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[Android] Thread v. 2018: Pixel 6 is out. Google might be bad at phones.
wunderbar
What Have I Done?Registered User regular
What Have I Done?Registered User regular
Welcome to the brand new and shiny all encompassing Android Thread. This is a place where we can discuss Android in all of it’s many forms, and boy does it have many forms.
What is Android?
Android is an open source operating system. It lives on everything from Phones, to tablets, to Fridges. The folks around these parts know it mostly on phones and maybe tablets, and that’s what we spend most of our time talking about.
Yea, I’m mostly here for phones, tell me about that.
Sure, Yes, Android is mostly known for user on Phones. Android currently runs on about 81% of all smartphones operating in the world. It may not seem like to to those of us in North America, but leave that continent, and if someone is using a smartphone, it is Probably an Android phone.
Why is it so popular?
The easy answer is scale. Android runs on phones that vary in cost from $50 US to $1100 US (and higher, if you count boutique phones). This makes android very accessible to a majority of people. This is mostly because as an open source operating system, Android itself is free to use.
The other answer is customization. Again, because it is free and open source, anyone can take Android and build and modify it to suit specific needs to a group of people or device. This makes it very extensible and powerful. No two android phones will be/look the same, because everyone can modify it. However, this can be a bad thing, more on that later.
To prove the Customization, here are a bunch of Android homscreens. In here is mostly the "stock" launchers on a few well known phones, as well as a couple custom looks
You haven’t even mentioned Google yet…
That’s on purpose. Google does own android, and does the majority of work on Android, and 99% of the the time we associate Android with Google, for good reason. If you own an Android phone chances are it has google services on it. Google services are what most people actually associate with Android. Google services are the apps and, err, services that OEM’s have to put on android phones to get the Play Store, which is another Google Service. It’s kind of complicated, I know).
Who makes Android phones?
The list is too long, literally everyone who makes phones but Apple makes Android.
But the popular Android phones are Samsung and…. Well in the mass market space, Samsung. People may gripe about Samsung Android phones, but they’re popular for a reason. Samsung makes the best high end phones for most people in the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines. They’re phones are less competitive in the midrange but the brand name means they also sell a metric ton of them. They probably sell more Galaxy A and Galaxy J phones than any other OEM outside of china sells of all their phones combined. I personally own a GS8+ and I frankly love it.
Now, for those of us more likely to read the Android thread on the Penny-Arcade Forums, phones from these companies are generally well regarded:
Google
Samsung
OnePlus
Nokia (seriously)
What about Tablets?
Oh boy. This is a thing. Look, I personally own 3 Android tablets. But Android tablets are terrible and basically no one should buy them. The first android tablet was released in 2011. In 2018, there are still probably less than 100 truly good tablet optimized apps for Android. Because of that, even with good hardware, the software situation makes them not a great purchase.
Ok, what about Android apps on Chromebooks?
Also a thing. Look, the same problem exists, just in a slightly different context. Android apps on chromebooks can run windowed, but again, 99.9999% of apps run in the small phone screen mode. You can run them full screen, but the same problem exists as on tablets. Some apps support dynamic sizing (think apps/windows on Windows or MacOS). But the number of apps that support that is basically the Microsoft Office apps.
So yea, the future of Android tablets might actually be chromebooks, but honestly it’s not a great future either.
Is rooting and rom’ing still a thing?
Yes, but not as much as it used to be. You’ll still of course find some people that think that rooting a phone is the only way to make it useful, but the reality is that the vast majority people, including power users, don’t really need to root anymore. Back in the Android 2.x days it let you add features that were legit missing from the OS, there’s just less need for that anymore.
Loading a custom ROM is also not as popular as it used to be, but there are still legit reasons for it. If you’re stuck on a phone that sill works but won’t be seeing another OS update, a custom ROM can breathe new life into it. Your mileage very much vary’s here, and honestly, if you’re looking to put a custom ROM on your phoen XDA is a better place than here, and we wish you luck.
Talk about updates
I left this for last because this is a shitty subject. I’ll tackle the Major updates first. Think Going from Android 7.0 to 8.0.
To get it out of the way: Android will never have the platform adoption numbers that Apple has. Full stop.
If you’re not getting a Google phone and want a phone that is most likely to get updates, though not exactly timely, Samsung is the next best choice. Samsung generally updates their phones for 2 years after release, and as of this writing there is indication that the 3 year old Galaxy S6 will be getting Oreo.
With that out of the way: If having the latest Android release the day it becomes available is the most important factor to you, Get a Google Pixel device. End of story.
