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

Post by mike50 » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 12:43 AM UTC

econ wrote: post #625

SoftTalker wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are the cameras "high-end"? Good for a phone, certainly. But compared to a real camera with a much bigger lens and sensor?

I make the superior picture with my camera but then it sits there on an SD card in the camera. I have to boot a desktop, hope the USB connection works today, find a folder, create and name a folder in the folder, copy the pictures there, find and open something to view and edit the images with, find and open something to upload the images. OR open the camera, take out th SD card, boot up a computer, plug the card int…

Post by rvba » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 12:47 AM UTC

Scene_Cast2 wrote: post #475

jerojero wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's saying people at Google use iPhones. I don't know if that's true, but the times I've visited silicon valley I didnt see many android phones.

You're typically issued a corporate phone, it's the only phone that can open work email. You have a choice between an Android (something like a Pixel and a Samsung) and an iPhone, with some companies incentivising Androids with things like a faster upgrade cycle or more premium trims. The culture is split between having just the one free corporate phone and having two phones - one personal, one corporate.

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 12:51 AM UTC

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #548

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…

"Google's long term strategy with Android is baffling to me. " How does one know there is a long-term strategy History has shown that so-called "tech" companies often act in a reactionary manner^1 1. Often, the act is of one of copying what someone else has done. Other times it might be response to regulation One could argue Android itself was a reaction to iOS This is one example of the reactionary copying phenomeno…

Post by miki123211 » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 12:55 AM UTC

lpcvoid wrote: post #553

miki123211 wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't about pure revenue, it's about scams. Android has a reputation for being unsafe precisely because of sideloading (as well as low Google Play fees, looser app review, accessibility services and remote access). This policy is bad for us HNers, but objectively good for the 95+% of people who will never sideload a legitimate Android app, but are extremely likely to get caught by scammers. The heavy US skew of…

The Play Store was riddled with scam apps last time I used it. Be it fake apps that pretend to do something while doing at best nothing ("system optimizers", "antivirus" apps) over user data mining apps (often targeted at children or young people) to hundreds of clones of commercial or open source apps - you do not have to search very long to find the real scams. Making sideloading harder has only one goal - growing…

Post by layer8 » Mon, Jan 26, 2026, 1:11 AM UTC

vachina wrote: post #349

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…

iOS apps are truly sandboxed, they cannot carry out stunts like this: https://localmess.github.io/