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Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

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Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#31
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you suggesting this software will somehow be able to make a phone explode? The pagers weren't just normal pagers with malware, I'm pretty sure they were loaded with actual explosives.

I added more context above to clarify the point I was making (which I thought would be self-evident, but I guess it was a bit more obscure than I thought)

[flagged]

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#32
post #6

[flagged]

FUD and rationalising. We do understand the real reason they don't like it.

By the way, in the Arab world (my reading of "some West Asian and North African markets". Nice euphemism, btw) there isn't the same stigma as in the West so they usually don't feel the need to be cautious and say exactly what they mean, i.e. "the Jews".

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#33
post #3
post #2

I recently bought a cheap android device because I needed to test something on Android. The setup was about 3 hours of the device starting up, asking me questions, installing apps I explicitly told it not to, and then all sorts of other apps and OS updates trying to do their thing seemingly at once. I wasn't even transferring data, just a brand new phone, new google account. What a horrible experience you get with so…

My guess is, those auto installs is exactly how they keep the costs down, by subsidizing the cost with getting paid by companies to auto-install garbage. It's the same with Smart TVs, they've gotten so cheap because of all the other slimy stuff the manufacturers do, like sell your watch data, or pre-install apps.

I suspect the apparent reduction in price on these devices is a lot less than what they earn from the slimy stuff.

But the premium devices (especially TVs) are starting to do this too now via software updates. I had to turn off a bunch of crap in the settings on my LG CX TVs some time ago. Now they are just off the internet and can only connect to my NAS.

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#34
post #12

So a Unity owned bloatware company being used by Samsung is now somehow controversial because it was founded in Israel? Am i reading this right?

To HN readers, the controversy is likely this:

> the program was found to be quietly invasive as it allows the installer to install programs on the user’s device without permission. It circumvents the user validation process and successfully bypasses multiple security checks, including antivirus programs

I agree that the headline “controversy” is manufactured.

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#36
post #19
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose the "paying off the subsidy" is to buy a more expensive phone. Or getting a Google Pixel. I've heard those are as much stock android as possible.

I agree, and that's the exact point I would make. The problem though, is I want a small phone with a headphone jack (and a physical keyboard, but that's orthogonal to the point). Many OEMs sell their flagship as a shiny glass slab with only BT or USB-C for audio, and ship 3.5mm jacks and other "antiquated niceties" like a uSD card reader, on their lower-end models. It's difficult to square the circle of "I want these…

I must admit, I don’t get the wish for 3.5mm headphone jacks in 2025. Already six years ago, with a phone that actually still had a headphone jack, I bought myself for just a few euro a Bluetooth DAC (a FiiO) that had superior sound quality to any phone’s audio-out that I had ever used. With a Bluetooth DAC (or with any USB-C to 3.5mm converter that costs pennies) you can still use whatever wired headphones you want to use.

Physical keyboards were nice back in an era when the web welcomed longform text, and I miss my Nokia N900. Nowadays, though, the web ecosystem that one typically uses from a phone is a cesspool, and for serious things I’ll just use my real computer.

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#37
post #19
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suppose the "paying off the subsidy" is to buy a more expensive phone. Or getting a Google Pixel. I've heard those are as much stock android as possible.

I agree, and that's the exact point I would make. The problem though, is I want a small phone with a headphone jack (and a physical keyboard, but that's orthogonal to the point). Many OEMs sell their flagship as a shiny glass slab with only BT or USB-C for audio, and ship 3.5mm jacks and other "antiquated niceties" like a uSD card reader, on their lower-end models. It's difficult to square the circle of "I want these…

I bought a USB-C to 3.5mm jack for around $20. It works well but does tend to get caught on things more easily than a pure jack.

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#38
post #3
post #2

I recently bought a cheap android device because I needed to test something on Android. The setup was about 3 hours of the device starting up, asking me questions, installing apps I explicitly told it not to, and then all sorts of other apps and OS updates trying to do their thing seemingly at once. I wasn't even transferring data, just a brand new phone, new google account. What a horrible experience you get with so…

My guess is, those auto installs is exactly how they keep the costs down, by subsidizing the cost with getting paid by companies to auto-install garbage. It's the same with Smart TVs, they've gotten so cheap because of all the other slimy stuff the manufacturers do, like sell your watch data, or pre-install apps.

> they've gotten so cheap because of all the other slimy stuff

Not really, they've gotten so cheap because the individual components they are made of have become much cheaper due to economies of scale.

The same thing happened with computer monitors, and those don't ship with the bloatware.

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#39
post #6

[flagged]

FUD and rationalising. We do understand the real reason they don't like it. By the way, in the Arab world (my reading of "some West Asian and North African markets". Nice euphemism, btw) there isn't the same stigma as in the West so they usually don't feel the need to be cautious and say exactly what they mean, i.e. "the Jews".

100%.

Re: Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

#40
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, and that's the exact point I would make. The problem though, is I want a small phone with a headphone jack (and a physical keyboard, but that's orthogonal to the point). Many OEMs sell their flagship as a shiny glass slab with only BT or USB-C for audio, and ship 3.5mm jacks and other "antiquated niceties" like a uSD card reader, on their lower-end models. It's difficult to square the circle of "I want these…

I bought a USB-C to 3.5mm jack for around $20. It works well but does tend to get caught on things more easily than a pure jack.

As well as easily getting misplaced…
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