. However, back then we could just throw away the tapes, floppies, CD, DVDs that were given away in the Bundle X at shop Y. Now with ROMs we cannot any longer and those pesky apps take space, memory and CPU time. Worse, buying a clean Android device means paying Google for something that costs more than a computer in many countries, with mere two years of OS updates.

mattfrommars 10y ago

I bought Samsung only because of the features they offer! I really like TouchWiz and all the hate is overrated. Stock Android feels featureless and pretty boring.

pmontra 10y ago

The notes app on my old Galaxy S2 was good. I had to look for a replacement when that phone eventually died and I bought a new one. I'm using Private Notepad now. Samsung's calendar was also ok. I wasn't syncing anything. I'm using Sony's one now (I got an Xperia X Compact). It's ok but I think that Samsung's was better.

throwaway_374 10y ago

In terms of pre-loaded crapware, I was really infuriated by their Peel Remote Control app recently introducing a custom lockscreen overlay and ads without any warnings. http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/29/peel-remote-app-upsets-users-ton-ads-lock-screen-overlays/ http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/03/29/peel-remote-app-upse...

tyingq 10y ago

Even if the software is bad, it can still add stickiness. Switching away from a Samsung phone would introduce unfamiliarity, so the user might perceive the better vanilla apps as bad. That said, Samsung's main reason for all of this is probably to gain some leverage against Google's fairly aggressive licensing terms. If they can threaten to release a Google free Android device, they have something to negotiate with.

NikolaNovak 10y ago

Background: I'm a computer-nerd, but since Treos and my first HTC G1, I have not been a phone nerd in years, just a semi-power-user. My Android phones have been G1, S2, S5, Xperia X Performance. I've frequently borrowed and used various Nexuses/Nexi though. Verdict: I love Samsung base apps (messages, phone, etc). I've used Nexus, and now have Xperia [don't ask why], and I miss a million little things about Samsung. Changing font sizes in messages, integration between contacts & phone & logs, the design & usability. Can provide examples and details if interested - all of them are LITTLE things, but make my hourly life easier. I do not in general use their "bigger" apps - with eventual exception of Fitness/health app, which I found pretty nifty. I also repeatedly find that I prefer Samsung quick-bar to Google's Quick Bar, as absolutely hate Google's Wi-Fi button and selection. Oh, and the fact I cannot have a simple button on home screen to start USB Tethering is driving me crazy (trivial on Samsung).

abandonliberty 10y ago

The point of the software isn't to be good. It's to lock people into the Samsung ecosystem and stave off becoming a commodity hardware producer - the real threat proposed by Android. For 6 years Samsung has been desperately trying to make Touchwiz sufficiently different from stock to make it hard for people to switch to any other kind of android. It seems their focus was on switching costs, rather than making a better product, as most of these differences made touchwiz inferior. It has worked relatively well; many consumers have Samsung brand recognition. However, every release of Android brings a bit more uniformity.