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Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

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Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#271

Post by vbezhenar »

xg15 wrote: post #89
AlotOfReading wrote: post #12

Google's long term strategy with Android is baffling to me. Apple has had better mobile hardware for years. Apple has higher consumer trust. Apple has better app selection (for most people). Apple has been increasingly implementing the core features that differentiate Android devices, like USB-C and RCS. Every Android user lost to the increasing iOS market share is another customer Google has to pay exorbitant fees t…

> Surely the marginal revenue from the inconsequential number of sideloading users isn't attractive enough to justify that kind of strategic blunder. If the rumors are true that the whole anti-sideloading thing is mostly because some governments complained, it might not have to do with a business strategy at all.

Why not limit these restrictions to these specific locations? Surely there's already lots of location-specific and carrier-specific customizations like shutter sound in Japan, different radio frequencies and many more. It still sucks for those who live in these countries, but at least they know who to point their finger at.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#272

Post by carlosjobim »

B1FIDO wrote: post #198
carlosjobim wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Do you want to use a different search engine other than google? Yes, type yahoo.com into your browser, or install an app. Non-technical people love installing apps on their phones. >Is there another email provider than gmail (for the non-technical person - i know you can run your own). Yes, there are hundreds of good e-mail providers to use instead of Gmail. Easy for the non-technical person to use.

No, that is not how you change search engines. In Chrome on Android (and yeah, on desktop too) you just go into "Settings" and change your default search engine. I can choose between Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Yandex, or DuckDuckGo. There are also custom searches through Wikipedia and other resources. You can use little shortcuts to get to almost any custom search you set up in advance. This has been configurable by the u…

> No, that is not how you change search engines.

See it from the perspective of a non-technical user:

1. I install the Yahoo Search app

2. When I want to search I poke the Yahoo icon on my home screen.

Or:

1. I open my browser.

2. I poke Yahoo on the grid of suggested sites.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#273

Post by myko »

KolmogorovComp wrote: post #208
onli wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see any iOS advantage with the apps anymore. That was maybe true in the very beginning, during the gold rush time of the app store. But not since then. In which category are there better iOS apps? Browsers? No, strictly worse. Youtube app? No, worse. Texting? Worse or equal (Whatsapp). Podcast client? I assume worse, since there is no Antenna Pod. Social media apps? The iOS variants of those apps are afaik in…

> Social media apps? The iOS variants of those apps are afaik in no way better. What else is there, where is the advantage? This is incorrect. The IOS versions of social media apps extract way less data from the device than on android, and is thus more privacy friendly. Sure the best way would be for people not to use them, but if you "have" to, then it's better to use those on IOS.

I agree with the thrust of the GP comment but:

> The IOS versions of social media apps extract way less data from the device than on android, and is thus more privacy friendly.

I seriously doubt this. I agree that this is the perception but anyone working in the mobile space on both platforms for the past ~2 years will know Google is a lot more hard nosed in reviewing apps for privacy concerns than Apple these days (I say this negatively, there is a middle ground and Apple is much closer to it - Google is just friction seemingly in an attempt to lose their bad reputation).

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#274

Post by StopDisinfo910 »

manuelabeledo wrote: post #253
StopDisinfo910 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple has had better mobile hardware for years. Well no, Chinese phones are above Apple material-wise (better battery, better cameras, better cooling) and on par SoC-wise since last year. That's what makes Google's strategy so baffling. > Apple has better app selection (for most people). It's entirely the same. I have gone back and forth regularly for the past 10 years. Android is completely on par app-wise. Apple…

How are they on par SoC-wise? Last time I checked, Qualcomm was still trying to catch up to Apple.

Well, recheck.

Both Qualcomm and Mediatek have caught up on the phone SoC market.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has a slightly better CPU than the A19 Pro but a slightly worse GPU. Apple has a very slight advantage in watt usage but that's more than offset by the battery gap. Same thing with the Dimensity 9500.

The SoC market is now extremely competitive.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#275

Post by dietr1ch »

potatoproduct wrote: post #269
AlotOfReading wrote: post #12

Google's long term strategy with Android is baffling to me. Apple has had better mobile hardware for years. Apple has higher consumer trust. Apple has better app selection (for most people). Apple has been increasingly implementing the core features that differentiate Android devices, like USB-C and RCS. Every Android user lost to the increasing iOS market share is another customer Google has to pay exorbitant fees t…

""Apple has better app selection (for most people). Apple has been increasingly implementing the core features that differentiate Android devices, like USB-C and RCS."" You mean Apple has been forced by regulators to implement core features like USB-C and RCS? https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-s... https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32...

