16 ms·

I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. I would never use an iPhone for certain software an

I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. I would never use an iPhone for certain software and UX related issues (biggest is the missing back gesture/button). My Pixel does better photos than ANY iPhone on the market. Macbook Air M1, just look at Dell XPS series. Samsung S9 tablets have an OLED display. OLED... you don't get that on any iPad. Apple Watch really has no competitor which matches 100%. On certain areas like fitness (Fitbit) or hiking (Garmin) there can be also some good and better alternatives but it does not match 100% of the features. I think there is always a choice except when looking at the Apple Watch.

kaba0 3y ago
If you care about privacy, then the only choice within the Android-sphere is GrapheneOS, which limits you to pixels, which arguably are not on the same level in hardware than iphones.
buildbot 3y ago
Stuff like the 911 calling bug is a great example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32713375 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32713375
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
sneak 3y ago
I had a top of the line XPS. Battery life is less than half that of the Air. The speakers in the XPS sound like they are from the 90s. It gets painfully hot on the bottom case. The keyboard wrist rest area is cheap plastic. It was thicker and heavier than the MBA. Intel Iris GPU (ie slow af) versus M1/M2 GPU. One point to the XPS: the pixel density of the 4k 13" was absolutely LOVELY. I have never seen a screen so nice. There is really no comparison overall, though: the Apple laptops blow them (and everything else in that category) out of the water. The top end iPhones are similarly 2-3 years ahead of the flagship Pixel devices in build quality, too. I tried, really I did.
- BlackjackCF 3y ago
  Same here. The XPS’s hard drive died within two years and I had to replace it. The keyboard and touchpad also don’t hold a candle to MacBooks.
  - tornato7 3y ago
    I bought a MacBook Pro in 2013 and my mom bought a Dell XPS at around the same time. Her laptop died, she got a Lenovo Yoga. That one died within a year and was replaced for free. The new one died after two years. When the M1 Air came out I gave her the old MacBook Pro, which she still uses every day, going strong (aside from battery life, but it's mostly plugged in). It has essentially outlived 4 Windows laptops. I expect the M1 Air to still be relevant in a decade, as well.
    - Zetobal 3y ago
      The M1 won't, the SSD will wear out before that and with no way to swap, it will be landfill as well.
      - yetanotherloss 3y ago
        Do the M1s have especially short write lifetimes? I have a Toshiba from 2010 or so and the SSD is still fine even if the trackpad and speaker ports died years ago.
      - tverbeure 3y ago
        In 2013, TechReport did an SSD endurance test: for months, it ran non-stop write operations, a much more strenuous use case than what a regular laptop would experience, which will be primarily read operations. 4 months in, after writing 300TB, all the tested devices were still working without issue. If the characteristics of the SSD in an M1 are sufficiently similar to the SSDs that were used back then (I have no clue if that's the case), wear out will be a non-issue.
        3y ago
bwanab 3y ago
My son bought a Dell XPS for exactly that reason. After 1.5 years, the battery life was at 50%. He called Dell support and they said it was normal. He's now in the market for a MacBook Air M2.
- nly 3y ago
  This is a limit of battery technology. Your Apple laptop will ha e shit battery life in a few years as well
  - pohl 3y ago
    Device manufacturers can engineer for longer useful lifespan by oversizing the battery, can't they? Do they all do that to the same extent?
    - tracker1 3y ago
      To an extent, there's a limit for air travel, generally speaking as they can be dangerous. The m1/m2 are just killer in terms of lifetime and usage for general reading/browsing/email.. and still very long for even content viewing. Most people aren't rapidly draining their batteries, so the longevity gets to be a bit better overall. AMD is getting pretty close and the perf:watt on the coming generation(s) for laptops (including integrated gpu) look to be really impressive to say the least...
    - hedora 3y ago
      They can also implement better battery management technology (cooling, charge rate curves, keeping the charge between 10%-90% instead of 0-100%, but reporting 0-100% to the user via scaling), etc, etc. For a good counter-example, look at the early Nissan Leafs. They burned out their batteries in a matter of a few years, but battery replacements for other brands from that time are basically unheard of. (The inherent information asymmetry for new car purchasers is one reason Biden's IRA dictated minimum car battery warranties.)
      - ralferoo 3y ago
sharts 3y ago
When most people you know use iMessage then Android is a bad experience. Also, as someone who switched from Pixels and other Android devices to the Apple ecosystem . It’s nice that everything “just works.” It’s kind of like running BSD or Debian stable after having been on Fedora/Arch/etc.
- insanitybit 3y ago
  > When most people you know use iMessage then Android is a bad experience. Isn't this because Android uses open standards for its SMS and iOS refuses to do so?
