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I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

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Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#351

Post by agumonkey »

thekingshorses wrote: post #273
itp wrote: post #7

Wow. I'm a long time Android user and probably pay more attention than most, and I had no idea web apps had gotten quite this nice. Currently the only web app / web shortcut I have installed is the HackerWeb app[0], which is nice but clearly not taking advantage of all of the functionality it could. I "installed" Flipkart Lite and the Voice Memos demo app to see the state of the world. Clearly it's possible to build…

If YC provides API like reddit, you can build really good client using web technology. https://hackerwebapp.com/ is best you could do without good APIs. This is my reddit client. https://reddit.premii.com/ - You can login, upvote, reply, save, and tons of other things.

I didn't know premii had other 'backends'... life: changed.

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#352

Post by YZF »

jan_g wrote: post #267
BuckRogers wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nexus devices have pretty much proven out to be that way. I was going to move to a Nexus before abandoning Android (after about 7 years of using various phones) but they cut off updates way too early. My friend has one and overall I was just not pleased with it. Build quality as well. I ran Cyanogenmod on my phones usually and helped a lot but I'm still happier with my iPhone. I ended up moving to an iPhone 5S and I…

Well, I have nexus 4 since 2012 and have been using to this day. I just might use it for another year (unless the new Nexus phones this autumn really impress me). Some of my relatives still use Samsung Galaxy S3. It is possible to use an Android phone for more than a year. I have no clue why you went through them so fast. 4 phones in 5 years? So you upgraded nearly every year. Why?

It's disappointing though it didn't get the latest OS upgrade. One of the reasons I bought the Nexus 4 is the promise that it would get updates...

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#353

Post by megablast »

odbol_ wrote: post #333
jamisteven wrote: post #260

I for one could never go back to Android. iOS is just such a better user experience, much more fluid. Android feels like Cisco Voice's product lineup, all pieced together. fragmented applications and processes that dont work side-by-side with eachother. The other reason, which is huge to me, is the hardware. I am huge on how things feel in the hand and in my opinion apple's hardware is just far superior to anything o…

> fragmented applications and processes that dont work side-by-side with eachother Are you joking? I just tried to email some screenshots to myself from my iPhone. Couldn't do it. It only let me send one image at a time. There was literally no way to make multiple attachments, and if you are trying to attach something that's not in Camera roll, good luck! (I only went the email route because its 2016 and I still can'…

You can select about 5 images and email them all at once.

You can also connect your device to your computer and download the images directly.

You can also share images over airdrop via bluetooth.

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#354

Post by mastazi »

sehr wrote: post #345
mastazi wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every web app I've used has required a painful sign-up process, which is usually where I bail out of the process. Way more friction than an app store install. Support for password managers like LastPass is one of the areas where Android shines compared to iOS. Also, you seem to imply that most apps downloaded from the app store don't require a sign-up process. I beg to differ. And I note that the sign-up process is…

For what it's worth, iOS and OS X both have Keychain built into them, basically LastPass but blessed by the OS. ex: http://imgur.com/YJXCWxz

true, but as of now only a handful of native apps support it (e.g. Uber does, but then Uber supports any major password manager including LastPass).

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#355

Post by themihai »

taesu wrote: post #78
_kp6z wrote: post #70

I did the opposite and can't believe how much better my life had gotten because my iPhone is just a simple tool that I use for communications and don't think about it as a project. With Android, I always wanted to tweak silly things and run Cyanogenmod because the handset firmware was always so bad and vulnerable. On several occasions I'd bricked my phone requiring hours of recovery, or had transient failures of cell…

These things that you mentioned, you didn't really have to do. Buy a nexus, and it's as clean as it gets. What you're saying is that you left the freedom of your device to jail yourself into simple interface...? I do agree though, that those samsung/lg/etc phone have lots crapwares + carrier crapwares.

Android is far from "freedom". Having to find exploits in order to get root access on your own device is just wrong.

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#357

Post by mastazi »

mastazi wrote: post #339
billyhoffman wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah Google owns my life, but I wouldn't feel better if Apple owned it instead Why? Apple makes money selling you hardware. Google makes money selling you to advertisers. I'm not comfortable with any company figuratively "owning" my life, but if I have to choose, the one that isn't built on scummy ads will get my money every single time.

