5 ms·

I have a Mac and Android. I dislike iOS because of the locked-down nature, something that (arguably) macOS and Android don't have.

quenix 6y ago
iOS has certainly opened up over the years. Perhaps apart from the lack of side loading capability, what kind of freedom do you seek?
- cercatrova 6y ago
  Sideloading, the freedom to run Linux directly on the device, much better widgets (I use widgets heavily in my workflow, such as showing my account balances, calendar, todo list, habit tracking, etc) are the freedoms I seek.
  - bzb5 6y ago
    Widgets will significantly improve in iOS 14.
    - cercatrova 6y ago
      I've seen iOS 14, it's still inferior to Android. Widgets in iOS 14 will still have to conform to the size of the home screen apps, which is a 6x4 grid. In Android, you can make them whatever size you want and place them wherever, especially with Nova Launcher or similar.
- Yetanfou 6y ago
  Isn't that one of the biggest issues without which any other 'openness' is not worth that much? By having all software distribution going through a single channel which rather arbitrarily gets to choose what is allowed and what is not the system ends up being controlled by that channel.
- spurgu 6y ago
  Uh, would be nice to be able to change the default browser and SMS app, for starters.
  - mehrdada 6y ago
    Default browser and mail reader can be set as of iOS 14. SMS app I don’t get why it is critical to be modifiable to be perfectly honest if the OS ships with a decent one. I get it on Android because the default app is shit.
    - FractalParadigm 6y ago
      My biggest problem is that, something like a third party browser can't be more than a re-skin of Safari. Apple's App Store guildelines require something like Firefox for iOS to use WebKit, and doesn't allow add-ons period. In this instance, I would argue the default browser can only be skinned and not changed outright. It's the same gripe I have with iOS keyboards, unless something has changed there. The feel and layout of every third party keyboard is the same as the default keyboard. During my short period with an iPhone I gave Gboard for iOS a try, tweaking it as much as I could to get a similar experience to what I was used to on Android. In the end it still felt like the system keyboard more than anything.
      - spurgu 6y ago
        Yeah I did this with Swiftkey but was quite disappointed. I regularly communicate in four languages and the iOS version only allowed two or three simultaneously so had to constantly switch. On Android I'm running four without issues (might be able to add more, haven't tried). And the "long-press top row for numbers" option wasn't available so had to switch back and forth between keyboard and "numpad" when typing something like passwords or strings with a lot of numbers. And the default SMS app being fine? Such an annoyance every time I had to use it. Don't remember specifics (as I was just trying to get away from it ASAP) but there was at least some kind of cringy emoji bar always visible. Horrible experience all in all and I'm so glad to be back on Android.
    - 6y ago
- mrastro 6y ago
  Side loading, ability to access the underlying file system, have their applications like iMessage work across platforms, have better support for cross-OS applications are a few that come to mind.
  - sbuk 6y ago
    What part of the "underlying file system" do you want/need to access? What do you mean by "have better support for cross-OS applications"?
  - quenix 6y ago
    There is now a pretty functional file manager (since iOS 12 I think). It lets you download, upload, zip, unzip, do folder management, export, etc. What other file functionality do you need on a mobile phone?
- codegladiator 6y ago
  > what kind of freedom do you seek I want spywares/adwares to be allowed without any restriction so I can install a adblock pro to block them.
  - lostlogin 6y ago
    Could you explain this in more depth please? I’m baffled. You want the bad thing so you can block it and not have it?
    - codegladiator 6y ago
      I should have added /s
GeekyBear 6y ago
Jailbreaking an iDevice could not be simpler. If you pick up a used iPhone X, it is impossible for Apple to prevent you from sideloading whatever you like on the device.
- cercatrova 6y ago
  Not really, exploits are very quickly patched up by Apple. You would have to get a used phone that is also not on the latest version of iOS, something that might be harder than you would think.
  - GeekyBear 6y ago
    >exploits are very quickly patched up by Apple Nope. The SOC on the iPhone X has an unpatchable Boot ROM flaw. There is nothing Apple can do to prevent you from sideloading anything you like. This will work with any future version of the OS.
    - cercatrova 6y ago
      Interesting, I didn't know that about the X. Regardless, why would I buy then jailbreak a 2 year old phone when I could just buy the latest Android and sideload and add adblockers without even rooting it?
      - GeekyBear 6y ago
        I can see where being two years old would be a drawback in the Android world, with a limited software support window and limited SOC performance. However, those things aren't an issue for iDevices. > I dislike iOS because of the locked-down nature If your overall issue is wanting the ability to sideload anything you like on an iDevice, there is a simple solution.
        cercatrova 6y ago
        It's not just the software, I can root and load a custom ROM on Android just as I can jailbreak iOS. The issue is inferior specs on iPhone X vs the latest Android in almost every category for around the same price. No notches and 120hz on the S20 for example, or even cheaper devices. I'm still not sure why I'd go through all the hassle of iOS when I can clearly do the same in a superior fashion with even non-rooted Android. Is it just that you like iOS more than Android? It seems by your comment history that you're only commenting on Apple-specific threads and topics.