  - tverbeure 3y ago
    Does it matter for me as a user?
    - insanitybit 3y ago
      No, and I wouldn't want to imply otherwise. I was genuinely asking because my recollection is that the answer is "yes" but I don't recall.
  - marzullo 3y ago
    This is correct. Google put a lot of effort into making carriers adopt RCS (which has most of the functionality of iMessage), but Apple will not adopt it to keep their "competitive advantage." https://www.android.com/get-the-message/ https://www.android.com/get-the-message/ I use an iPhone now but these kinds of business tactics and the others mentioned here really make me wish there were more competitive products on the other end.
    - saagarjha 3y ago
      RCS is pretty garbage without Google’s extensions. Of course this ends up being very similar to iMessage.
  - paulmd 3y ago
teaearlgraycold 3y ago
Agreed Android is a suitable iOS replacement. Maybe a bit wonky at times but I’ve used both and they’re the same for my needs. XPS is not comparable to M1. Not even close.
akshaybhalotia 3y ago
> I would never use an iPhone for certain software and UX related issues (biggest is the missing back gesture/button) Um, swiping from the left edge takes you back on iPhone and iPad. Not sure how long ago did you last test the "missing back gesture" theory. Been using an iPhone for 3 years and has always been this way.
- bobbylarrybobby 3y ago
  Not in several google apps — they deliberately break the convention.
  - pirates 3y ago
    just google ruining the experience as usual. same with youtube on iOS, they get away with it so why not try breaking the rules everywhere.
tverbeure 3y ago
> Macbook Air M1, just look at Dell XPS series. If you want an unusable trackpad, a middling keyboard, a fan that spins up and down at random when the laptop is just sitting there, a space heater for your backpack when you close the laptop and stow it away, and a pathetic battery life, then, yes, a Dell laptop is just what you need. I'll admit, I have a more expensive Dell Precision laptop, so maybe the XPS is actually usable, but I'm not going to hold my breath. The one that I have is the worst POS laptop I've ever had the pleasure of being forced to use.
- antonyt 3y ago
  I had a personal XPS 13 back in 2015 or 2016 that I loved. Right now for work I have a Precision 5560 from 2021 which has all the drawbacks you listed and that I hate. I don't know if it's a year thing or a model thing, but certainly there is no brand consistency when it comes to Dell.
deskamess 3y ago
I have a Pixel 3a and longevity of phone is important. But Android is cutting down their supported cycles to 3 years. Unless something changes, in fall next year I will get an iPhone 14/15 (possibly refurbished) and keep it for 6/7 years. ios16 is still possible on the iPhone8 - a solid 6+ years of official updates! Walled garden or not, their products are solid and supported. That is what most consumers look at. No hassle ownership for most.
mrweasel 3y ago
> I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. Because Google... I could live with not having iMessage or AirPlay, that's annoying but something I could live with. So it's either a de-googled Android phone or iPhone, and I do need a few apps which are only available in the App Store or Play Store, so I figure I'm limited to phones that can run something like CalyxOS, which basically limits me to Pixel or FairPhone. The FairPhone isn't a terrible choice, but I'm not going to replace a functional iPhone with it... if it break maybe, or I can get a used iPhone. It's not that I trust Apple all that much, I just trust them way more than Google at this point. I don't think Google is evil or bad, but their interest and mine doesn't really align.
- ohgodplsno 3y ago
  >I could live with not having iMessage So, literally any messaging app, something that non-Apple users have to do anyways, and have to deal with your bullshit about only going through iMessage when they have to send you SMS. >AirPlay Chromecast is infinitely more ubiquitous. Also, if Apple didn't patent AirPlay and refuse to share it with anyone, you wouldn't be in this situation. I will absolutely agree with Google being an absolutely dreadful steward of Android, but make no mistake: you gave Apple full support in locking themselves down in their own little playground, and now you're complaining you can't get out.
  - sbuk 3y ago
    > Chromecast is infinitely more ubiquitous. Chromecast is a device. > Also, if Apple didn't patent AirPlay and refuse to share it with anyone, you wouldn't be in this situation. Google Cast is just as proprietary as AirPlay. Both require licensing to be included in devices. I have an LG TV that supports both, an ancient Roku device that does the same, as well as supporting Miracast. I suspect you're confusing Chromecast and the Google Cast protocol with Miracast, an open standard; one dropped by Google in favour of their proprietary stack.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
trogdor 3y ago
>I would never use an iPhone... missing back gesture/button One finger swipe right.
vladvasiliu 3y ago