Whenever I try to get iCloud actually working [1] I kind of wish Apple was actually interested in owning my data ;-) Rants apart, this fact: > Apple makes money selling you hardware. Google makes money selling you to advertisers. has a direct consequence: cloud services made by Apple are generally inferior compared to those made by Google[2]. Now of course if you value privacy over everything you might prefer to save…

Why the downvote? I don't mind but care to elaborate?

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#358

Post by sfa_aok »

xd1936 wrote: post #153
babuskov wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't buy a Nexus. I have and it's a huge disappointment. I had a perfect Nexus 10 device running KitKat. And then it keeps nagging to upgrade to Lollipop, so I did. Ever since that, it runs every application slow as hell. If you allow the battery to run out, prepare for pain. Once you fill up the battery and it restarts it will start "optimizing" all installed applications. I have about 80 applications and this take…

That sounds like a list of uncommon issues. My company's Nexus 10 runs Lollipop really well... Maybe something went poorly with the OS update. Try a factory reset and see if those issues are still happening?

Sorry to pick on your response, and you're right, a factory reset might be worth a shot, but factory resets on Android are a PITA. The last time I did it (my last 3 phones have been Nexuses), it literally took half a day to get the phone back to the point it was at previously - I had to install OS updates, re-install apps (which also reset to 0 in many apps), re-download music (I admit, I could copy files over from my laptop). It makes setting up a new iPhone for the wife look like magic.

I wouldn't mind, but even with Nexus phones, my experience of issues is that you end up crawling Google, and the answers are the technical equivalent of doing the hokey cokey in the hope of curing a cold: "Uninstalling Snapchat made the problem disappear!"; "Install this app and use it to work around an issue", etc.). And then the last resort - the factory reset. I'm not doing anything particularly exotic with my phone, the thought of the hassle of a factory reset is just depressing.

I bought a Nexus 5X at launch, after my replacement Nexus 5's power button died. And it has been a laggier experience than the 5 (I admit the latest update seems to have improved things (though it's still not equivalent to the 5 IME). But looking for other people with the same problem you see the same responses, like a repeating background in a roadrunner cartoon - "Mine runs buttery smooth"; "Maybe yours is faulty, RMA?"; "Tried a factory reset?". Sorry, I don't enjoy this detective work/maintenance.

I doubt the iPhone experience is perfect, but it can hardly be worse, can it?

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#359

Post by mastazi »

sehr wrote: post #345
mastazi wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every web app I've used has required a painful sign-up process, which is usually where I bail out of the process. Way more friction than an app store install. Support for password managers like LastPass is one of the areas where Android shines compared to iOS. Also, you seem to imply that most apps downloaded from the app store don't require a sign-up process. I beg to differ. And I note that the sign-up process is…

For what it's worth, iOS and OS X both have Keychain built into them, basically LastPass but blessed by the OS. ex: http://imgur.com/YJXCWxz

My main argument being that any password manager, be it Lastpass or not, tends to work better on Android because of features like "draw over other apps" which basically means creating a modal window on top of other apps. On Android this action can be initiated by clicking on an icon which lives in the notification drawer, and it can be done in any app, while on iOS it's only possible in an app that supports the iOS 8+ extensibility features (such as Uber)

Re: I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS

#360

Post by ignoramous »

I am not entirely sure if Android is the best mobile platform out there. Apple continues to innovate at an incredible pace on its hardware and software. It is untouchable as far as HCI is concerned, they just seem to get most of the UX right. Its amazing to see them make computers that work and behave like a charm.

Pricing is unreasonable, TBH. And that's where Android eco-system has held an upper edge for too long now. Android as a platform, superior enough technology-wise, is terrible 'fragmentation' wise. Apple's laser sharp focus on UX around their entire line-up is commendable. To an extent, they think about their end-users at a level unparalleled at other tech companies-- not supporting flash, pushing aggressively ahead with ad-blocker support, adding a voice-enabled assistant, iCloud etc Apple's radical re-think of a smart-phone is a miracle. Almost everyone before them got it wrong. They are operating on some other level altogether.

Google, I think except for Google Now and their notifications scheme on Android have mostly been playing a catch-up with iOS.

I think Google faces the same issue with their Cloud offerings too. All the talk of the most advance platform/tech in the world and they still languish behind AWS and Azure.

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