Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple has shortcuts which is actually better than tasker and has system wide support and new shortcuts can be easily shared and can easily do some of tasks mentioned above. https://www.imore.com/macstories-releases-archive-150-free-s... seriously amount of ignorance that Android fans about ios is breathtaking.
And don’t forget that in iOS 13 shortcuts can run shortcuts automatically based on location, connected WiFi networks, toggling system settings, etc.
Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
221–230 of 233 posts
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#222syncthing (or resilio sync either) let's you sync any folder on your phone to other computers. either a two way sync or as a backup with things like photos going from your phone to your computer only. when I come home from talking photos for mapillary/openstreetmap the photos start syncing straight away and it's really fast since it's only syncing over the network and not going to the cloud.
I have another folder that syncs across osmAnd's app folder so all my gps traces are accessible from my laptop
I had an iphone for a few months but sold it because I found it to be too restrictive and wouldnt let you have this kind of a setup
swipepad. let's you swipe in from the side of the screen to launch apps. this means you don't have to go back the the home screen every time you want to open something which is really inefficient way of doing things. you can also launch shortcuts (another android only thing as far as I know) that go straight to a certain part if an app instead of the main screen. like going straight to writing an email or sms, or start sound hound listen straight away. start an audio recording without opening the app. call a certain contact. run a tasker task. there lots of other similar launchers like swiftly switch that can be used at the same time.
I also didn't see nfc being mentioned anywhere. has iPhone added nfc yet? i have lots of them all over the house that I use to toggle lights, start timers or add things to my shopping list or start music playing. (most of these are programed with tasker as well so they can do a few things at a time instead of just one action)
you also don't need to install itunes just to do some basic things. huge plus :)
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
USB-C charging relies on negotiation between both sides. A laptop charger can supply 20+V if it determines there's a high-power device on the other end. I'm not particularly trusting that a cheaply-made power supply won't hit the wrong condition on a case statement and supply 20V to my phone. Implementing USB-C wrong seems to be a passtime of all major manufacturers now. Nintendo got it almost completely wrong with t…
It's worse. Both sides need to negotiate properly, and the cable needs to follow specs, which many don't. Where micro USB has QC and QC2, there's a whole suite of PD (power delivery) and data protocols that cables may or may not support. https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/9674462/usb-type-c-google... is dated coverage of a Google engineer testing for out-of-spec cables. See also: https://twitter.com/laughing_man .
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#2241) Notifications are much better. Taking direct action to read and archive/delete emails directly from the notification is great. Not sure if iOS has this yet, but last time I checked iOS Notifications were primitive by comparison. 2) Direct sharing to/from ANY app. iOS is frustratingly limited. On a similar note, being able to assign default apps for specific types of content.
This has changed but it's up to the developer to define the actions one can take on a notification.
> 2) Direct sharing to/from ANY app. iOS is frustratingly limited. On a similar note, being able to assign default apps for specific types of content.
The sharing popover is quite universal in iOS at this point and can be found basically wherever it makes sense.
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#225Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's iSH for iOS, that tries to be similar to Termux. I don't know if it has feature parity or not since I've only heard about it, not used it myself, but I don't want to say this area is an Android-only feature.
Thanks. Apple makes such tools far too hard to find. Does seem quite preliminary though, yet.
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
USB-C charging relies on negotiation between both sides. A laptop charger can supply 20+V if it determines there's a high-power device on the other end. I'm not particularly trusting that a cheaply-made power supply won't hit the wrong condition on a case statement and supply 20V to my phone. Implementing USB-C wrong seems to be a passtime of all major manufacturers now. Nintendo got it almost completely wrong with t…
> The RPi 4 is also wrong, as it bridges two connectors that shouldn't be Do you have a link or some more info on that?
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#2271) Notifications are much better. Taking direct action to read and archive/delete emails directly from the notification is great. Not sure if iOS has this yet, but last time I checked iOS Notifications were primitive by comparison. 2) Direct sharing to/from ANY app. iOS is frustratingly limited. On a similar note, being able to assign default apps for specific types of content.
I always found the iOS notifications to be a bit odd. I never owned an iPhone but my wife is now at her 4th. She always forgets she received a notification because she has a lot on her mind (she's a doctor and we have two kids) and all the notifications get "half dismissed" whenever she opens her phone (text, call, browse, whatever...). Somehow, it's assumed that when you open your phone you automatically have time o…
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#2281. Don't send location or app install data anywhere.
2. Route phone calls and SMSes through encrypted communication services automatically.
3. Develop and run applications without telling anybody.
4. Ublock Origin in the browser and adblocking across all apps (not just browsers).
Most people care about usefulness instead of privacy, and Android beats iOS there as well:
1. Install apps from the Play Store using your desktop web browser.
2. Start Android Auto on your phone when connecting to the car's Bluetooth automatically and use it directly on the phone without buying a separate headend for the car.
3. Upload photos automatically to photo services in the background.
4. Route outgoing calls automatically through Google Voice, so when people call back, you get transcripted voicemails for free.
5. Multiple user accounts, so you can set up a restricted kids account on your phone and hand it to them for entertainment in a pinch.
6. Install apps from other app stores, like Amazon's, that also run deals for free apps.
7. Game console and calculator emulators.
8. Browsers that aren't years behind in standards support, so you get installable PWAs for Twitter, WebRTC, etc.; and you don't have to put up with bugs for years until the sole renderer vendor fixes them (e.g., iFrame scrolling on iOS).
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#229>Price >Less 'idiot-focused' UX >Better company running it >Better apps/less locked down 'app store' >More freedom/choice in phone companies and customisation >About the same locked-down OS There's really no other choice
>Better company running it Nope, I disagree. Google is certainly not a better company than Apple when it comes to data collection, making it confusing (and sometimes impossible) to prevent data collection, and profiling user behavior to target them for ads.
To make the point really obvious, even Google-flavored Android devices are perfectly usable without a Google account (install apps, etc.). iOS is unusable without an Apple ID.
Re: Ask HN: What do you do on an Android phone that cannot be done on an iPhone?
#230Can you set up Android so that you can press and hold volume up to skip to the next song, press and hold volume down to go to the previous one?