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Apple's been making it real difficult to pick Android lately. Only thing Android still has going for it is the ability to flash custom ROMs, eg CalyxOS or Graph

by pluc 4y ago

Apple's been making it real difficult to pick Android lately. Only thing Android still has going for it is the ability to flash custom ROMs, eg CalyxOS or Graphene.

ysleepy 4y ago
On Android I can use a firewall to block network access per app. on iOS that is not possible. My password manager app might be bought out and exfiltrate all my credentials, or any of the linked libraries it uses.
- idle_zealot 4y ago
  > My password manager app might be bought out and exfiltrate all my credentials This is less likely if you use Apple Keychain for your passwords. lock-in intensifies
  - sneak 4y ago
    Apple Keychain requires iCloud. Most of iCloud is not end to end encrypted.
    - barsonme 4y ago
      But the keychain is, of course.
      - sneak 4y ago
        My point is that if you care about e2e crypto and privacy, you already have iCloud turned off in full, including the e2e bits, because it's a privacy minefield.
lordofgibbons 4y ago
I explored installing a custom ROM on my android phone, but ended up questioning the utility of them. There appears to be many banking apps, random apps (McDonalds??) and others that will not work if the device is running a custom ROM. That makes my phone useless to me. Our only hope is a proper Linux phone with an Android emulation layer
- SirYandi 4y ago
  You can get around that by spoofing safteynet stuff using Magisk. But yeah, it is a few more hoops to jump through and you need to be rooted which is itself not great for security.
- Georgelemental 4y ago
  CalyxOS passes SafetyNet on my Pixel phone, at least for now
viktorcode 4y ago
Android has a wide plethora of devices, Apple can't make hardware catering to everyone's needs.
- pluc 4y ago
  That is not an Android advantage. Tightly controlled hardware makes it so much easier to control software. You ever built an app for Android? It sucks
lern_too_spel 4y ago
Better security, more features, more privacy, and more user control in general are significant reasons to choose Android.
- pluc 4y ago
  Compare the actions of Google versus the actions of Apple and it's real difficult to think Google has your privacy in mind
  - lern_too_spel 4y ago
    Compare the actual features of Android vs. the actual features (instead of the marketing) of iOS, and it's clear that Apple doesn't care about user privacy. With Android, you get to choose which if any Google services to use. On iOS, you can't run any apps without telling Apple which ones, you can't get your location without also sending your location to Apple, and you can't practically run your own apps without fully deanonymizing yourself with banking details.
  - jacooper 4y ago
    - you can't install apps without an apple account(making the phone useless really) - you can't download apps from outside the app store - there is no security enhanced or de-appled version if IOS, while on android GrapheneOS and CalyxOS exist - you are limited to Safari as a browser engine(no extensions).
    - alwillis 4y ago
      Of course there are extensions: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/get-extensions-iphab0432bf6/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/get-extensions-iphab0...
oblio 4y ago
Maybe they changed this lately, but can you copy files through USB to an iPhone?
jacooper 4y ago
What? No, not even close. - no way to use the phone without an account - no way to install apps from outside the store - no browsers other than Safari reskins. These are all fixed by the DMA, but it will take a lot of time for things to mature, however other issues persist - no way to put apps on the bottom of the screen - the FOSS scene on IOS basically doesn't exist, while on android there is a whole app store for it(https://f-droid.org https://f-droid.org) this is a big point for me. - no way to duplicate apps - no separate work profile - limited file mangament - no notification chat bubbles(a pretty good feature on android 11/10?+ - no advanced apps like local terminal emulators, virtual firewalls or virtual tracker blockers(partially because the FOSS community rightly doesn't care about iOS) - non encrypted iCloud backups(basically a backdoor into WhatsApp) or any important file medium - CSAM Scanning inbound And many other issues, iOS is hardly making Android hard to choose, its still locked down prison, its just a bit nicer inside now. Since I value my privacy and like FOSS iOS is even more useless for me.
k8sToGo 4y ago
I can also use stuff like Tasker on Android.

