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In fairness, a lot of the things Apple added to the iPhone is things which have been on Android for a while. That said, I do kind of agree with Gruber, it kind

In fairness, a lot of the things Apple added to the iPhone is things which have been on Android for a while. That said, I do kind of agree with Gruber, it kind of feels like the passion for Android has burned out at Google and they are just dialing in a lot of this. The Pixel specific updates seem particularly weird to me too.

pier25 6y ago
> I do kind of agree with Gruber, it kind of feels like the passion for Android has burned out at Google This is just speculation... but maybe it's because they are getting ready to finally kill Android and switch to Fuchsia. Android has been getting better over the last 4-5 years and the KitKat days are very far away, but it wouldn't surprise me if Google was ready to start fresh with everything they've learned.
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  Not just that. This is the calm before the storm. Huawei has employed an army of reportedly 80.000 developers after Trump cut them off play services. A big part of that army is working on their networking gear but I expect a new OS to drop soonish even though we haven't heard much about it. It just makes sense for them to reduce dependency. The mobile duopoly is on its last legs and they might as well start competing with themselves. Also I'm sure Google want stricter control on customisation which would be a good thing (easier updates). It'll be hard to take that back from Android vendors but I bet Fuchsia won't have it.
  - pier25 6y ago
    > Huawei has employed an army of reportedly 80.000 developers Any source on that?
izacus 6y ago
What does Gruber, an Apple defender, really know about what Google's attitude towards Android is? He's measuring everything against the Apple stick and is always criticising moves that aren't the same as Apple's. That doesn't seem like a good strategy for a competing product.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  > What does Gruber, an Apple defender, really know about what Google's attitude towards Android is? If a person has a good point, they have a good point. This isn't a very strong Android update and neither was last year's.
  - GekkePrutser 6y ago
    Wel the dark mode on A10 was a huge thing for me <3
    - athms 6y ago
      Too bad most of Google's apps didn't support dark mode until months after release.
      - GekkePrutser 6y ago
        Oh I wasn't aware of that. I don't really use many of them. Just the play store really, I did notice that one didn't support it right away. I don't even use Google Maps, nor Gmail, Chrome or Youtube etc :) With third-party apps there was a bit of a lag in support but the same goes for dark mode on iOS. Even now some apps don't support that. But right now the main apps I use on Android all support it. Samsung Mail, OSMAnd for maps, Firefox (with dark reader extension that automatically matches the system dark mode!), most chat apps I use, password store, MS apps I use for work, etc. It's really amazing to have this. I'm sensitive to too-bright displays and most displays these days are tuned for maximum output, not minimum.
        athms 6y ago
        I can understand if your using a Samsung device. I have a Pixel and Pixel 3a XL, and the pure Android experience has not been great regarding dark mode. That said, I am not a fan of dark mode in general because of the eye strain. I use it on the Pixels because they have OLED screens and I am trying to maximize battery life.

pier25 6y ago

> I do kind of agree with Gruber, it kind of feels like the passion for Android has burned out at Google This is just speculation... but maybe it's because they are getting ready to finally kill Android and switch to Fuchsia. Android has been getting better over the last 4-5 years and the KitKat days are very far away, but it wouldn't surprise me if Google was ready to start fresh with everything they've learned.

GekkePrutser 6y ago
Not just that. This is the calm before the storm. Huawei has employed an army of reportedly 80.000 developers after Trump cut them off play services. A big part of that army is working on their networking gear but I expect a new OS to drop soonish even though we haven't heard much about it. It just makes sense for them to reduce dependency. The mobile duopoly is on its last legs and they might as well start competing with themselves. Also I'm sure Google want stricter control on customisation which would be a good thing (easier updates). It'll be hard to take that back from Android vendors but I bet Fuchsia won't have it.
- pier25 6y ago
  > Huawei has employed an army of reportedly 80.000 developers Any source on that?

izacus 6y ago

What does Gruber, an Apple defender, really know about what Google's attitude towards Android is? He's measuring everything against the Apple stick and is always criticising moves that aren't the same as Apple's. That doesn't seem like a good strategy for a competing product.

ogre_codes 6y ago
> What does Gruber, an Apple defender, really know about what Google's attitude towards Android is? If a person has a good point, they have a good point. This isn't a very strong Android update and neither was last year's.
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  Wel the dark mode on A10 was a huge thing for me <3
  - athms 6y ago
    Too bad most of Google's apps didn't support dark mode until months after release.
    - GekkePrutser 6y ago
      Oh I wasn't aware of that. I don't really use many of them. Just the play store really, I did notice that one didn't support it right away. I don't even use Google Maps, nor Gmail, Chrome or Youtube etc :) With third-party apps there was a bit of a lag in support but the same goes for dark mode on iOS. Even now some apps don't support that. But right now the main apps I use on Android all support it. Samsung Mail, OSMAnd for maps, Firefox (with dark reader extension that automatically matches the system dark mode!), most chat apps I use, password store, MS apps I use for work, etc. It's really amazing to have this. I'm sensitive to too-bright displays and most displays these days are tuned for maximum output, not minimum.
      - athms 6y ago
        I can understand if your using a Samsung device. I have a Pixel and Pixel 3a XL, and the pure Android experience has not been great regarding dark mode. That said, I am not a fan of dark mode in general because of the eye strain. I use it on the Pixels because they have OLED screens and I am trying to maximize battery life.