Mobile OSs I Tried Android Again… Why Does It Feel Like a Group Project That Never Ends?

[artifex]

Yes, ride the delete key. Terminate everything that is not necessary. You can always get it back later if you change your mind.

I did the same thing when I got the new iPad. Apple ships a lot of bloatware too. If only I could delete the useless apps on my Mac as well. I have a list.... 😉 (looking at you Stickies; you'll be first against the wall when the Revolution comes.)

There can also be worse stuff if you buy an Android subsidized from a carrier. Like, my MVNO gave me a great deal on my basic Moto phone (under $100, usually about $200), but they installed a couple apps that they then usually can tell at any time to install other apps outside the normal Play store. Which, obviously, is a huge security hole on top of being incredibly annoying when new slop games and utilities start showing up, and is a thing i*OS users don't have to worry about, except maybe in Europe where multiple stores are allowed. Anyway, some of those initial apps can't be removed, but they can be disabled, so they don't try to sideload any more, but they still waste a little system space.

 

[Steve Adams]

There can also be worse stuff if you buy an Android subsidized from a carrier. Like, my MVNO gave me a great deal on my basic Moto phone (under $100, usually about $200), but they installed a couple apps that they then usually can tell at any time to install other apps outside the normal Play store. Which, obviously, is a huge security hole on top of being incredibly annoying when new slop games and utilities start showing up, and is a thing i*OS users don't have to worry about, except maybe in Europe where multiple stores are allowed. Anyway, some of those initial apps can't be removed, but they can be disabled, so they don't try to sideload any more, but they still waste a little system space.

That's a thing in the states. I work for a telco in Canada and while yes, we install software on startup automatically it all can be completely removed. If I am not super busy I will show people how to do it.

 

[capamac]

Smartphone security: MR posted this link March 31: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-update...ahan-desalination-plant/#post-update-225efd10

"In its Tuesday post on the Telegram messaging app, the IRGC accused 18 U.S.-based companies of acting as "spies" for the U.S. government, helping it to carry out strikes ... Most of the companies named are major tech firms, including Microsoft, Apple, Google ..."

Iran insinuates that Apple products are being used for spying purposes and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Iran was correct. Thus I don't think any smartphone user should consider their smartphone to be truly secure. It can transmit audio and video and location data. There could be back doors providing access to all files on your device or in the cloud account associated with it. If you're truly interested in keeping data secure, do not put that data on your smartphone is how I view it. Smartphones are a sort of panopticon.

 

[HouseLannister]

Google pretends to be a tech company

And they have more cash on hand and a higher market cap than Apple from just pretending? Imagine if they put out an actual product... 🤣

 

[BSDnostalgia]

Imagine if they put out an actual product.

But they do. We are the product.

 

[AlixSPQR]

Most people look past these things, but this is a tech forum. My sister and brother in law bought new Samsungs last week, after having a lot of Samsungs for years and years. Their only complaint is WhatsApp not syncing properly. And that’s because they don’t back it up correctly.

 

[AlixSPQR]

But they do. We are the product.

I’ve never heard that before. Awesome. 😱

 

[lostPod]

If it weren't for iMessage I would probably be on Android. I have many Samsung Tablets that are beasts, and have tried many many many flagship and popular "underground" phones. The text messaging was always extremely unreliable to the point where it had messed up personal relationships, because I would never get all their messages nor they mine. It's silly how that could happen, but such is life.

 

[MacInTO]

If it weren't for iMessage I would probably be on Android. I have many Samsung Tablets that are beasts, and have tried many many many flagship and popular "underground" phones. The text messaging was always extremely unreliable to the point where it had messed up personal relationships, because I would never get all their messages nor they mine. It's silly how that could happen, but such is life.

RCS messages in Android is basically the same as iMessage. It goes via data and when communicating with someone you can see read receipts and when they are typing regardless of if they are on iOS or Android. You should be able to see the same thing on iMessage when communication with someone using RCS message.

 

[uacd]

I dunno but you have described my experience with iOS 26 and iPhone 17 Pro. On top of all that it feels like a boring dumbphone. I regret not getting Pixel instead. It is not bad but I can’t tell what exactly changed since iPhone 11. Cameras are more or less same and sometimes even worse, processing is still awful too. But I like Safari more than Firefox or Chrome on Android.

After using Android for a while I had to learn different ways to do things on the phone. Instead of relying on numerous apps I simply use web browser instead. But this had started long ago when I got tired of using apps on iOS. Otherwise they are more or less same but iOS gives you some peace of mind in terms of privacy. IMO I like Samsung One UI the most, Google’s clean Android is still not my fav choice, but on the other hand it is much faster than One UI.

Btw why your post reminds me of ChatGPT writing style😄 No offense, just kind of reminds me how it makes sentences. Try Gemini btw! It makes texts much better and more human-like

 

[uacd]

Android feels cheap and nasty. I don't know anyone who's real motivation to buy it isn't really hiding that they're just being cheap or contrarian. Everyone I've known who bought an Android flagship, mostly Samsung, has an iPhone now because it was an awful experience.