> I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. Because some people, like yours truly, enjoy having a patched up-to-date mobile os, but also don't need to change their phone every other year. My Iphone 7 which I bought refurbished in February 2017, still works perfectly after a battery change. It has the previous iOS version, but it keeps receiving security updates. All the apps I need work on it (games may be too much for it, but luckily, I have a PC with a big-ass GPU for that). My dad's Galaxy S7 hasn't had an update in a while. He tried to install 1password, a freaking password manager which is basically a glorified notepad, says it doesn't support the phone and / or the android version. His GS7 is working fine otherwise, though. > Macbook Air M1, just look at Dell XPS series. This has to be a joke. I can wholly understand people not valuing build quality and preferring to save money over that or invest it someplace else. But that doesn't make it "comparable". Have they finally fixed the touchpad moving by itself or ignoring your finger? The fan spinning like a jet engine for no reason? I hear nowadays everybody's on the "modern standby" bandwagon. How do you like your battery draining 50% while on your commute home while the PC supposedly sleeps? Or waiting around for it to wake up from hibernation? That's if you're lucky enough it doesn't burn down your bag because it figured it's as good a time as any to wake up and do who knows what, which absolutely couldn't wait. I won't comment on the ipad nor the watch, since I've never owned any of those.
- PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
  My android phone is from 2011. All the apps I want to run on it run on it. I know of some that won't, but I don't want to use them. So what does this prove? Anything? Probably not.
  - vladvasiliu 3y ago
    I'd argue that games are a specific kind of app which require performance. It's likely that a brand new low-end phone supports the latest android os but not the latest power-hungy games. Though you can probably install them on it, just like I can install power-hungry games on my old iphone. It's just that it won't be an enjoyable experience playing them. A password manager doesn't have any such requirements.
kelnos 3y ago
> I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. I don't think most people -- even iPhone users -- hold that opinion. In the US, at least, the iPhone is still a status symbol. People have iPhones because they don't want their iMessage bubbles on others' phones to be the wrong color. They're locked into that ecosystem with various purchases and don't want to throw that away. They use a Mac and like the integration. On top of that, I (as an Android user) am constantly uncomfortable running a mobile OS built by a company that exists mainly to track people's behavior and invade their privacy, with the goal of selling ads (and I am more vehemently anti-advertising than most people). As much as I don't fully buy "Apple's commitment to privacy", they are in a much better place in that regard than Android is. I lock my phone down and give nearly every app (including Google's) zero permissions, and only enable (and then immediately disable[0]) as necessary, but I'm still convinced my privacy posture would probably be better with an iPhone. But I don't want to live in that walled-garden nanny-state, so that's that. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samruston.permission https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samruston....
musictubes 3y ago
”…missing back gesture/button” Swipe from the left of the screen goes back a page in the current app. Swiping right on the bar at the bottom goes back to the previous app used. Two different locations but the same gesture. What else is missing for a back gesture/button?
- fomine3 3y ago
  Back gesture on iOS only works within an app. Back button on Android works system-wide (cross-app).
  - sbuk 3y ago
    Swiping along the bottom of the screen goes to the last used app.
    - fomine3 3y ago
      It works but I prefer Android's intent based transition system.
      - musictubes 3y ago
        What does intent based transition system mean? The advantage of Apple’s system is that it is unambiguous. I’ve heard from plenty of people that the “back” button or gesture surprises them from time to time.
nerdbert 3y ago
> I would never use an iPhone for certain software and UX related issues (biggest is the missing back gesture/button). During my time as an Android user, that back button struck me as the single biggest anti-feature in the Android UX. Every application implemented it differently, sometimes I'd find it bumped me right out of an app if I tapped it once too often, others didn't do that. I hated the thing; it required learning a different set of mysterious tendencies for every app and situation. So happy that it's not stinking up the screen of my first-ever iPhone.
nortonham 3y ago
Macbook Air M1 > Dell XPS or whatever alternative can't speak to other tablets but iPads get the job done. I have one of the oldest generation ipad Air that still gets updates. Got it secondhand. It does the basics well enough. I'm not sure an android tablet would even be getting that support.
rendaw 3y ago
Android phones come loaded with ad tech, malware, depending on a matrix of carrier _and_ manufacturer. Even if they don't start with it, if they actually get updates, any update could bring it along later. It's a metaphoric minefield, where you have to do significant research before finding the current mine-free path. Samsung in particular has a reputation for lacking scruples. It has nothing to do with hardware.