quenix 6y ago

iOS has certainly opened up over the years. Perhaps apart from the lack of side loading capability, what kind of freedom do you seek?

cercatrova 6y ago
Sideloading, the freedom to run Linux directly on the device, much better widgets (I use widgets heavily in my workflow, such as showing my account balances, calendar, todo list, habit tracking, etc) are the freedoms I seek.
- bzb5 6y ago
  Widgets will significantly improve in iOS 14.
  - cercatrova 6y ago
    I've seen iOS 14, it's still inferior to Android. Widgets in iOS 14 will still have to conform to the size of the home screen apps, which is a 6x4 grid. In Android, you can make them whatever size you want and place them wherever, especially with Nova Launcher or similar.
Yetanfou 6y ago
Isn't that one of the biggest issues without which any other 'openness' is not worth that much? By having all software distribution going through a single channel which rather arbitrarily gets to choose what is allowed and what is not the system ends up being controlled by that channel.
spurgu 6y ago
Uh, would be nice to be able to change the default browser and SMS app, for starters.
- mehrdada 6y ago
  Default browser and mail reader can be set as of iOS 14. SMS app I don’t get why it is critical to be modifiable to be perfectly honest if the OS ships with a decent one. I get it on Android because the default app is shit.
  - FractalParadigm 6y ago
    My biggest problem is that, something like a third party browser can't be more than a re-skin of Safari. Apple's App Store guildelines require something like Firefox for iOS to use WebKit, and doesn't allow add-ons period. In this instance, I would argue the default browser can only be skinned and not changed outright. It's the same gripe I have with iOS keyboards, unless something has changed there. The feel and layout of every third party keyboard is the same as the default keyboard. During my short period with an iPhone I gave Gboard for iOS a try, tweaking it as much as I could to get a similar experience to what I was used to on Android. In the end it still felt like the system keyboard more than anything.
    - spurgu 6y ago
      Yeah I did this with Swiftkey but was quite disappointed. I regularly communicate in four languages and the iOS version only allowed two or three simultaneously so had to constantly switch. On Android I'm running four without issues (might be able to add more, haven't tried). And the "long-press top row for numbers" option wasn't available so had to switch back and forth between keyboard and "numpad" when typing something like passwords or strings with a lot of numbers. And the default SMS app being fine? Such an annoyance every time I had to use it. Don't remember specifics (as I was just trying to get away from it ASAP) but there was at least some kind of cringy emoji bar always visible. Horrible experience all in all and I'm so glad to be back on Android.
  - 6y ago
mrastro 6y ago
Side loading, ability to access the underlying file system, have their applications like iMessage work across platforms, have better support for cross-OS applications are a few that come to mind.
- sbuk 6y ago
  What part of the "underlying file system" do you want/need to access? What do you mean by "have better support for cross-OS applications"?
- quenix 6y ago
  There is now a pretty functional file manager (since iOS 12 I think). It lets you download, upload, zip, unzip, do folder management, export, etc. What other file functionality do you need on a mobile phone?
codegladiator 6y ago
> what kind of freedom do you seek I want spywares/adwares to be allowed without any restriction so I can install a adblock pro to block them.
- lostlogin 6y ago
  Could you explain this in more depth please? I’m baffled. You want the bad thing so you can block it and not have it?
  - codegladiator 6y ago
    I should have added /s

GeekyBear 6y ago

Jailbreaking an iDevice could not be simpler. If you pick up a used iPhone X, it is impossible for Apple to prevent you from sideloading whatever you like on the device.

cercatrova 6y ago
Not really, exploits are very quickly patched up by Apple. You would have to get a used phone that is also not on the latest version of iOS, something that might be harder than you would think.
- GeekyBear 6y ago
  >exploits are very quickly patched up by Apple Nope. The SOC on the iPhone X has an unpatchable Boot ROM flaw. There is nothing Apple can do to prevent you from sideloading anything you like. This will work with any future version of the OS.
  - cercatrova 6y ago
    Interesting, I didn't know that about the X. Regardless, why would I buy then jailbreak a 2 year old phone when I could just buy the latest Android and sideload and add adblockers without even rooting it?
    - GeekyBear 6y ago
      I can see where being two years old would be a drawback in the Android world, with a limited software support window and limited SOC performance. However, those things aren't an issue for iDevices. > I dislike iOS because of the locked-down nature If your overall issue is wanting the ability to sideload anything you like on an iDevice, there is a simple solution.
      - cercatrova 6y ago
        It's not just the software, I can root and load a custom ROM on Android just as I can jailbreak iOS. The issue is inferior specs on iPhone X vs the latest Android in almost every category for around the same price. No notches and 120hz on the S20 for example, or even cheaper devices. I'm still not sure why I'd go through all the hassle of iOS when I can clearly do the same in a superior fashion with even non-rooted Android. Is it just that you like iOS more than Android? It seems by your comment history that you're only commenting on Apple-specific threads and topics.