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Samsung's modifications to the stock Android experience aren't "features"; these are desperate attempts to differentiate itself from other Android handset OEMs.

Samsung's modifications to the stock Android experience aren't "features"; these are desperate attempts to differentiate itself from other Android handset OEMs. The resulting need to reconcile two codebases leaves users as the losers: they wait forever for general advancements in the Android ecosystem.

wvenable 8y ago
The general consensus amount Samsung users from my experience is that that they do these features better than Google. Samsung's multi-window support was better than eventually came to Android. Samsung's handling of app badges was WAY better (message counts!) and that went away with Oreo's terrible implementation (a dot indicating un-dismissed notifications). My impression after upgrading to Oreo and getting more Google-designed features and less Samsung-designed features has been pretty disappointing. I lost a bunch of features that were extremely useful. Unfortunately, as you said, reconciling the two code-bases means that Android updates are slow-to-never. The promise of open source and upstreaming patches for features doesn't happen with Android. Every manufacturer does many of the same enhancements themselves and then Google re-implements it a few years later poorly.
- DennisAleynikov 8y ago
  My feelings exactly, Google literally plays catch up to Samsung in terms of features in it's OS and it's phones. So really I feel sorry for those poor people using Pixel 2 XL which has been slowed down to a crawl by the updates Google pushes out on the regular.
  - 555513 8y ago
    Are you talking for all of us XL 2 users ? Not a single slow down on mine, thanks. Was on beta the first day it was available.
    - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
      No sorry, you might have gotten lucky. But a few major YouTubers have reported this slowdown and I really have no data to back this up. I'm glad the Pixel 2 XL works for you! I just have a personal grudge against the pixel line of phones are they compete with OEM's directly without bringing good hardware to the table (except that god tier camera of course)
      - sigfubar 8y ago
        "Major YouTubers" are also the same people who professional marketers generally place in the "influencers" category. These folks accept payment ("sponsorship") in exchange for publishing videos that are in line with the sponsoring entity's priorities. As usual, one must exercise care when consuming Internet content. Most of it is, quite unfortunately, "fake news" or "sponsored content".
        DennisAleynikov 8y ago
        I'm sorry but what the heck does this have to do with YouTubers reporting issues with their favorite daily driver phones? They aren't being paid by Samsung to say the Pixel is shit. I'm talking about MKBHD and his slowdowns specifically. Also I wanted to ask you about a previous comment you left. What really upset me was you saying Samsung Software is somehow not a feature because it's made by an OEM. Do you think Samsung should not be making features because it fragments the market? Because to me they've really done a good faith effort to be apple in quality of features and ecosystem of products. I really enjoy the care they have put into the user's quality of life. I could not see myself using anything but a Samsung Galaxy.
        cube2222 8y ago
        I for one just don't like the Samsung overlay interface. And my Pixel 2 - not XL, hasn't slowed down a bit since I got it. I do understand the appeal for the note though.
- izacus 8y ago
  My experience moving from a Pixel XL to Samsung S9 has been the exact opposite though. Samsung is a significantly dumber phone that requires way more constant fiddling and care to be a good companion. Examples: - Samsung removed timed audio profiles. I no longer can say "silence for 1 hour" when I'm giving a talk. Now I need to babysit my phone and if I forget to put it back on loud, I'll miss calls. - Samsung removed the automatic power save mode switch. Instead of stretching the last 15% of battery in the evening so I can call a cab... I now have a dead brick. - Samsung broke handling of notifications in Work profile. They're not longer reliably working on my Wear watch. - Samsung removed the ability to browse music in the car via AVRCP. Worked fine on Pixel XL. - There's no way to set your phone to DnD mode while in a meeting automatically. Pixel had it. And I could go on. Saying that Samsung just adds and improves on Googles' features is misleading. They also break a lot of things.
  - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
    I'm on a Note 8, but I can't say I've run into these issues. I'm glad that the pixel 2 objectively works best for you! Timed audio profiles: I still have them on my note 8 but I literally don't use this feature. Automatic Power Saving: Samsung indeed doesn't trigger this by itself anymore, but I do not want my phone throttling itself just because its almost out of battery. There is Samsung Routines which will activate powersavig mode whenever you want it to (any percentage) Wear watches may not work well with Samsung, but I don't actually know the details here. I've avoided wear as a platform since it's not as nice as a Samsung Watch to me. Samsung does have shit car pairing, I'll give you that point. I didn't even know cars could browse media on your pixel. That's cool. What do you mean by setting dnd during a meeting? Google reads ur calendar and sets DND? That's cool too if that's a feature. I guess you're right there's a lot of quality of life stuff Google does right for consumers with a busy life. I feel like Google missing something like Samsung DeX will permanently keep me a Samsung Fan for now.
  - exhilaration 8y ago
    I no longer can say "silence for 1 hour" when I'm giving a talk I've been using this free app for years to do that, try it out: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.publicobject.shush https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.publicobje...
- mrep 8y ago
  Really? I had a galaxy s4 back in the day and I hated the skin/bloatware on it so much I went back to iphone. I recently got the pixel 2 to see if googles own phone would be a better experience and I have liked it as much as my old iphone.
  - josephh 8y ago
    I believe most of the preconception against Samsung-branded Android OS is based on their experience with older (pre S6) devices. I wholeheartedly agree they were bad at it back then (esp. the bloatware that poorly replicated the functionality of various stock apps), but they've since gotten significantly better with their UX.
    - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
      Yes I would forgive anyone who used pre-s6 devices to think Samsung is some lackluster copycat with slow TouchWiz UI and terrible useability
      - wyclif 8y ago
        Why not just flash the ROM and install vanilla Android instead of settling for TouchWiz and other third party bloatware?
        wvenable 8y ago
        Because there is no vanilla Android ROM that works perfectly out of the box on all devices and you need a device with a unlocked bootloader to even that get far.
        DennisAleynikov 8y ago
        I don't consider any of Samsung first party apps to be bloatware especially since I use most of them on a daily basis. While you could consider all the Samsung apps extra and unnecessary - the Android ecosystem is a loose group of OEM's with varying degree of control over their flavor of Android. The base features are always there on all android phones but Samsung personalized theirs. It's a good decision despite android purists scoffing at it. Pixel line of phones is there to satisfy those who really want stock that badly they're willing to buy a flagship phone with budget phone features
- paulie_a 8y ago
  I terminated my contract early because my s8 was a piece of crap. Full of lower quality Samsung apps.
DennisAleynikov 8y ago
Samsung doesn't enjoy being thrashed around by Google making countless sub versions of Android and adding tons of UI updates years after they've made them. OEM's like Samsung must choose to either be horribly behind Google or jumping the gun and having an ecosystem large enough to rival Apple's. I've switched to most Samsung products over Apple and it's amazing how much easier my life has gotten. Samsung really nails the UI of their phones and the experience makes stock Android feel like a buggy unfinished mess.
HillaryBriss 8y ago
> desperate attempts to differentiate itself from other Android handset OEMs yes. i can see it that way. OTOH, I can also see this as the natural tension between Google's desire to force uniformity onto the entire Android ecosystem (good for consumers who want to switch between different handsets with less friction/confusion), and the handset maker's desire to prevent Google from controlling the Android user experience completely (good for consumers who don't want to be totally trapped in Google's vision and Google's service offerings.)