kaba0 3y ago

If you care about privacy, then the only choice within the Android-sphere is GrapheneOS, which limits you to pixels, which arguably are not on the same level in hardware than iphones.

buildbot 3y ago

Stuff like the 911 calling bug is a great example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32713375 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32713375

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

sneak 3y ago

I had a top of the line XPS. Battery life is less than half that of the Air. The speakers in the XPS sound like they are from the 90s. It gets painfully hot on the bottom case. The keyboard wrist rest area is cheap plastic. It was thicker and heavier than the MBA. Intel Iris GPU (ie slow af) versus M1/M2 GPU. One point to the XPS: the pixel density of the 4k 13" was absolutely LOVELY. I have never seen a screen so nice. There is really no comparison overall, though: the Apple laptops blow them (and everything else in that category) out of the water. The top end iPhones are similarly 2-3 years ahead of the flagship Pixel devices in build quality, too. I tried, really I did.

BlackjackCF 3y ago
Same here. The XPS’s hard drive died within two years and I had to replace it. The keyboard and touchpad also don’t hold a candle to MacBooks.
- tornato7 3y ago
  I bought a MacBook Pro in 2013 and my mom bought a Dell XPS at around the same time. Her laptop died, she got a Lenovo Yoga. That one died within a year and was replaced for free. The new one died after two years. When the M1 Air came out I gave her the old MacBook Pro, which she still uses every day, going strong (aside from battery life, but it's mostly plugged in). It has essentially outlived 4 Windows laptops. I expect the M1 Air to still be relevant in a decade, as well.
  - Zetobal 3y ago
    The M1 won't, the SSD will wear out before that and with no way to swap, it will be landfill as well.
    - yetanotherloss 3y ago
      Do the M1s have especially short write lifetimes? I have a Toshiba from 2010 or so and the SSD is still fine even if the trackpad and speaker ports died years ago.
    - tverbeure 3y ago
      In 2013, TechReport did an SSD endurance test: for months, it ran non-stop write operations, a much more strenuous use case than what a regular laptop would experience, which will be primarily read operations. 4 months in, after writing 300TB, all the tested devices were still working without issue. If the characteristics of the SSD in an M1 are sufficiently similar to the SSDs that were used back then (I have no clue if that's the case), wear out will be a non-issue.
      - 3y ago

bwanab 3y ago

My son bought a Dell XPS for exactly that reason. After 1.5 years, the battery life was at 50%. He called Dell support and they said it was normal. He's now in the market for a MacBook Air M2.

nly 3y ago
This is a limit of battery technology. Your Apple laptop will ha e shit battery life in a few years as well
- pohl 3y ago
  Device manufacturers can engineer for longer useful lifespan by oversizing the battery, can't they? Do they all do that to the same extent?
  - tracker1 3y ago
    To an extent, there's a limit for air travel, generally speaking as they can be dangerous. The m1/m2 are just killer in terms of lifetime and usage for general reading/browsing/email.. and still very long for even content viewing. Most people aren't rapidly draining their batteries, so the longevity gets to be a bit better overall. AMD is getting pretty close and the perf:watt on the coming generation(s) for laptops (including integrated gpu) look to be really impressive to say the least...
  - hedora 3y ago
    They can also implement better battery management technology (cooling, charge rate curves, keeping the charge between 10%-90% instead of 0-100%, but reporting 0-100% to the user via scaling), etc, etc. For a good counter-example, look at the early Nissan Leafs. They burned out their batteries in a matter of a few years, but battery replacements for other brands from that time are basically unheard of. (The inherent information asymmetry for new car purchasers is one reason Biden's IRA dictated minimum car battery warranties.)
    - ralferoo 3y ago

sharts 3y ago

When most people you know use iMessage then Android is a bad experience. Also, as someone who switched from Pixels and other Android devices to the Apple ecosystem . It’s nice that everything “just works.” It’s kind of like running BSD or Debian stable after having been on Fedora/Arch/etc.

