5 ms·

Do you honestly think Android and Google are better?

by nuker 5y ago

forgotmypw17 5y ago
In my experience, yes. I can load .apk files directly onto my device, without using Google Play Store, which is optional. An Android device has NEVER locked up on me, demanding "activation", which then makes me wait 10-20 seconds before timing out and not working. (Happened two different devices, and that's just recently, and one I was not able to recover.) I can install different versions of Chrome, Chromium, and even non-Google browser distributions and engines like Bromite, all independent of the OS. Bromite is the only mobile browser I know which has a "View Source" command in the menu. (No, adding "view-source:" to the beginning of the address bar using kludgy cursor control and text entry, is NOT workable.) I can even get a command prompt with a GNU/POSIX environment and bash. And I can sort-of kind-of access the file system with a whole array of different tools. All on every stock device I've ever tried. I recently rediscovered a 2013 device with Android 5.0.1 on it, and I was able to install the latest Bromite on it. It's now my daily driver. I would say that's not just better, that's MUCH better.
- nuker 5y ago
  Google business is built on using your data, it is truly an Ad company, while Apple is not. And common perception of Android as open source, it is not. Google Play Services runs all the time and is closed source.
  - forgotmypw17 5y ago
    I'm not sure what you mean by that, but it doesn't change how useless Apple devices are to me.
    - nuker 5y ago
      I meant Privacy, it is important to me.
      - forgotmypw17 5y ago
        If I only use a non-Google web browser and don't sign into Google's services, where are the privacy leaks? Are you aware that Apple is capable of browsing the entirety of your iCloud backup data?
        nuker 5y ago
        > Apple is capable See my previous reply, they are not in Ad business, they make money on devices.
        salamandersauce 5y ago
        They are in the ad business. They're just not as successful as Google. For example they sell ads for App Store searches. They used to run an ad network called iAd for use in iOS apps but it just wasn't successful so it was discontinued. Apple makes money on devices, but they also make boatloads on selling apps, subs and micro transactions in the App Store such that they have incentives to keep that as closed as possible to keep consumers going through them and only them for mobile software needs.
        nuker 5y ago
        All that you said just confirms they don’t need or use users data. Closed, yes, but I feel safer this way, I’m a consumer, not developer.
        forgotmypw17 5y ago
        Someone else locking up and managing your data for you is great until you want something not in the playbook. I'm sticking with text files and such, which I can manage myself.
  - Anunayj 5y ago
    Yeah Stock Android might not be that privacy friendly, but it being opensourced means I can use something like AOSP if I so may desire and sideload all apps I need. For me, control over my devices is more important. I do not want to trust the words of a random company. Ofcourse there are a few issues with this approach, it reduces the security of the device (Unlocked firmware), Some apps depend on Google Play services and will refuse to run, (usually it's the games depending on Google Play Games). And using any Google Service (gmail, youtube) requires me to install google play services. (Which honestly defeats the whole prupose). Apple's ecosystem is quite "nice" and just works out of the box and they have shown themselves to be trustworthy in the past. I just don't want to be locked to their ecosystem.
- jsjohnst 5y ago
  > I can load .apk files directly onto my device, without using Google Play Store, which is optional. For several years now, you’ve been able to sideload apps on an iPhone using a free developer account. Yes there are caveats, but those caveats have 3rd party MacOS apps to smooth them over. > is the only mobile browser I know which has a "View Source" command in the menu There’s iPhone apps which add an extension to MobileSafari so it becomes essentially a menu item. > I can even get a command prompt with a GNU/POSIX environment and bash. And I can sort-of kind-of access the file system with a whole array of different tools This exists too on iOS. The app is called iSH and is available on the AppStore. It’s not full filesystem access, but neither is your solution from the sound of it.
  - mod50ack 5y ago
    iOS sideloading is awful. What if you don't have a Mac? What if you need to spend a week away from yours? What if you want to load something and forget it? There is nothing like F-Droid on iOS, and there never could be. Granted, this affects enthusiasts more than the average user, but it's still a key difference. At least you can use extensions on iOS Safari now. This is a major step forward from when I last used an iPhone (iPhone 6 before I switched to Android). On the other hand, you cannot switch rendering engines (as I have, to Gecko with Fennec), nor is there likely to ever be a way to install an extension such as "Bypass Paywalls Clean", which I have in Fennec --- an essential for me, among a number of other great FF extensions). As for iSH, I again must commend Apple for a step forward, as there was no way this would have been allowed a few years ago. It's true that it runs in emulation rather than natively as Termux does, but still, not a bad step. (Termux, btw, can be allowed to access any of the user files, but can't touch the root fs on Android without rooting.)
  - Talanes 5y ago
    >For several years now, you’ve been able to sideload apps on an iPhone using a free developer account. Android doesn't require a specific machine to be able to side-load. Plenty of people only own an iPhone and no other part of the Apple ecosystem, so they effectively cannot sideload.
- mod50ack 5y ago
  I use Fennec F-Droid with a custom addon collection for true extensions on Android. (There is a view source one, btw, and I now have an entry for it in my menu.) While I have used custom ROMs before, this is all on a stock ROM Android phone. Any can do it. That's the beauty of it.