Sure, but uninformed consumers won't see it that way. Maybe in their circles it just sounds like a great idea and they thank Apple for implementing it.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#276

Post by AlexandrB »

potatoproduct wrote: post #269
AlotOfReading wrote: post #12

Google's long term strategy with Android is baffling to me. Apple has had better mobile hardware for years. Apple has higher consumer trust. Apple has better app selection (for most people). Apple has been increasingly implementing the core features that differentiate Android devices, like USB-C and RCS. Every Android user lost to the increasing iOS market share is another customer Google has to pay exorbitant fees t…

""Apple has better app selection (for most people). Apple has been increasingly implementing the core features that differentiate Android devices, like USB-C and RCS."" You mean Apple has been forced by regulators to implement core features like USB-C and RCS? https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-s... https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32...

Saying they were forced to implement USB-C is really overstating things. Apple loooved USB-C - so much so that their ill-fated butterfly switch laptops went all-in on it. They also helped design it. It's highly likely they were planning a move to USB-C anyway and the EU just pushed it forward a year.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#277

Post by B1FIDO »

carlosjobim wrote: post #272
B1FIDO wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that is not how you change search engines. In Chrome on Android (and yeah, on desktop too) you just go into "Settings" and change your default search engine. I can choose between Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Yandex, or DuckDuckGo. There are also custom searches through Wikipedia and other resources. You can use little shortcuts to get to almost any custom search you set up in advance. This has been configurable by the u…

> No, that is not how you change search engines. See it from the perspective of a non-technical user: 1. I install the Yahoo Search app 2. When I want to search I poke the Yahoo icon on my home screen. Or: 1. I open my browser. 2. I poke Yahoo on the grid of suggested sites.

Sure, there's more than one way to skin a cat.

There are lots of non-technical users who navigate purely by doing a "google search" on whatever domain they're aiming for, too. Nobody said they were efficient about it.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#278

Post by vbezhenar »

direwolf20 wrote: post #98
RobotToaster wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What confuses me is that easy "sideloading" has been the main thing that kept down the proliferation of degoogled custom ROMs.

Secure boot prohibits custom ROMs on most android devices

If custom ROMs will be more popular, it probably will push some vendors to unlock their devices. In the end, I don't think most of them really care.

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#279

Post by B1FIDO »

barbecue_sauce wrote: post #270
Jedd wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, starting a sentence with "Honestly ..." always makes me think the rest of what this person has to say is dishonest. Your BIO on HN is: > I HAVEN'T SHOWERED AT ALL! THAT'S WHY I REEK! WORKING IN FINTECH! AIN'T SHAVED IN WEEKS! POUR CRUMBS FROM MY KEYBOARD! THAT'S WHAT I EAT! WROTE A CURRENCY LIBRARY! 3RD TIME THIS WEEK! LURKING HN! I PREFER /b/! IN MOM'S BASEMENT! I'M THIRTY THREE! IT'S 3'O'CLOCK AM! THAT'S WHEN…

"Honestly" is a colloquialism used to indicate disbelief with the previous statement or to preface candidness. Choosing to interpret the colloquial use of "honestly" as an indication that everything else that person says is dishonest is a very weird trait I've only seen show up in grammarian literalists and pedants that only makes yourself seem like a disingenuous person.

"Not Gonna Lie": https://youtu.be/_ru0pnAnq7g?si=fKwnDNkRz6XQKDz5

Re: Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

#280

Post by qiine »

einpoklum wrote: post #176

Those of us who use Android phones now - and install FOSS apps form F-Droid or just any apps from elsewhere other than the church of Google - might be thinking: "Oh, I need to work out how I'll have decent app access after this happens." But what we should really be thinking is: "Oh, I need to _donate_ to projects which aim to patch Android-based phones to remove these restrictions; or to projects which aim to replac…

Sometimes I wonder I we should instead fund massive marketing campaigns instead, because the vast majority of people have no idea it's even an option.
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