LG is getting out of the mobile phone business • Hacker News Board

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#201

Post by mhitza » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:31 AM UTC

nullify88 wrote: post #191

blackoil wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Apps aren't gold standard. I own a Samsung phone I have replaced launcher (MS launcher) /SMS (SMS organizer). Contacts and Phone app maybe Samsung's but they never troubled me. Only Settings search is unexplicably slow which annoys sometimes. In terms of hardware/updates Samsung is good enough. Only Chinese phones may give better value for money but they come with too many software quirks, which I don't like.

Years ago I used to use the MS Launcher, however I noticed strange behaviour when in low 2g signal areas...Apps would take longer starting up. I'd tap on an icon, nothing would happen and the launcher would appear frozen, few seconds later the app would open. I noticed the launcher was sending traffic whenever I started an app and it was affecting app start times when in low and slow signal areas. I didn't dig in to…

Recently I wanted to try out a new launcher on my phone. I've installed 3-4 different launchers and they all had a huge privacy policy page about the large amount of data they would exfiltrate from the phone.

So your experience definitely doesn't come as a surprise.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#202

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:31 AM UTC

nindalf wrote: post #190

nl wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even without root, Tasker can automate every single aspect of the OS - Want to send and receive WhatsApp messages over email?[1], Want better accessibility e.g. Voice summary of news?[2], Want a butt triggered pomodoro timer?[3]. Termux runs a Linux container and it can run complete Linux distribution inside it with PRoot[4]. Best of all, Tasker & Termux can communicate with each other for endless possibilities. Do…

> Does anyone actually care about any of these things? On HN, sure. The other 3.6 billion smartphone users out there? No. The top voted opinions on HN are niche and don't represent the general population in any way. You can see this effect on other threads. Here are a few classic examples. - Everyone on HN hates Facebook, and yet 2 billion+ people use it every day. - Privacy is a paramount concern on HN, more importa…

[deleted]

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#203

Post by iainmerrick » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:34 AM UTC

perryizgr8 wrote: post #129

Aloha wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has never had a dedicated Siri button. Also, it's a phone dialer - like the functionality of a phone dialer has been well defined since the early 2000's (also having used PalmOS, webOS, Windows Mobile 6 and 7, Early Android, and iOS from 2012 on I've never desired additional functionality here), so like what makes a phone dialer "like 10 years ahead"? - I'm not trying to snark, it's a genuine question.

> Apple has never had a dedicated Siri button. Sure it does. Right side button, hold it and it triggers siri. Single click locks unlocks the phone. This is identical to how the unlock/Bixby button works on Samsung.

That’s optional, and opt-in -- it asks you during phone setup whether to enable Siri.

It does try to nudge you into enabling it, but if someone kept pressing that button and invoking Siri accidentally, they could open Settings and search for “siri” to disable it, which I think is reasonably discoverable.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#204

Post by villgax » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:35 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #131

villgax wrote: post #29

Can manufacturers do a wedge like design with a thicker top & tapered bottom edge? That way there is no camera bump & the device sits flat on a desk & a bit raised towards you as well. Bonus camera points coz the lenses are along the same axis horizontally & closer to the centre of the device than in one corner, likewise for the front facing camera too, which could just be shoved into one corner without leaving a hol…

Camera bumps are all cancelled out by cases anyways. What you are describing sounds uncomfortable to carry around in the pocket.

Both are cuboidal & I don't think it would make any difference without the case in a pocket

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#205

Post by OkGoDoIt » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:35 AM UTC

benibin wrote: post #192

arkitaip wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When 6-year-olds use Samsung as a synonym for Android, you know that Samsung's marketing is crushing it. Which is a shame considering how poor their overall software quality is.

I'm sorry but how a 6 years old know anything about phone brands?

6 year olds watch a lot of TV/YouTube, and see a ton of advertising

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#206

Post by postingawayonhn » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:35 AM UTC

trabant00 wrote: post #116

ohazi wrote: post #66

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…

Because at large people don't select their phone based on what you mention. What does matter I believe is marketing. I think most importantly is Samsung's image presence vs LG. Can't remember the last time I've seen a TV advert for LG. Or a billboard in the city center, or youtube hype from influencers, etc. While Samsung is everywhere. Second is the cool factor. LG has none while Samsung have this as a priority. Fro…

I think for Samsung the key was to build a loyal customer base by copying the iPhone at a lower price point. Thier designs have now departed significantly from those of Apple but the core customers have stuck around.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#207

Post by _trampeltier » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:36 AM UTC

juliand wrote: post #76

ohazi wrote: post #66

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…

I am a s10+ user and recently I ditched all the different google version of my phone apps. I decided to use samsung's version of the calculator, calendar, files and contacts apps. They seem solid enough for me and some of them present better integration with the Samsung ecosystem . Those apps are also integrated with different third party providers including google . I still despise bixby but I'm very satisfied with…

At least the Samsung Gallery app works just fine if you block the network access with a firewall. The Google Gallery app does strange things and is not usable at all behind a firewall.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#208

Post by p2detar » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:39 AM UTC

ohazi wrote: post #66

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…

You’re missing something. Samsung has a large enterprise customer base. Apart from Google’s semi-working enterprise stuff, theirs is probably the only successful Android enterprise solution to date. Samsung Knox is not to be underestimated. They really did a marvelous job there and Google borrowed a lot of ideas from the Knox standard.

I agree about the UI stuff though.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#209

Post by Der_Einzige » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:42 AM UTC

ohazi wrote: post #66

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way -- different (shitty) UI, Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse), reorganizing preferences for no reason, the stupid bottom button placement, non-remappable Bixby button, aggressively killing apps for power management and breaking widgets, etc…

Samsung always had better screens and cameras than anyone else. That's all they needed.

They still have the best screens today. They still have the best cameras besides apple today.

Re: LG is getting out of the mobile phone business

#210

Post by rbreaves » Mon, Apr 05, 2021, 7:42 AM UTC

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #80

klondike_ wrote: post #5

What happened to the Android phone ecosystem? Android phones used to offer unique and useful features like removable batteries, headphone jacks, IR blasters, SD cards, etc. Now it seems that Samsung and Google are obsessed with copying whatever Apple does, even their controversial decisions like removing the headphone jack, even after making fun of Apple for doing it. No thanks, why would I buy a shittier iPhone with…

I agree that the hardware omissions are blatant copy from Apple as the way to have more markup and revenue from accessories, software services but I like to differ on the OS front. Android's power user ecosystem couldn't be matched in iOS. Even without root, Tasker can automate every single aspect of the OS - Want to send and receive WhatsApp messages over email?[1], Want better accessibility e.g. Voice summary of ne…

The amount of work & installs you have to do for all that is laughable though.. assuming you can get a jailbroken iPhone.. the terminal app is easy to install.. small install & full on posix compliant terminal is right there w/ a more normal pkg manager to boot. I dunno shortcuts & a jailbroken iPhone is equally powerful & there’s far less tinkering involved imo. But I’m sure you’ve not used an iPhone enough to realize that.