Past that, it gets a bit nuanced and difficult and complicated and it sucks.
Basically, you have to look at the history of the company that makes the phone. Look at prior phones as a guide. Back to Samsung, they do update their phones for a couple years, but usually 6 or so months after the code drop. Others, like OnePlus are…. Not consistent. They usually update, but the time it takes them to update varies widely. LG…. I guess they update most of the time, but it’s not a guarantee. Some smaller manufacturers also do update, Nokia has promised Android 8 on their newer Android phones, but we havne’t seen it yet so we don’t have a track record to go on.
Oh, and then there are carriers. IF you live in the US and bought a carrier branded phone they have to give their blessing before their phoens get updated. Yea, it’s a mess.
Basically…. The state of Android version updates is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Lastly, security updates. This is almost as ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as the platform updates. Google releases a monthly patch to Android, just like what Microsoft does with Windows. Except that Google doesn’t get to push the security updates like Microsoft does. So Some phones get updated every month. The Pixels do, the Blackberry Android phones do, Unlocked Samsung phones do. Past that: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What is Android?
Android is an open source operating system. It lives on everything from Phones, to tablets, to Fridges. The folks around these parts know it mostly on phones and maybe tablets, and that’s what we spend most of our time talking about.
Yea, I’m mostly here for phones, tell me about that.
Sure, Yes, Android is mostly known for user on Phones. Android currently runs on about 81% of all smartphones operating in the world. It may not seem like to to those of us in North America, but leave that continent, and if someone is using a smartphone, it is Probably an Android phone.
Why is it so popular?
The easy answer is scale. Android runs on phones that vary in cost from $50 US to $1100 US (and higher, if you count boutique phones). This makes android very accessible to a majority of people. This is mostly because as an open source operating system, Android itself is free to use.
The other answer is customization. Again, because it is free and open source, anyone can take Android and build and modify it to suit specific needs to a group of people or device. This makes it very extensible and powerful. No two android phones will be/look the same, because everyone can modify it. However, this can be a bad thing, more on that later.
To prove the Customization, here are a bunch of Android homscreens. In here is mostly the "stock" launchers on a few well known phones, as well as a couple custom looks
You haven’t even mentioned Google yet…
That’s on purpose. Google does own android, and does the majority of work on Android, and 99% of the the time we associate Android with Google, for good reason. If you own an Android phone chances are it has google services on it. Google services are what most people actually associate with Android. Google services are the apps and, err, services that OEM’s have to put on android phones to get the Play Store, which is another Google Service. It’s kind of complicated, I know).
Who makes Android phones?
The list is too long, literally everyone who makes phones but Apple makes Android.
But the popular Android phones are Samsung and…. Well in the mass market space, Samsung. People may gripe about Samsung Android phones, but they’re popular for a reason. Samsung makes the best high end phones for most people in the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines. They’re phones are less competitive in the midrange but the brand name means they also sell a metric ton of them. They probably sell more Galaxy A and Galaxy J phones than any other OEM outside of china sells of all their phones combined. I personally own a GS8+ and I frankly love it.
Now, for those of us more likely to read the Android thread on the Penny-Arcade Forums, phones from these companies are generally well regarded:
Samsung
OnePlus
Nokia (seriously)
What about Tablets?
Oh boy. This is a thing. Look, I personally own 3 Android tablets. But Android tablets are terrible and basically no one should buy them. The first android tablet was released in 2011. In 2018, there are still probably less than 100 truly good tablet optimized apps for Android. Because of that, even with good hardware, the software situation makes them not a great purchase.
Ok, what about Android apps on Chromebooks?
Also a thing. Look, the same problem exists, just in a slightly different context. Android apps on chromebooks can run windowed, but again, 99.9999% of apps run in the small phone screen mode. You can run them full screen, but the same problem exists as on tablets. Some apps support dynamic sizing (think apps/windows on Windows or MacOS). But the number of apps that support that is basically the Microsoft Office apps.
So yea, the future of Android tablets might actually be chromebooks, but honestly it’s not a great future either.
Is rooting and rom’ing still a thing?
Yes, but not as much as it used to be. You’ll still of course find some people that think that rooting a phone is the only way to make it useful, but the reality is that the vast majority people, including power users, don’t really need to root anymore. Back in the Android 2.x days it let you add features that were legit missing from the OS, there’s just less need for that anymore.
Loading a custom ROM is also not as popular as it used to be, but there are still legit reasons for it. If you’re stuck on a phone that sill works but won’t be seeing another OS update, a custom ROM can breathe new life into it. Your mileage very much vary’s here, and honestly, if you’re looking to put a custom ROM on your phoen XDA is a better place than here, and we wish you luck.
