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All the while Android users - or at least those on the Samsung Galaxy sub-ecosystem - are happily downloading free, as in open source, software from alternative

All the while Android users - or at least those on the Samsung Galaxy sub-ecosystem - are happily downloading free, as in open source, software from alternative sources like F-Droid (https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/), Obtainium (https://obtainium.imranr.dev/ https://obtainium.imranr.dev/), Accrescent (https://accrescent.app/ https://accrescent.app/), and even can access the main app store through a more privacy friendly way using Aurora (https://auroraoss.com/ https://auroraoss.com/) - although with the latter you will probably break a license agreement you never read anyway, so fuck that. That, and: * Customization is better -- Apple has nothing like Good Lock, which is developed AND officially supported by Samsung, * AI is better -- And Samsung even gives the choice to run AI features completely locally on your phone -or- in the cloud, * Features for power users are all around better -- As a example did you know Google built a freaking virtualization service which allows you to run a full Linux operating system, with an complete KDE Plasma or GNOME UI on top of Android? Well, now you do. Super fun feature to have on a phone. Even more super fun feature to have on a tablet. And then there's DeX -- at least on the Galaxies, as long as Google is working on the built in desktop features for the next Android release. And for those times you quickly want or need a Linux shell you can launch Termux (https://termux.dev/en/ https://termux.dev/en/). Most notably and importantly: for all these things you don't have to root or jailbreak ANYTHING... They work completely out of the box -- Although you can get a scary sounding warning when downloading stuff from outside the Play store, but if you really understand and can deal with the consequences this can be easily solved using a toggle button. How Apple keeps managing to drive themselves and their developer ecosystem completely in the ground still is completely baffling to me. And that comes from someone who really used to love Apple, back in the Jobs era (Got the first iPod, iPhone, iPad, and first Intel MacBook Pro to prove it). PS: Because lots of people got super pissed about Google abandoning sideloading on Android they walked back on their initial decisions and it will keep working for the foreseeable future

naian 10mo ago
Samsung is so good that… https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46123747 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46123747
wackget 10mo ago
You forgot to mention Google's upcoming developer verification push, which will prevent users installing apps - even from third-party sources - if the developers have not verified their identity with Google: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification https://developer.android.com/developer-verification
- mindcrash 10mo ago
  They already announced side loading will continue to work, while making it slightly more difficult for average users to install suspicious crap on their phone or tablet. I can live with that: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-power-users-install-unverified-apps-3615310/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-power-users-install... Also, how sideloading works seemingly varies from vendor to vendor. On my Samsung devices I never had to fiddle with ADB or developer mode to install a APK from outside the Play store, I just download something, toggle crapware protection off, install, toggle crapware protection on and I'm done. Think it might has something to with all the customization work Samsung put into One UI (and just outright removing stuff from Google they didn't like).
- schubidubiduba 10mo ago
  Google has already backpedaled on that, luckily. But you are right, insofar that it likely is only a matter of time until Google's walled garden is as walled in as the one of Apple.
n8cpdx 10mo ago
Android is definitely the superior choice as long as you have no expectation of privacy and never need to dial 911 in an emergency. [1] More serious problems blocking a transition to Android: instead of developing Health Connect in 2015 or before when Apple made HealthKit, Android waited until the mid-2020s, and many apps do not support it. And the implementation is busted if you use multiple devices. Meanwhile on iOS, I have a perfect database of all my health information going back years, and all the apps interpolate nicely - my nutrition tracking app can see my exercise and blood glucose, my glucose tracking app can show exercise on the timeline, my training readiness app can read my sleep data and HRV/RHR from the watch. And as far as I know Android still doesn’t have Focus Modes, which I rely on to customize my phone and watch. It works really well, integrates with apps, and is easily automatable. [1]: edit - I thought this was old news, from years ago, but it turns out Android not being able to make emergency calls is an evergreen story. At one point it was Teams’ fault [2] - can you imagine that? Teams being so bad it can block your phone from calling 911? But really it’s android’s fault such a thing is possible. https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixels-most-dangerous-bug-refuses-to-die/ https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixels-most-dangerous-b... [2]: https://medium.com/@mmrahman123/how-a-bug-in-android-and-microsoft-teams-could-have-caused-this-users-911-call-to-fail-6525f9ba5e63 https://medium.com/@mmrahman123/how-a-bug-in-android-and-mic...
- lern_too_spel 10mo ago
  Android is strictly superior to iOS in terms of privacy. On iOS, you can't even get your location without sending it to Apple or install an app without telling Apple which one. Unlike iOS, you can even replace your default maps app with a fully offline app. User choice is the key to ensuring privacy. Google Fit was released in 2014 and implemented data migration to Health Connect when that launched. Similarly, Samsung Health synchronizes data with Health Connect. The long-fixed bug tickled by Teams was in functionality iOS still doesn't provide. If I use Google Voice, Skype, Signal, or some other telephony service, Android lets me route all outgoing calls through that service automatically.
  - n8cpdx 10mo ago
    Google Health Connect is still not mature. Believe me, if it was, I’d have likely at least attempted to switch back to Android by now. [1] Apple Maps can be uninstalled, and many people rely on Google Maps. There are plenty of alternatives. I like how convenient the iOS APIs make it to choose alternatives. The Transit app can read the address information from my calendar (a caldav calendar self-hosted on Synology) which makes it really easy to navigate to appointments. Re:privacy: https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/03/meta_pauses_android_tracking_tech/ https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/03/meta_pauses_android_t... [1]: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-health-connect-useless-3542514/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-health-connect-usel...

