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Android 16 is here

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Re: Android 16 is here

#31

Post by hadlock »

voidfunc wrote: post #9
flyinghamster wrote: post #5

Oh great, I get to learn how to use my phone all over again. We need a "leave this the $EXPLETIVE alone" setting for our user interfaces.

UI engineers need to justify their existence.

I genuinely think this is the case, and why products don't have a LTS interface, even though they ought to. Sign me right up for the 10 year LTS interface. I can't recall any features in gmail that were added that I actually use besides labels, which was an early launch feature. But it's been redesigned about 9 times in the last 20 years, each time with increasing white space and/or a slightly different font.

Re: Android 16 is here

#32

Post by nawgz »

voidfunc wrote: post #9
flyinghamster wrote: post #5

Oh great, I get to learn how to use my phone all over again. We need a "leave this the $EXPLETIVE alone" setting for our user interfaces.

UI engineers need to justify their existence.

Definitely. Those pesky UI engineers are always rewriting and refactoring and reworking stuff. Me, a talented backend engineer? I would never. My code was perfect initially and there's no pressure to show deliverables from my manager since they know I'm the best.

Re: Android 16 is here

#33

Post by skiman10 »

sylens wrote: post #11
taurusnoises wrote: post #6

As someone who's very much on the outside of the Apple / Android debate (though I've never owned an iPhone, I do use a Mac and an iPad), and as someone who's relatively tech illiterate, how does this announcement read in light of Apple's latest liquid glass stuff, and the pushback I'm seeing from almost every angle. Is this Google announcement at all in response to the negative reaction Apple is getting? Does what Go…

Google announced Material 3 Expressive a month or two ago, way before WWDC

And just to clarify, Material 3 Expressive is not shipping in these builds, that will be in a quarterly release build in probably in the first week of September.

Re: Android 16 is here

#34

Post by Lerc »

voidfunc wrote: post #9
flyinghamster wrote: post #5

Oh great, I get to learn how to use my phone all over again. We need a "leave this the $EXPLETIVE alone" setting for our user interfaces.

UI engineers need to justify their existence.

UI engineers should be like vaccines. If they do their job well, you should never see why they were needed.

Re: Android 16 is here

#35

Post by goodburb »

throw_m239339 wrote: post #12

I remember my first android device, it had like 512MO of RAM (and storage), and it was blazing fast, it could be used as a WIFI repeater too (which is why I still have it, although it 2.5G...). Fast forward 13 year later or so, if your android device doesn't have at least 8gig of RAM and 64gigs of storage, then it's pretty much useless given how bloated the OS (and the apps) have become... So basically, Android low e…

$400 for a 3GB RAM is a "budget" phone?

I paid $200 for a Moto G85 5G with 12GB RAM, 256GB storage last year.

Alternatives in the same range: CMF Phone 1/2 and OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite 5G

Re: Android 16 is here

#36

Post by echelon »

_ea1k wrote: post #30
rawling wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - First-party defaults for all the platform pieces: Messaging, Payments, Photos, Music, Media, Navigation, etc. Every single one of these lets Apple and Google squeeze another industry and forces us into a pit of no-innovation. Don't/can't Android manufacturers provide alternative defaults here?

Yes, and most people hate it when they do that.

Probably the biggest case for a full-on Google breakup. Android being split from the platform components.

A new company probably still couldn't develop platform pieces if that chink in the armor was made available by the DOJ. But if Google were split along those lines into two or more companies, it would provide nice and healthy gradients on both the hardware/OS and the platform/software sides of the market.

We really do need a Google breakup.

Re: Android 16 is here

#37

Post by aaomidi »

paxys wrote: post #23

I like their Material Expressive design a lot more now after Apple's big reveal. While it's still a bit too colorful and whimsical for my liking, it does stay much closer to what I think should be the top UX design ideal - be clear, legible, and get out of the way . On the new iOS every screen feels like some UX designer is shouting "look how amazing I am at this!!" at me.

I decided to install the beta to get a more informed opinion. I think the UI looks better when you’re holding it vs seeing it in the pictures.

Control center, however, sucks.

Re: Android 16 is here

#39

Post by microtonal »

aaomidi wrote: post #37
paxys wrote: post #23

I like their Material Expressive design a lot more now after Apple's big reveal. While it's still a bit too colorful and whimsical for my liking, it does stay much closer to what I think should be the top UX design ideal - be clear, legible, and get out of the way . On the new iOS every screen feels like some UX designer is shouting "look how amazing I am at this!!" at me.

I decided to install the beta to get a more informed opinion. I think the UI looks better when you’re holding it vs seeing it in the pictures. Control center, however, sucks.

I installed the iOS beta and thought it was as bad, if not worse than the WWDC demos. In a lot of cases, text becomes outright unreadable. Control Center looks like a mess with all the transparency.

Like the grandparent I'm much more excited by Material Design 3 Expressive.

Re: Android 16 is here

#40

Post by cptskippy »

esseph wrote: post #14
throw_m239339 wrote: post #12

I remember my first android device, it had like 512MO of RAM (and storage), and it was blazing fast, it could be used as a WIFI repeater too (which is why I still have it, although it 2.5G...). Fast forward 13 year later or so, if your android device doesn't have at least 8gig of RAM and 64gigs of storage, then it's pretty much useless given how bloated the OS (and the apps) have become... So basically, Android low e…

The same thing that happens to every OS, features and bloat. That said, Pixel devices all the way. No gross UI reskin, no having multiple copies of the same type of app (Samsung camera vs android camera, dialers, keyboards, etc.). Fast, stable, good features. If it's not a pixel device, you're probably going to have a "mid" experience.

My last 2 phones were Motorola and my most recent is a Pixel. Meh...

The Motos came with very little bloatware that was easy enough to uninstall or disable. There are just as many new Google Apps that just weren't available on Moto phones that I've been uninstalling from my Pixel:

Google One, Google Tasks, Google News, Google Lens, Google Support Services, Google PDF Viewer, Google Play Books, Google Pixel Watch, Pixel Buds, Pixel Studio, Gemini, Safety, Find Hub, Google Home

It's not 3rd party, but it's still bloatware.

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