Talk about updates
I left this for last because this is a shitty subject. I’ll tackle the Major updates first. Think Going from Android 7.0 to 8.0.
To get it out of the way: Android will never have the platform adoption numbers that Apple has. Full stop.
If you’re not getting a Google phone and want a phone that is most likely to get updates, though not exactly timely, Samsung is the next best choice. Samsung generally updates their phones for 2 years after release, and as of this writing there is indication that the 3 year old Galaxy S6 will be getting Oreo.
With that out of the way: If having the latest Android release the day it becomes available is the most important factor to you, Get a Google Pixel device. End of story.
Past that, it gets a bit nuanced and difficult and complicated and it sucks.
Basically, you have to look at the history of the company that makes the phone. Look at prior phones as a guide. Back to Samsung, they do update their phones for a couple years, but usually 6 or so months after the code drop. Others, like OnePlus are…. Not consistent. They usually update, but the time it takes them to update varies widely. LG…. I guess they update most of the time, but it’s not a guarantee. Some smaller manufacturers also do update, Nokia has promised Android 8 on their newer Android phones, but we havne’t seen it yet so we don’t have a track record to go on.
Oh, and then there are carriers. IF you live in the US and bought a carrier branded phone they have to give their blessing before their phoens get updated. Yea, it’s a mess.
Basically…. The state of Android version updates is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Lastly, security updates. This is almost as ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as the platform updates. Google releases a monthly patch to Android, just like what Microsoft does with Windows. Except that Google doesn’t get to push the security updates like Microsoft does. So Some phones get updated every month. The Pixels do, the Blackberry Android phones do, Unlocked Samsung phones do. Past that: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
XBL: thewunderbar PSN: thewunderbar NNID: thewunderbar Steam: wunderbar87 Twitter: wunderbar
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And they didn't.
So he died.
So I mean, they're not the first or last to have to halt an update because of bugs, but good job guys. I guess I can stop mashing the check for updates button now.
And they didn't.
So he died.
yeaaaaa
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B072FN59FH/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
And they didn't.
So he died.
I need my phone back before I get another.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
My notification shade and uh...button bar? (where the home and back buttons are) now change color between white and black depending on my wallpaper and app I have open.
I can't seem to find the option to make them dark all the time.
Related: Chrome seems to now turn that bar white all the time and it's jarring.
That's Android Oreo.
Yeah they changed something in the latest patch, I really dislike the white button bar
It's actually a measure to reduce the onset of burn-in from the navigation buttons.
Nope, it is part of the image on Pixel devices.
LG has announced a number of new SQU's of the V30, they're the LGv V0 S+ ThinQ (not making that up). More storage, more Ram
The GS9 is official. It's leaked to hell, but the last piece is complete. The S9 is $720US. the S9+ will probably be $820
Nokia announced all the things. https://www.androidcentral.com/nokia-announces-nokia-8-sirocco-nokia-7-plus-nokia-1
And Android One is apparently finally a thing, but apparently shitty.
https://www.cnet.com/products/samsung-galaxy-s9/preview/
Starts at $720, looks like.
Edit: totally didn’t see the post above. But link has some additional info.
Steam | XBL
Her 2 big wants seem to be as good a camera as possible and a headphone jack.
I’m thinking the S9 Plus meets those criteria.
She’s a bit ambivalent about leaving FaceTime, since it seems like everyone we know has iPhones. But between Skype, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, and the family iPad, I think we can deal with it.
Any thoughts from anyone on going iOS—>Android? Or any concerns or things I may not be aware of?
the concerns are a pretty standard couple questions you just have to ask yourself/herself.
Those seem simple, but really think hard about them. My dad's iPhone 6 broke last summer, and he replaced it with a brand new iPhone..... 6S. He's similarly stuck on the headphone jack, but for him he's had an iPhone since the 4, and he and my mom each have an iPhone and iPad and while he asked me if he should consider a "phone like yours" [mine, the GS8+]. I stopped him mid sentence and said no. I know him, and know it would have been a giant nightmare and all I would have done for 4 months is help him with it and it wouldn't have been a great experience for either of us.
I do think it's asinine that Apple doesn't offer a modern iPhone with a headphone jack though. I actually do think that eventually when he has to replace his 6S in a year or two he might end up on Android then because my dad has a couple sets of really nice wired headphones and doesn't want to give them up, and the dongle situation is stupid. To keep this on an Android thought, It's a disturbing trend to see them going away on some phones in the Android ecosystem, especially on the Pixels, but I'm glad we do have choice, and 100% that one of the factors in the S9 getting the push is that it still has a headphone jack.