naian 10mo ago

Samsung is so good that… https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46123747 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46123747

wackget 10mo ago

You forgot to mention Google's upcoming developer verification push, which will prevent users installing apps - even from third-party sources - if the developers have not verified their identity with Google: https://developer.android.com/developer-verification https://developer.android.com/developer-verification

mindcrash 10mo ago
They already announced side loading will continue to work, while making it slightly more difficult for average users to install suspicious crap on their phone or tablet. I can live with that: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-power-users-install-unverified-apps-3615310/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-power-users-install... Also, how sideloading works seemingly varies from vendor to vendor. On my Samsung devices I never had to fiddle with ADB or developer mode to install a APK from outside the Play store, I just download something, toggle crapware protection off, install, toggle crapware protection on and I'm done. Think it might has something to with all the customization work Samsung put into One UI (and just outright removing stuff from Google they didn't like).
schubidubiduba 10mo ago
Google has already backpedaled on that, luckily. But you are right, insofar that it likely is only a matter of time until Google's walled garden is as walled in as the one of Apple.

n8cpdx 10mo ago

Android is definitely the superior choice as long as you have no expectation of privacy and never need to dial 911 in an emergency. [1] More serious problems blocking a transition to Android: instead of developing Health Connect in 2015 or before when Apple made HealthKit, Android waited until the mid-2020s, and many apps do not support it. And the implementation is busted if you use multiple devices. Meanwhile on iOS, I have a perfect database of all my health information going back years, and all the apps interpolate nicely - my nutrition tracking app can see my exercise and blood glucose, my glucose tracking app can show exercise on the timeline, my training readiness app can read my sleep data and HRV/RHR from the watch. And as far as I know Android still doesn’t have Focus Modes, which I rely on to customize my phone and watch. It works really well, integrates with apps, and is easily automatable. [1]: edit - I thought this was old news, from years ago, but it turns out Android not being able to make emergency calls is an evergreen story. At one point it was Teams’ fault [2] - can you imagine that? Teams being so bad it can block your phone from calling 911? But really it’s android’s fault such a thing is possible. https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixels-most-dangerous-bug-refuses-to-die/ https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixels-most-dangerous-b... [2]: https://medium.com/@mmrahman123/how-a-bug-in-android-and-microsoft-teams-could-have-caused-this-users-911-call-to-fail-6525f9ba5e63 https://medium.com/@mmrahman123/how-a-bug-in-android-and-mic...

lern_too_spel 10mo ago
Android is strictly superior to iOS in terms of privacy. On iOS, you can't even get your location without sending it to Apple or install an app without telling Apple which one. Unlike iOS, you can even replace your default maps app with a fully offline app. User choice is the key to ensuring privacy. Google Fit was released in 2014 and implemented data migration to Health Connect when that launched. Similarly, Samsung Health synchronizes data with Health Connect. The long-fixed bug tickled by Teams was in functionality iOS still doesn't provide. If I use Google Voice, Skype, Signal, or some other telephony service, Android lets me route all outgoing calls through that service automatically.
- n8cpdx 10mo ago
  Google Health Connect is still not mature. Believe me, if it was, I’d have likely at least attempted to switch back to Android by now. [1] Apple Maps can be uninstalled, and many people rely on Google Maps. There are plenty of alternatives. I like how convenient the iOS APIs make it to choose alternatives. The Transit app can read the address information from my calendar (a caldav calendar self-hosted on Synology) which makes it really easy to navigate to appointments. Re:privacy: https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/03/meta_pauses_android_tracking_tech/ https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/03/meta_pauses_android_t... [1]: https://www.androidauthority.com/android-health-connect-useless-3542514/ https://www.androidauthority.com/android-health-connect-usel...