Israeli-founded app preloaded on Samsung phones is attracting controversy

Post by null_deref » Mon, Nov 17, 2025, 7:29 PM UTC

alephnerd wrote: post #30

hersko wrote: 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?

That's not the controversy based on the article - it's arguing that because the app is Israeli in origin, it may run afoul of local BDS laws thus another reason for AppCloud to be removed from local device, which is notable because the AppCloud app only appears to be installed on African, Asian, and MENA Samsung phones, where the bulk of countries with BDS laws exist. The article doesn't appear to take a side one way…

Post by sudohalt » Mon, Nov 17, 2025, 7:29 PM UTC

jameshilliard wrote: post #31

pbiggar wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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]

Post by blep-arsh » Mon, Nov 17, 2025, 7:31 PM UTC

HeinzStuckeIt wrote: post #36

xethos wrote: 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 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…

Post by ploxiln » Mon, Nov 17, 2025, 7:32 PM UTC

xethos wrote: post #19

atonse wrote: 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…

Post by sudohalt » Mon, Nov 17, 2025, 7:33 PM UTC

ashdksnndck wrote: post #52

pbiggar wrote: post #6

[flagged]

Redis and Elasticsearch were both built by Israelis, and there is also Israeli code in important projects like the Linux kernel. And of course, also Israeli contributions in closed-source tech like CUDA. Avoiding all of that is a pretty tall order. But if you want to impair your systems by purifying them based on national origin of the contributors, have at it.