by pluc 4y ago

Apple's been making it real difficult to pick Android lately. Only thing Android still has going for it is the ability to flash custom ROMs, eg CalyxOS or Graphene.

ysleepy 4y ago

On Android I can use a firewall to block network access per app. on iOS that is not possible. My password manager app might be bought out and exfiltrate all my credentials, or any of the linked libraries it uses.

idle_zealot 4y ago
> My password manager app might be bought out and exfiltrate all my credentials This is less likely if you use Apple Keychain for your passwords. lock-in intensifies
- sneak 4y ago
  Apple Keychain requires iCloud. Most of iCloud is not end to end encrypted.
  - barsonme 4y ago
    But the keychain is, of course.
    - sneak 4y ago
      My point is that if you care about e2e crypto and privacy, you already have iCloud turned off in full, including the e2e bits, because it's a privacy minefield.

lordofgibbons 4y ago

I explored installing a custom ROM on my android phone, but ended up questioning the utility of them. There appears to be many banking apps, random apps (McDonalds??) and others that will not work if the device is running a custom ROM. That makes my phone useless to me. Our only hope is a proper Linux phone with an Android emulation layer

SirYandi 4y ago
You can get around that by spoofing safteynet stuff using Magisk. But yeah, it is a few more hoops to jump through and you need to be rooted which is itself not great for security.
Georgelemental 4y ago
CalyxOS passes SafetyNet on my Pixel phone, at least for now

viktorcode 4y ago

Android has a wide plethora of devices, Apple can't make hardware catering to everyone's needs.

pluc 4y ago
That is not an Android advantage. Tightly controlled hardware makes it so much easier to control software. You ever built an app for Android? It sucks

lern_too_spel 4y ago

Better security, more features, more privacy, and more user control in general are significant reasons to choose Android.

pluc 4y ago
Compare the actions of Google versus the actions of Apple and it's real difficult to think Google has your privacy in mind
- lern_too_spel 4y ago
  Compare the actual features of Android vs. the actual features (instead of the marketing) of iOS, and it's clear that Apple doesn't care about user privacy. With Android, you get to choose which if any Google services to use. On iOS, you can't run any apps without telling Apple which ones, you can't get your location without also sending your location to Apple, and you can't practically run your own apps without fully deanonymizing yourself with banking details.
- jacooper 4y ago
  - you can't install apps without an apple account(making the phone useless really) - you can't download apps from outside the app store - there is no security enhanced or de-appled version if IOS, while on android GrapheneOS and CalyxOS exist - you are limited to Safari as a browser engine(no extensions).
  - alwillis 4y ago
    Of course there are extensions: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/get-extensions-iphab0432bf6/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/get-extensions-iphab0...

oblio 4y ago

Maybe they changed this lately, but can you copy files through USB to an iPhone?

jacooper 4y ago

What? No, not even close. - no way to use the phone without an account - no way to install apps from outside the store - no browsers other than Safari reskins. These are all fixed by the DMA, but it will take a lot of time for things to mature, however other issues persist - no way to put apps on the bottom of the screen - the FOSS scene on IOS basically doesn't exist, while on android there is a whole app store for it(https://f-droid.org https://f-droid.org) this is a big point for me. - no way to duplicate apps - no separate work profile - limited file mangament - no notification chat bubbles(a pretty good feature on android 11/10?+ - no advanced apps like local terminal emulators, virtual firewalls or virtual tracker blockers(partially because the FOSS community rightly doesn't care about iOS) - non encrypted iCloud backups(basically a backdoor into WhatsApp) or any important file medium - CSAM Scanning inbound And many other issues, iOS is hardly making Android hard to choose, its still locked down prison, its just a bit nicer inside now. Since I value my privacy and like FOSS iOS is even more useless for me.

k8sToGo 4y ago

I can also use stuff like Tasker on Android.