Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

counterpointresearch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 796 posts

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#191

Post by jwells89 »

alexdbird wrote: post #119
pretext-1 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It works better because iOS had this for many years and apps implement it natively. Android's implementation is basically a workaround. The back gesture is recognized by the system and forwarded as back button event to the app. On iOS the gesture is handled by the app, which can provide proper animation, giving users the ability to “preview” what’s behind (and pull back to the left to stop going back). Android is try…

> it will take many years for apps to adopt it This is the flaw with the Apple back gesture, sadly, as although it's generally really easy to support this in native app — essentially it comes for free and you just don't break it — plenty of developers just don't care about invisible quality of life things. The gesture is properly called 'Interactive Pop'.

It's not a perfect rule but most fully native (as in written with Obj-C or Swift) tend to leave this functionality intact. For React Native and other alternative UI stacks all bets are off.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#192

Post by pmontra »

jwells89 wrote: post #164
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which bloatware and what problems does it make you? For me, I don't really consider Microsoft Office as bloatware as I can use it, plus, what's bloatware for you might be useful apps for others, and I found it stays out of my way once I push it to the side if I don't need it, so it's existence is a non-issue for usability. Samsung bloatware used to be bad in the past but now it's decent IMHO, and I think people are b…

I don't want the OS to have any material differences at all between devices. Android should be like Windows, which is the same no matter where it's running. Even the "good" changes that manufacturers make are unwelcome, because they dull much of the appeal of an OS like Android where hardware vendors are interchangeable and can be switched on a whim without software downsides. I don't want to become dependent on some…

> Android should be like Windows, which is the same no matter where it's running

Is it? I remember some HP specific software when I turned on my new laptop to reformat it with Linux.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#193

Post by yabatopia »

throw9away6 wrote: post #62
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hot take: I find recent Samsung flagships far superior to what Google offers, especially the latest S23: small and speedy with longer SW support than a pixel, better CPU/GPU and better cameras, at a decent price. Bloatware and Android implementation is also not too bad. Also Samsung DEX can save your bacon in case your laptop dies and you don't have a spare but need a quick desktop experience for some multitasking pr…

Samsung blowtware is a problem though

How about Google bloatware? Samsung Internet browser is far more superior than Google Chrome, but you can't uninstall Chrome. Of Gmail. Or Play Store. Much of the bloat is coming from Google. After all, it's a Samsung device, not a Google device.

I used to be some kind of Androis purist, owner of multiple Nexus and Pixel devices. But for several years now, I'm sticking with Samsung.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#194

Post by Jtsummers »

veave wrote: post #136
joelfried wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For people who already have USB-C phones and are considering switching it means "All of the cords you have right now will still be useful", which is a definite improvement over "All of the cords you have right now are junk you will throw away and have to replace with new cords". I'm not trying to say that will drive massive upgrades in and of itself, but I can definitely see it being a nice-to-have at the margins and…

I'm pretty pissed because I have had apple stuff for years and now I suppose I can throw the lightning cables in the trash. Thanks EU!

You know what we had to do about a decade ago? Toss out our 30-pin connector cables. Times change, the switch of the iPhone to USB-C was inevitable given that Apple has already moved pretty much everything else away from the Lightning connector already. At best the EU pushed up the timeline.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#195

Post by AuthorizedCust »

sliken wrote: post #96
AuthorizedCust wrote: post #48

Android’s problem is Pixel is the only good one, and it has not been flagship quality since the Pixel 2. The 3 had odd issues, the 4 had a laughable battery life, and 5-7 are a weird mix of midrange and flagship capability (trending towards flagship, but not in the club yet). All other Android vendors are on a continuum of crap, between these points: 1. loaded with bloat and customizations that aren’t better than wha…

Well the pixel is generally about the newest android that's the flagship software experience, with a decent camera, running on 1-2 year older hardware. But in my experience the lack of crapware and gaming benchmarks means it feels pretty snappy compared to Samsung. I tried Samsung a few times, even with more ram it was vicious about killing tasks in the background so switching apps always did a splash screen and rela…

Pixel software + Samsung hardware #FTW

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#196

Post by wvenable »

matchbok wrote: post #7

Years and years of terrible decisions from Google (15 messaging apps, Android SDK glitches that still exist from 2010, copying Apple's features instead of leading) will only continue to let Apple dominate. There's simply no reason to choose Android - iPhone does everything better, for the same price.

My wife is totally in the iOS ecosystem and I'm fully in the Samsung ecosystem and they both have their pros and cons. Pros on Android: My work profile is isolated from my personal profile, I can just copy movies onto the device and play them with VLC, automatic routines are better, audio controls are much better, the back button, ad blockers, real alternative browsers, etc.

The problem with long term iPhone users is that they don't know what they don't know. Superficially, it's very easy to see an Android phone and an inferior iPhone if you only look at what iPhones can do.

That being said, I always recommend iPhones over Android for family/friends/etc. For someone like myself, who is a little bit technical I actually prefer the control, customization, and advanced features of Android. I actually find iPhones to be frustratingly simplistic.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#197

Post by HelloMcFly »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #65
throw9away6 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung blowtware is a problem though

Which bloatware and what problems does it make you? For me, I don't really consider Microsoft Office as bloatware as I can use it, plus, what's bloatware for you might be useful apps for others, and I found it stays out of my way once I push it to the side if I don't need it, so it's existence is a non-issue for usability. Samsung bloatware used to be bad in the past but now it's decent IMHO, and I think people are b…

> Which bloatware and what problems does it make you?

Just about every single pre-installed app? Their store, their browser, Bixby, Bixby vision, messaging, their car mode, their friends, Galaxy smartwatch BS, SmartThings, their weather app. It's all - to an app - worse than the alternatives, and worse than Google's defaults if that's your preference.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#198

Post by trashface »

sourcecodeplz wrote: post #12
salad-tycoon wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did you settle on? I’m starting to fantasize this reality too. I have an iPhone now.

That's just an exercise though really. You NEED a smartphone nowadays for everyday life: banking, gym access, maps, etc.

This must be a generational thing as I'm older and don't need apps for banking or gym, but yeah maps is definitely a requirement.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#199

Post by partiallypro »

Jtsummers wrote: post #180
partiallypro wrote: post #122

Does this mean the US government can finally start treating Apple the way it treats Microsoft, etc when it does clearly anti-competitive things? They get away with murder sometimes and no one bats an eye. Even here on HN, it's full of people that turn a blind eye because they have a love for Apple. Everything as spun as "looking out for the user" as if not using USB-C, locking out RCS, the "Apple Tax" etc are anythin…

Market share alone is not why MS was sued for anti-trust violations. It was how they got into that position, what they did to maintain that position, and what they did with that position.

This isn't in contradiction of what I just said. If anything, it supports it, because 55% isn't a "monopoly" but their behavior is anti-competitive, and they have been propelled into this position in part because of that behavior.

Re: US smartphone shipments fall sharply, but Android more than iPhone

#200

Post by AuthorizedCust »

rado wrote: post #60
AuthorizedCust wrote: post #48

Android’s problem is Pixel is the only good one, and it has not been flagship quality since the Pixel 2. The 3 had odd issues, the 4 had a laughable battery life, and 5-7 are a weird mix of midrange and flagship capability (trending towards flagship, but not in the club yet). All other Android vendors are on a continuum of crap, between these points: 1. loaded with bloat and customizations that aren’t better than wha…

Samsung's hardware is great and their One UI is a most impressive skin. Saying this as an iPhone user.

One UI is superfluous. Native Android is great.

It’s fixing something that’s not broken just to say “not Google”, in the process creating bloat.

Post reply on HN