1) I spent years looking for a version; only to just now discover that the spring-loaded part was a mod by a PA for the movie.
2) HOW DO YOU NOT SPEND SOME MONEY TO ADD THAT FEATURE!?!!??
The S9 premier video from Samsung on youtube was basically 95% "OH MY GOD THIS CAMERA!" and 5% "we have a headphone jack", and basically nothing else about the phone.
It was weird.
I mean, the thing with phones nowadays, there isn't a whole lot to talk about, so you have to really push the things that are different. The GS9 is basically the exact same phone as the GS8 was, with a couple tiny tweaks. If you did put it in apple terms, this would be an "S" phone. That's not a bad thing, the design is still the best out there. At the really high end that these phones are in now, camera is bigger differentiation, and what people are looking for, so it gets pushed a lot.
I don't have to charge my headphones or ear buds, nor worry about losing one. Bluetooth is very power hungry compared to the jack. New phones (at least my Samsung phones) have come with new ear buds for at least the last 7 years meaning pretty much everyone has at least one pair. Not everyone wants to shell out $100+ for something that will almost certainly sound worse. And lastly there are some physical accessories that can make use of the headphone jack to do cool stuff, like check your blood sugar if you are diabetic.
PSN:Furlion
I don't use cheap earbuds with my phone. I usually either use my aux jack for my car (which has a great sound system), or a pair of over-ear headphones, or custom IEMS. Having a headphone jack is important to me, because I use my phone for music a LOT. This is especially important if your job allows you to listen to music all day, or if you have a long commute. And hey, it's pretty nice to have good sound available even when I'm just waiting for an oil change.
And they didn't.
So he died.
When I'm generally out and about I'll be using bluetooth, but I have a pair of really good noise cancelling headphones that are wired that I use when travelling.
Basically the thing is that options are good, and the line that taking out the 3.5mm jack leaves significantly more room for battery is absolute BS and not true at all.
Apple did it because they want to sell people headphones with their proprietary connector, or earpods, further increasing apple lock in. The reasons are nothing more, nothing less.
Android OEM's are starting to do it because Apple did it. there's actually no advantage to an Android OEM doing it because none of them have that kind of platform lock in. It makes no sense to do so.
And USB-C headphones are a mess. It is starting to improve a little bit, but due to differences in DAC's (digitial to audio converters), not all USB-C headphones work on all devices. this is starting to get a little better, but the fact that a person can't take the headphones that came with say, a HTC U11 and plug them into a Pixel 2 is absurd when the 3.5mm jack. just. works.
The State of USB-C headphones is a post all in itself. It's crazy.
Also we discussed this briefly in the past but rental car integrated BT is a hot mess, to be kind. Hell, my wife's 2014 Pilot still gets grumpy periodically when we use it. Having the 3.5mm as a backup is nice; though I'll concede in that case that you could use a dongle to get by.
Well, after a 5h flight recently watching netflix (downloaded), I still had about 45% battery, so I currently need to charge while using just about never..
And then at the gym I still prefer wired headphones because 1) they're louder and 2) I don't have to worry about them dying halfway through my workout (I don't know what I'd do if had to workout with just gym noises and my thoughts to keep me going).
Not to say a headphone jack is a must for me, but if I have the option in a phone I like I'll take it.
My wife uses Amazon for most of her music. I’ve got everything uploaded to Google (even the stuff I’ve bought on iTunes)...Google Home, Fire Stick...we’re kind of all over the place. :P
She makes a lot of conference calls and she likes to both be plugged in and on headphones.
I use it for the aux jack in my van for work. I do a ton of driving, sometimes 3-4 hours in a day, so having an easy way to just plug the phone in and go is nice.
Warframe/Steam: NFyt
the 5X, unfortunately, ended up being kind of a lemon of a phone. so many software and hardware issues with that thing. Kind of sad actually.
I probably won't get one because it would just be a side-grade performance wise from my Pixel XL, but hopefully it does well and gets a follow-up next year.
Shortly after that it fell out of her pocket while crouching down, hit the floor, and the screen shattered. (Our S7's have both fallen from much greater heights multiple times without even a scratch on the screen, even unprotected without a case or screen protectors)
Return isn't possible now, and she is not happy about it. How much would a screen replacement be, and could we even get one that was a bit sturdier than the piece of shit screen it has from the factory?