wvenable 8y ago

The general consensus amount Samsung users from my experience is that that they do these features better than Google. Samsung's multi-window support was better than eventually came to Android. Samsung's handling of app badges was WAY better (message counts!) and that went away with Oreo's terrible implementation (a dot indicating un-dismissed notifications). My impression after upgrading to Oreo and getting more Google-designed features and less Samsung-designed features has been pretty disappointing. I lost a bunch of features that were extremely useful. Unfortunately, as you said, reconciling the two code-bases means that Android updates are slow-to-never. The promise of open source and upstreaming patches for features doesn't happen with Android. Every manufacturer does many of the same enhancements themselves and then Google re-implements it a few years later poorly.

DennisAleynikov 8y ago
My feelings exactly, Google literally plays catch up to Samsung in terms of features in it's OS and it's phones. So really I feel sorry for those poor people using Pixel 2 XL which has been slowed down to a crawl by the updates Google pushes out on the regular.
- 555513 8y ago
  Are you talking for all of us XL 2 users ? Not a single slow down on mine, thanks. Was on beta the first day it was available.
  - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
    No sorry, you might have gotten lucky. But a few major YouTubers have reported this slowdown and I really have no data to back this up. I'm glad the Pixel 2 XL works for you! I just have a personal grudge against the pixel line of phones are they compete with OEM's directly without bringing good hardware to the table (except that god tier camera of course)
    - sigfubar 8y ago
      "Major YouTubers" are also the same people who professional marketers generally place in the "influencers" category. These folks accept payment ("sponsorship") in exchange for publishing videos that are in line with the sponsoring entity's priorities. As usual, one must exercise care when consuming Internet content. Most of it is, quite unfortunately, "fake news" or "sponsored content".
      - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
        I'm sorry but what the heck does this have to do with YouTubers reporting issues with their favorite daily driver phones? They aren't being paid by Samsung to say the Pixel is shit. I'm talking about MKBHD and his slowdowns specifically. Also I wanted to ask you about a previous comment you left. What really upset me was you saying Samsung Software is somehow not a feature because it's made by an OEM. Do you think Samsung should not be making features because it fragments the market? Because to me they've really done a good faith effort to be apple in quality of features and ecosystem of products. I really enjoy the care they have put into the user's quality of life. I could not see myself using anything but a Samsung Galaxy.
        cube2222 8y ago
        I for one just don't like the Samsung overlay interface. And my Pixel 2 - not XL, hasn't slowed down a bit since I got it. I do understand the appeal for the note though.
izacus 8y ago
My experience moving from a Pixel XL to Samsung S9 has been the exact opposite though. Samsung is a significantly dumber phone that requires way more constant fiddling and care to be a good companion. Examples: - Samsung removed timed audio profiles. I no longer can say "silence for 1 hour" when I'm giving a talk. Now I need to babysit my phone and if I forget to put it back on loud, I'll miss calls. - Samsung removed the automatic power save mode switch. Instead of stretching the last 15% of battery in the evening so I can call a cab... I now have a dead brick. - Samsung broke handling of notifications in Work profile. They're not longer reliably working on my Wear watch. - Samsung removed the ability to browse music in the car via AVRCP. Worked fine on Pixel XL. - There's no way to set your phone to DnD mode while in a meeting automatically. Pixel had it. And I could go on. Saying that Samsung just adds and improves on Googles' features is misleading. They also break a lot of things.
- DennisAleynikov 8y ago
  I'm on a Note 8, but I can't say I've run into these issues. I'm glad that the pixel 2 objectively works best for you! Timed audio profiles: I still have them on my note 8 but I literally don't use this feature. Automatic Power Saving: Samsung indeed doesn't trigger this by itself anymore, but I do not want my phone throttling itself just because its almost out of battery. There is Samsung Routines which will activate powersavig mode whenever you want it to (any percentage) Wear watches may not work well with Samsung, but I don't actually know the details here. I've avoided wear as a platform since it's not as nice as a Samsung Watch to me. Samsung does have shit car pairing, I'll give you that point. I didn't even know cars could browse media on your pixel. That's cool. What do you mean by setting dnd during a meeting? Google reads ur calendar and sets DND? That's cool too if that's a feature. I guess you're right there's a lot of quality of life stuff Google does right for consumers with a busy life. I feel like Google missing something like Samsung DeX will permanently keep me a Samsung Fan for now.
- exhilaration 8y ago
  I no longer can say "silence for 1 hour" when I'm giving a talk I've been using this free app for years to do that, try it out: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.publicobject.shush https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.publicobje...
mrep 8y ago
Really? I had a galaxy s4 back in the day and I hated the skin/bloatware on it so much I went back to iphone. I recently got the pixel 2 to see if googles own phone would be a better experience and I have liked it as much as my old iphone.
- josephh 8y ago
  I believe most of the preconception against Samsung-branded Android OS is based on their experience with older (pre S6) devices. I wholeheartedly agree they were bad at it back then (esp. the bloatware that poorly replicated the functionality of various stock apps), but they've since gotten significantly better with their UX.
  - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
    Yes I would forgive anyone who used pre-s6 devices to think Samsung is some lackluster copycat with slow TouchWiz UI and terrible useability
    - wyclif 8y ago
      Why not just flash the ROM and install vanilla Android instead of settling for TouchWiz and other third party bloatware?
      - wvenable 8y ago
        Because there is no vanilla Android ROM that works perfectly out of the box on all devices and you need a device with a unlocked bootloader to even that get far.
      - DennisAleynikov 8y ago
        I don't consider any of Samsung first party apps to be bloatware especially since I use most of them on a daily basis. While you could consider all the Samsung apps extra and unnecessary - the Android ecosystem is a loose group of OEM's with varying degree of control over their flavor of Android. The base features are always there on all android phones but Samsung personalized theirs. It's a good decision despite android purists scoffing at it. Pixel line of phones is there to satisfy those who really want stock that badly they're willing to buy a flagship phone with budget phone features
paulie_a 8y ago
I terminated my contract early because my s8 was a piece of crap. Full of lower quality Samsung apps.

DennisAleynikov 8y ago

Samsung doesn't enjoy being thrashed around by Google making countless sub versions of Android and adding tons of UI updates years after they've made them. OEM's like Samsung must choose to either be horribly behind Google or jumping the gun and having an ecosystem large enough to rival Apple's. I've switched to most Samsung products over Apple and it's amazing how much easier my life has gotten. Samsung really nails the UI of their phones and the experience makes stock Android feel like a buggy unfinished mess.

HillaryBriss 8y ago

> desperate attempts to differentiate itself from other Android handset OEMs yes. i can see it that way. OTOH, I can also see this as the natural tension between Google's desire to force uniformity onto the entire Android ecosystem (good for consumers who want to switch between different handsets with less friction/confusion), and the handset maker's desire to prevent Google from controlling the Android user experience completely (good for consumers who don't want to be totally trapped in Google's vision and Google's service offerings.)