insanitybit 3y ago
> When most people you know use iMessage then Android is a bad experience. Isn't this because Android uses open standards for its SMS and iOS refuses to do so?
- tverbeure 3y ago
  Does it matter for me as a user?
  - insanitybit 3y ago
    No, and I wouldn't want to imply otherwise. I was genuinely asking because my recollection is that the answer is "yes" but I don't recall.
- marzullo 3y ago
  This is correct. Google put a lot of effort into making carriers adopt RCS (which has most of the functionality of iMessage), but Apple will not adopt it to keep their "competitive advantage." https://www.android.com/get-the-message/ https://www.android.com/get-the-message/ I use an iPhone now but these kinds of business tactics and the others mentioned here really make me wish there were more competitive products on the other end.
  - saagarjha 3y ago
    RCS is pretty garbage without Google’s extensions. Of course this ends up being very similar to iMessage.
- paulmd 3y ago

teaearlgraycold 3y ago

Agreed Android is a suitable iOS replacement. Maybe a bit wonky at times but I’ve used both and they’re the same for my needs. XPS is not comparable to M1. Not even close.

akshaybhalotia 3y ago

> I would never use an iPhone for certain software and UX related issues (biggest is the missing back gesture/button) Um, swiping from the left edge takes you back on iPhone and iPad. Not sure how long ago did you last test the "missing back gesture" theory. Been using an iPhone for 3 years and has always been this way.

bobbylarrybobby 3y ago
Not in several google apps — they deliberately break the convention.
- pirates 3y ago
  just google ruining the experience as usual. same with youtube on iOS, they get away with it so why not try breaking the rules everywhere.

tverbeure 3y ago

> Macbook Air M1, just look at Dell XPS series. If you want an unusable trackpad, a middling keyboard, a fan that spins up and down at random when the laptop is just sitting there, a space heater for your backpack when you close the laptop and stow it away, and a pathetic battery life, then, yes, a Dell laptop is just what you need. I'll admit, I have a more expensive Dell Precision laptop, so maybe the XPS is actually usable, but I'm not going to hold my breath. The one that I have is the worst POS laptop I've ever had the pleasure of being forced to use.

antonyt 3y ago
I had a personal XPS 13 back in 2015 or 2016 that I loved. Right now for work I have a Precision 5560 from 2021 which has all the drawbacks you listed and that I hate. I don't know if it's a year thing or a model thing, but certainly there is no brand consistency when it comes to Dell.

deskamess 3y ago

I have a Pixel 3a and longevity of phone is important. But Android is cutting down their supported cycles to 3 years. Unless something changes, in fall next year I will get an iPhone 14/15 (possibly refurbished) and keep it for 6/7 years. ios16 is still possible on the iPhone8 - a solid 6+ years of official updates! Walled garden or not, their products are solid and supported. That is what most consumers look at. No hassle ownership for most.

mrweasel 3y ago

> I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. Because Google... I could live with not having iMessage or AirPlay, that's annoying but something I could live with. So it's either a de-googled Android phone or iPhone, and I do need a few apps which are only available in the App Store or Play Store, so I figure I'm limited to phones that can run something like CalyxOS, which basically limits me to Pixel or FairPhone. The FairPhone isn't a terrible choice, but I'm not going to replace a functional iPhone with it... if it break maybe, or I can get a used iPhone. It's not that I trust Apple all that much, I just trust them way more than Google at this point. I don't think Google is evil or bad, but their interest and mine doesn't really align.

ohgodplsno 3y ago
>I could live with not having iMessage So, literally any messaging app, something that non-Apple users have to do anyways, and have to deal with your bullshit about only going through iMessage when they have to send you SMS. >AirPlay Chromecast is infinitely more ubiquitous. Also, if Apple didn't patent AirPlay and refuse to share it with anyone, you wouldn't be in this situation. I will absolutely agree with Google being an absolutely dreadful steward of Android, but make no mistake: you gave Apple full support in locking themselves down in their own little playground, and now you're complaining you can't get out.
- sbuk 3y ago
  > Chromecast is infinitely more ubiquitous. Chromecast is a device. > Also, if Apple didn't patent AirPlay and refuse to share it with anyone, you wouldn't be in this situation. Google Cast is just as proprietary as AirPlay. Both require licensing to be included in devices. I have an LG TV that supports both, an ancient Roku device that does the same, as well as supporting Miracast. I suspect you're confusing Chromecast and the Google Cast protocol with Miracast, an open standard; one dropped by Google in favour of their proprietary stack.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

trogdor 3y ago

>I would never use an iPhone... missing back gesture/button One finger swipe right.

