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

201–210 of 796 posts

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

#201

Post by 6581 »

mydriasis wrote: post #43
the_third_wave wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've been recommended to "just get a GPS" -- they're like $300, and I'm cheap :) Get a second-hand Android device for those tasks, install LineageOS and F-Droid/Aurora Droid, don't put in a SIM card and you're set for much less than $300. You'll be running free software - e.g. OsmAnd for mapping using off-line maps, no connectivity necessary - and you won't be feeding Google (et al) your data as you will using that…

... This is a _fascinating_ idea. I have a Pixel 4a right now, can I install this stuff on there and just switch to a dumb phone entirely for... phone purposes? It looks [0] like this shouldn't be too tough... [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgNWaORMM9I

>I have a Pixel 4a right now, can I install this stuff on there

GrapheneOS is available for the 4a.

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

#202

Post by avgDev »

djhworld wrote: post #131

I'm thinking of making the switch to iPhone this year once the USB-C model comes out Whether I regret it, not sure, I mean Android isn't _that_ bad really and the Samsung phones are good, but I think Apple have nailed the ecosystem thing a lot better than what google have.

iPhone is not what it is cracked up to be. A lot of lock in. Some things are absolutely annoying. When I went to Poland, I had to change my region to download apps from appstore, it messed up all my purchase history and subscriptions.

One thing I like is that I have an iPhone 12 and have no need to upgrade, the phones have a much longer life imo.

The statement "apple stuff is just so easy and it works" is EXTREMELY misleading. When it works it works but when it doesn't you generally won't find much good advice.

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

#203

Post by fluidcruft »

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…

I think Motorola phones are OK. I personally will never buy a Motorola after an early experience with them prior to Google buying and re-rolling them. But my wife used them and liked them and they seem less shitty than they once were.

I've had a series of Nexus and Pixel phones. I had a Pixel 3 for a long long time and really, really loved it. It was such a perfect phone. I'm on Pixel 7 now and it's... alright. Compared to Pixel 3 it's big and heavy and the fingerprint scanner is on Pixel 3 was so much better. Pixel 3 was just about perfect.

I just cannot stand iPhone. Everything about them is so annoying. My kids have them. Apple's parental controls are a complete joke. I just cannot understand why anyone thinks iPhone doesn't suck. The parental controls are constantly breaking whenever one phone upgrades and etc. Screen Time settings are the most infuriating and dumb as hell stupidity ever. On the other side Google's Digital Wellbeing is also useless trash (Seriously... only per-app time limits? Does anyone at all dog food that bullshit?). But on Android you just swap it out for something that doesn't suck.

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

#204

Post by drcongo »

flutas wrote: post #90
drcongo wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lower end iPhone still outperforms the higher end Android.

Except they aren't comparing straight price. Here's the quote again. > There's simply no reason to choose Android - iPhone does everything better, for the same price. The person you replied to, then replied > I'm sorry, but - "for the same price"? You must live in a very different place than I do. They are saying that android phones don't have to cost the same as iPhones for the same functionality. A point you made f…

You're struggling a little here aren't you. 1) it wasn't me that compared them, 2) "There's simply no reason to choose Android - iPhone does everything better, for the same price." - which it does, even for the same price, and 3) "They are saying that android phones don't have to cost the same as iPhones for the same functionality." - it's not the same functionality if we've already established that the iPhone does it better, even if you spend the same amount of money.

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

#205

Post by AuthorizedCust »

kyriakos wrote: post #103
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…

Just got an S23U 2 weeks ago. Its an impressive device both hardware and software. I was expecting a lot of bloat but looks like only MS Office apps where Non-Samsung apps pre-installed and I was going to install them myself either way.

The bloat is mainly in two forms:

-All the pointless OS customizations.

-Samsung-developed apps that do the same thing as extant, better Google apps.

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

#206

Post by josefresco »

mighmi wrote: post #135
jauntywundrkind wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who else has cheap data sims? Is this still a killer feature of GoogleFi alone (one time $5 fee for a data sim)? I really wish companies would be happy to sell data. Making a bunch of addon charges to get me to he point where I can consume data is such a defiance of what these companies best utility should be: carrying data. The one other thing that almost wholly shapes who I'd go with for an MVNO is what speed I get…

Mint Mobile is $15/month for unlimited.

Unlimited = 40 GB then "480p speeds"

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

#207

Post by jwells89 »

pmontra wrote: post #192
jwells89 wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It is, if you wipe it and reinstall plain Windows and whatever drivers are necessary, which is trivial on x86 PCs and basically the default for technically capable individuals.

But even then, PC manufacturer bloatware doesn't typically modify the OS itself and is just extra crap bolted to it. The versions of Android that gets shipped on phones and tablets by contrast are different at the source level, sometimes bearing significant divergences from AOSP.

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

#208

Post by ggregoire »

kaba0 wrote: post #157
_ea1k wrote: post #16

Apple messaging lockin is having the desired impact. Combine that with Google's mess of a strategy and it is easy to see why this is happening. It is why it is so critical to hire the right people in leadership to avoid squandering key, already successful, strategic positions.

That’s just such a US. American problem that it is honestly, kind of funny in a dumb way from any other part of the world. Like SMS itself is a legacy, insecure tech, it really should not be used at all anymore, unless you really only know their phone number. Knowing that you are not sending SMS when you see a blue bubble, but apple just conveniently put their internet-based message system into the same app is not a…

Indeed. WhatsApp has like 99.9% of market share in central/south America? Nobody use SMS or iMessage over there.

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

#209

Post by throw9away6 »

HelloMcFly wrote: post #197
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…

> 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.

This i want to be able to get rid of it all

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

#210

Post by jansan »

AuthorizedCust wrote: post #183
jansan wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Android’s problem is Pixel is the only good one, and it has not been flagship quality since the Pixel 2. You should have added that this only applies if you exclued non-US products.

Huh? Samsung is South Korean.

Yes, and they are good. So Pixel is not the only good one.
Post reply on HN