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The interesting thing I always found with Windows phones was how easy it was to remove any and all bloatware on their phones. Don't the One Plus and Android On

The interesting thing I always found with Windows phones was how easy it was to remove any and all bloatware on their phones. Don't the One Plus and Android One phones come pretty clean with only a few Google apps on them?

jfengel 7y ago
Yeah, and they start in the $300+ range. The others are paid for unremovable bloatware, which lets them come in at a lower price point. The Xiaomi Android One line does manage to price in the $150 range without bloatware, and I'm not sure how.
- goguy 7y ago
  Chinese spyware that doesn't even show as an "app"
  - ShorsHammer 7y ago
    You have any proof whatsoever for that or just a general uninformed guess? I have an A1 and have logged it's network requests all day for fun. There's absolutely nothing remotely resembling "spyware". Compared to prolific unremovable bloat than many premium phones have it's an excellent phone. Ended up buying another for safekeeping if something ever goes wrong with it. Android One, monthly security updates, official bootlock unloader, some of the best LineageOS support around. Compared to nearly everything else on the market (besides Pixels or Nokias) it's an absolute joy to actually have control over my phone.
    - throwaway41597 7y ago
      Not proof, but my Xiaomi A3 (Android One) European version has a couple of China Mobile packages and what I suspect is China Telecom. It also has com.wapi.wapicertmanage, WAPI as in World Association of Professional Investigators! No idea what it does but from the name, it sounds it's security related. Do these belong on an Android One phone? Do these fit with the impression that most people seem to have about Android One?
      - blacksmith_tb 7y ago
        Hmm, looks like whatever that WAPI package is, it's not just on Xiaomi devices, I see it mentioned as bloatware on a OnePlus 7 Pro[1] 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/debloat-root-via-adb-t3946625 https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/debloa...
        throwaway41597 7y ago
        I don't know whether it's actually Chinese (OnePlus is by the way), not that it matters anyway. It has no business being on my phone and doesn't match with what most people seem to think Android One is.
      - derefr 7y ago
        The WAPI you're looking for is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privacy_Infrastructure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privac.... Which, AFAICT, would allow the phone to connect to some Chinese wi-fi APs that were manufactured+configured to use the WAPI encryption standards. You know how sometimes, cell ISPs ban certain baseband firmwares from connecting to their network, such that you have to upgrade your phone's firmware before it can connect? Now what happens if you live in some college dorm that has only WAPI-configured wi-fi APs? Guess your phone's a brick until you can find wi-fi somewhere else! In other words, this is kind of a crucial package for a phone you're going to be using in China. (But also, it's government-mandated that phones released in China have WAPI support.)
        throwaway41597 7y ago
        Thanks, that makes much more sense. I only looked at the domain name matching the package name. I'd still like to remove it but it feels much less worrying.
Justsignedup 7y ago
The problem was that android makers were cooking these apps into the core OS build. Without root you couldn't disable them. An initially it was to allow for custom needs to be implemented, but they of course took advantage. Google added a disable feature. Funny thing is you can disable the disable feature for certain apps.
throwaway41597 7y ago
No. First objectively a non-removable Youtube (/Google Search/Play Store/Play Services/Chrome/Drive/Files/Gboard/Gmail/Maps/Photos/Daydream...) app is bloatware, even if made by Google. Second, the manufacturer is still allowed to put some apps, especially background system apps. I'm not sure what the standard is but it seems to be about user experience rather than security/privacy/user freedom/space. Third, I suspect a lot of the above fit a common description of spyware. They collect my data without my consent or at best with some fine print. Android One is to Google what TouchWiz (or whatever it's called) is to Samsung.
krageon 7y ago
> One Plus and Android One phones come pretty clean OnePlus came with malware not too long ago, so I'm going to answer that with an emphatic no. They are better than some HTC phones I've seen, but that's not a high bar to meet.

jfengel 7y ago

Yeah, and they start in the $300+ range. The others are paid for unremovable bloatware, which lets them come in at a lower price point. The Xiaomi Android One line does manage to price in the $150 range without bloatware, and I'm not sure how.

goguy 7y ago
Chinese spyware that doesn't even show as an "app"
- ShorsHammer 7y ago
  You have any proof whatsoever for that or just a general uninformed guess? I have an A1 and have logged it's network requests all day for fun. There's absolutely nothing remotely resembling "spyware". Compared to prolific unremovable bloat than many premium phones have it's an excellent phone. Ended up buying another for safekeeping if something ever goes wrong with it. Android One, monthly security updates, official bootlock unloader, some of the best LineageOS support around. Compared to nearly everything else on the market (besides Pixels or Nokias) it's an absolute joy to actually have control over my phone.
  - throwaway41597 7y ago
    Not proof, but my Xiaomi A3 (Android One) European version has a couple of China Mobile packages and what I suspect is China Telecom. It also has com.wapi.wapicertmanage, WAPI as in World Association of Professional Investigators! No idea what it does but from the name, it sounds it's security related. Do these belong on an Android One phone? Do these fit with the impression that most people seem to have about Android One?
    - blacksmith_tb 7y ago
      Hmm, looks like whatever that WAPI package is, it's not just on Xiaomi devices, I see it mentioned as bloatware on a OnePlus 7 Pro[1] 1: https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/debloat-root-via-adb-t3946625 https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/how-to/debloa...
      - throwaway41597 7y ago
        I don't know whether it's actually Chinese (OnePlus is by the way), not that it matters anyway. It has no business being on my phone and doesn't match with what most people seem to think Android One is.
    - derefr 7y ago
      The WAPI you're looking for is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privacy_Infrastructure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLAN_Authentication_and_Privac.... Which, AFAICT, would allow the phone to connect to some Chinese wi-fi APs that were manufactured+configured to use the WAPI encryption standards. You know how sometimes, cell ISPs ban certain baseband firmwares from connecting to their network, such that you have to upgrade your phone's firmware before it can connect? Now what happens if you live in some college dorm that has only WAPI-configured wi-fi APs? Guess your phone's a brick until you can find wi-fi somewhere else! In other words, this is kind of a crucial package for a phone you're going to be using in China. (But also, it's government-mandated that phones released in China have WAPI support.)
      - throwaway41597 7y ago
        Thanks, that makes much more sense. I only looked at the domain name matching the package name. I'd still like to remove it but it feels much less worrying.

Justsignedup 7y ago

The problem was that android makers were cooking these apps into the core OS build. Without root you couldn't disable them. An initially it was to allow for custom needs to be implemented, but they of course took advantage. Google added a disable feature. Funny thing is you can disable the disable feature for certain apps.

throwaway41597 7y ago

No. First objectively a non-removable Youtube (/Google Search/Play Store/Play Services/Chrome/Drive/Files/Gboard/Gmail/Maps/Photos/Daydream...) app is bloatware, even if made by Google. Second, the manufacturer is still allowed to put some apps, especially background system apps. I'm not sure what the standard is but it seems to be about user experience rather than security/privacy/user freedom/space. Third, I suspect a lot of the above fit a common description of spyware. They collect my data without my consent or at best with some fine print. Android One is to Google what TouchWiz (or whatever it's called) is to Samsung.

krageon 7y ago

> One Plus and Android One phones come pretty clean OnePlus came with malware not too long ago, so I'm going to answer that with an emphatic no. They are better than some HTC phones I've seen, but that's not a high bar to meet.