vladvasiliu 3y ago

> I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. Because some people, like yours truly, enjoy having a patched up-to-date mobile os, but also don't need to change their phone every other year. My Iphone 7 which I bought refurbished in February 2017, still works perfectly after a battery change. It has the previous iOS version, but it keeps receiving security updates. All the apps I need work on it (games may be too much for it, but luckily, I have a PC with a big-ass GPU for that). My dad's Galaxy S7 hasn't had an update in a while. He tried to install 1password, a freaking password manager which is basically a glorified notepad, says it doesn't support the phone and / or the android version. His GS7 is working fine otherwise, though. > Macbook Air M1, just look at Dell XPS series. This has to be a joke. I can wholly understand people not valuing build quality and preferring to save money over that or invest it someplace else. But that doesn't make it "comparable". Have they finally fixed the touchpad moving by itself or ignoring your finger? The fan spinning like a jet engine for no reason? I hear nowadays everybody's on the "modern standby" bandwagon. How do you like your battery draining 50% while on your commute home while the PC supposedly sleeps? Or waiting around for it to wake up from hibernation? That's if you're lucky enough it doesn't burn down your bag because it figured it's as good a time as any to wake up and do who knows what, which absolutely couldn't wait. I won't comment on the ipad nor the watch, since I've never owned any of those.

PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
My android phone is from 2011. All the apps I want to run on it run on it. I know of some that won't, but I don't want to use them. So what does this prove? Anything? Probably not.
- vladvasiliu 3y ago
  I'd argue that games are a specific kind of app which require performance. It's likely that a brand new low-end phone supports the latest android os but not the latest power-hungy games. Though you can probably install them on it, just like I can install power-hungry games on my old iphone. It's just that it won't be an enjoyable experience playing them. A password manager doesn't have any such requirements.

kelnos 3y ago

> I still don't understand why people think in 2023 that Android can not be a viable alternative to an iPhone. I don't think most people -- even iPhone users -- hold that opinion. In the US, at least, the iPhone is still a status symbol. People have iPhones because they don't want their iMessage bubbles on others' phones to be the wrong color. They're locked into that ecosystem with various purchases and don't want to throw that away. They use a Mac and like the integration. On top of that, I (as an Android user) am constantly uncomfortable running a mobile OS built by a company that exists mainly to track people's behavior and invade their privacy, with the goal of selling ads (and I am more vehemently anti-advertising than most people). As much as I don't fully buy "Apple's commitment to privacy", they are in a much better place in that regard than Android is. I lock my phone down and give nearly every app (including Google's) zero permissions, and only enable (and then immediately disable[0]) as necessary, but I'm still convinced my privacy posture would probably be better with an iPhone. But I don't want to live in that walled-garden nanny-state, so that's that. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samruston.permission https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samruston....

musictubes 3y ago

”…missing back gesture/button” Swipe from the left of the screen goes back a page in the current app. Swiping right on the bar at the bottom goes back to the previous app used. Two different locations but the same gesture. What else is missing for a back gesture/button?

fomine3 3y ago
Back gesture on iOS only works within an app. Back button on Android works system-wide (cross-app).
- sbuk 3y ago
  Swiping along the bottom of the screen goes to the last used app.
  - fomine3 3y ago
    It works but I prefer Android's intent based transition system.
    - musictubes 3y ago
      What does intent based transition system mean? The advantage of Apple’s system is that it is unambiguous. I’ve heard from plenty of people that the “back” button or gesture surprises them from time to time.

nerdbert 3y ago

> I would never use an iPhone for certain software and UX related issues (biggest is the missing back gesture/button). During my time as an Android user, that back button struck me as the single biggest anti-feature in the Android UX. Every application implemented it differently, sometimes I'd find it bumped me right out of an app if I tapped it once too often, others didn't do that. I hated the thing; it required learning a different set of mysterious tendencies for every app and situation. So happy that it's not stinking up the screen of my first-ever iPhone.

nortonham 3y ago

Macbook Air M1 > Dell XPS or whatever alternative can't speak to other tablets but iPads get the job done. I have one of the oldest generation ipad Air that still gets updates. Got it secondhand. It does the basics well enough. I'm not sure an android tablet would even be getting that support.

rendaw 3y ago

Android phones come loaded with ad tech, malware, depending on a matrix of carrier _and_ manufacturer. Even if they don't start with it, if they actually get updates, any update could bring it along later. It's a metaphoric minefield, where you have to do significant research before finding the current mine-free path. Samsung in particular has a reputation for lacking scruples. It has nothing to do with hardware.