Do you honestly think Android and Google are better?

by nuker 5y ago

Do you honestly think Android and Google are better?

In my experience, yes. I can load .apk files directly onto my device, without using Google Play Store, which is optional. An Android device has NEVER locked up on me, demanding "activation", which then makes me wait 10-20 seconds before timing out and not working. (Happened two different devices, and that's just recently, and one I was not able to recover.) I can install different versions of Chrome, Chromium, and even non-Google browser distributions and engines like Bromite, all independent of the OS. Bromite is the only mobile browser I know which has a "View Source" command in the menu. (No, adding "view-source:" to the beginning of the address bar using kludgy cursor control and text entry, is NOT workable.) I can even get a command prompt with a GNU/POSIX environment and bash. And I can sort-of kind-of access the file system with a whole array of different tools. All on every stock device I've ever tried. I recently rediscovered a 2013 device with Android 5.0.1 on it, and I was able to install the latest Bromite on it. It's now my daily driver. I would say that's not just better, that's MUCH better.

nuker 5y ago
Google business is built on using your data, it is truly an Ad company, while Apple is not. And common perception of Android as open source, it is not. Google Play Services runs all the time and is closed source.
- forgotmypw17 5y ago
  I'm not sure what you mean by that, but it doesn't change how useless Apple devices are to me.
  - nuker 5y ago
    I meant Privacy, it is important to me.
    - forgotmypw17 5y ago
      If I only use a non-Google web browser and don't sign into Google's services, where are the privacy leaks? Are you aware that Apple is capable of browsing the entirety of your iCloud backup data?
      - nuker 5y ago
        > Apple is capable See my previous reply, they are not in Ad business, they make money on devices.
        salamandersauce 5y ago
        They are in the ad business. They're just not as successful as Google. For example they sell ads for App Store searches. They used to run an ad network called iAd for use in iOS apps but it just wasn't successful so it was discontinued. Apple makes money on devices, but they also make boatloads on selling apps, subs and micro transactions in the App Store such that they have incentives to keep that as closed as possible to keep consumers going through them and only them for mobile software needs.
        nuker 5y ago
        All that you said just confirms they don’t need or use users data. Closed, yes, but I feel safer this way, I’m a consumer, not developer.
        forgotmypw17 5y ago
        Someone else locking up and managing your data for you is great until you want something not in the playbook. I'm sticking with text files and such, which I can manage myself.
- Anunayj 5y ago
  Yeah Stock Android might not be that privacy friendly, but it being opensourced means I can use something like AOSP if I so may desire and sideload all apps I need. For me, control over my devices is more important. I do not want to trust the words of a random company. Ofcourse there are a few issues with this approach, it reduces the security of the device (Unlocked firmware), Some apps depend on Google Play services and will refuse to run, (usually it's the games depending on Google Play Games). And using any Google Service (gmail, youtube) requires me to install google play services. (Which honestly defeats the whole prupose). Apple's ecosystem is quite "nice" and just works out of the box and they have shown themselves to be trustworthy in the past. I just don't want to be locked to their ecosystem.
jsjohnst 5y ago
> I can load .apk files directly onto my device, without using Google Play Store, which is optional. For several years now, you’ve been able to sideload apps on an iPhone using a free developer account. Yes there are caveats, but those caveats have 3rd party MacOS apps to smooth them over. > is the only mobile browser I know which has a "View Source" command in the menu There’s iPhone apps which add an extension to MobileSafari so it becomes essentially a menu item. > I can even get a command prompt with a GNU/POSIX environment and bash. And I can sort-of kind-of access the file system with a whole array of different tools This exists too on iOS. The app is called iSH and is available on the AppStore. It’s not full filesystem access, but neither is your solution from the sound of it.
- mod50ack 5y ago
  iOS sideloading is awful. What if you don't have a Mac? What if you need to spend a week away from yours? What if you want to load something and forget it? There is nothing like F-Droid on iOS, and there never could be. Granted, this affects enthusiasts more than the average user, but it's still a key difference. At least you can use extensions on iOS Safari now. This is a major step forward from when I last used an iPhone (iPhone 6 before I switched to Android). On the other hand, you cannot switch rendering engines (as I have, to Gecko with Fennec), nor is there likely to ever be a way to install an extension such as "Bypass Paywalls Clean", which I have in Fennec --- an essential for me, among a number of other great FF extensions). As for iSH, I again must commend Apple for a step forward, as there was no way this would have been allowed a few years ago. It's true that it runs in emulation rather than natively as Termux does, but still, not a bad step. (Termux, btw, can be allowed to access any of the user files, but can't touch the root fs on Android without rooting.)
- Talanes 5y ago
  >For several years now, you’ve been able to sideload apps on an iPhone using a free developer account. Android doesn't require a specific machine to be able to side-load. Plenty of people only own an iPhone and no other part of the Apple ecosystem, so they effectively cannot sideload.
mod50ack 5y ago
I use Fennec F-Droid with a custom addon collection for true extensions on Android. (There is a view source one, btw, and I now have an entry for it in my menu.) While I have used custom ROMs before, this is all on a stock ROM Android phone. Any can do it. That's the beauty of it.