I do actually have an Android handset available, a Pixel 7A, which I bought because it's cheap and I occasionally travel to places which are risky so an iPhone makes you a target. Those are the places where everyone uses Android because they generally can't afford an iPhone.

I would say they all feel “kinda cheap” these days, despite the price tag🙂 All companies are cutting corners at the expense of users. Android is indeed cheap and should always be cheap, as an ultimate throwaway device. There are lots of decent Chinese phones that cost 4 times cheaper than average iPhone, and I would say this is great there is a lot of choice these days.

Though some designs make it look very appealing, such as Pixel 10A with virtually no camera bump, bulge or “plateau”.

Samsungs are plain bad and overpriced devices, though they have good UI and features of their Android version. But they are too greedy and keep putting slow processors inside and even flagships still open basic apps like Instagram at smth like 30FPS. Midrangers are only capable to do basic calling and VoIP and usually have bad cameras installed

 

[lostPod]

RCS messages in Android is basically the same as iMessage. It goes via data and when communicating with someone you can see read receipts and when they are typing regardless of if they are on iOS or Android. You should be able to see the same thing on iMessage when communication with someone using RCS message.

I've noticed it fail sometimes on my buddy's Samsung phone that I was texting from my iPhone. All of a sudden, I was getting his messages many hours later from when they were sent. I've never had that problem with iMessage. I do understand RCS is very much improved but I don't see it as a 1-1 replacement for iMessage honestly. I remember BBM caved and made it cross device capable. I don't think Apple will ever do that with iMessage, but I know they have thought about it.

There used to be a 3rd party solution that used a stand alone Mac and some software to enable iMessage on Android ... I think it was called WeMessage?? I never looked into it further as I wouldn't trust my Apple credentials to some 3rd party app ... but it looked really well done. I think you can have iMessage on Windows now too, right ? They use the CarPlay API or something ? I dono, I am ignorant to it.

 

[travsG5]

I have an iPhone 13 Pro and a Galaxy S26 Ultra. I'll say the Cameras on the S26 Ultra are very, very good and the privacy display and anti-glare are extremely useful to me. Display quality is top notch. All of that said, they both do pretty much the same things in slightly different ways. My beef with the Ultra is just the size, I prefer the form factor of the non-max iPhone Pro and Samsung doesn't make an Ultra other than in battleship size.

 

[BSDnostalgia]

RCS messages in Android is basically the same as iMessage. It goes via data and when communicating with someone you can see read receipts and when they are typing regardless of if they are on iOS or Android. You should be able to see the same thing on iMessage when communication with someone using RCS message.

"Yes and no". For one thing, RCS messages are not always encrypted. And, there also has been a lot of politics relative to carriers. I guess that some telecoms didn't want to lose the revenue they had from SMS messages. I know that carriers wanted control over the RCS service, while Google was trying to roll it out for everyone. Or, perhaps, it was just governments wanting to be able to read the messages; Apple has gotten flak from time to time because iMessage is end-to-end encrypted.

 

[Steve Adams]

RCS messages in Android is basically the same as iMessage. It goes via data and when communicating with someone you can see read receipts and when they are typing regardless of if they are on iOS or Android. You should be able to see the same thing on iMessage when communication with someone using RCS message.

But it doesn't have green bubbles. Come'on.....As for encryption. that's entirely on Apple to fix. E2E android to android via RCS is fully encrypted, Google has it impemented for Android to idevices, Apple chooses not to push it to try to lock people in.

 

[HouseLannister]

E2E android to android via RCS is fully encrypted

To be fair... isn't that only when using the proprietary Google Messages app? Is there any other app that provides RCS on Android currently, and if so, is it E2EE? Samsung, Verizon, and others are getting out of making their own messaging apps because Google flexed their monopoly power in that space.

 

[cigz]

I stopped using android phones in 2015 when I got my first iPhone - 6s, since then I didn't use any android devices except for few minutes when checking in store.
This year I decided I wanted to get a tablet but I wanted screen with high refresh rate. Unfortunately, for me personally, iPad Pro is too expensive for a tablet that I won't be using that much so I was checking android tablets and bought myself OnePlus Pad 2.
What can I say is that I really enjoy android and OxygenOS and to be honest I enjoy it more than iOS 26.

An android tablet with older and slower SOC feels faster and is A LOT smoother than my iPhone 17 Pro on iOS 26.
I am seeing constant lags, stutters and jitters on my iPhone to the point it's embarrassing that a phone with one of the fastest SOC works this way. What's more embarrassing is that this tablet cost me 1/6 price of my iPhone.
Apple really needs to step up its game and fix all of the software they introduced last year and change the way iOS works under high refresh rate screens because clearly android does it better.
Now I understand why people say that iOS works mostly in 80/90hz after using android.

But I also agree with the fact that Android is not good when it comes to RAM management. My tablet has 16GB of RAM and the apps reload quite frequently.
But at the same time I don't see much of a difference between my iPhone 17 Pro (12GB) on iOS 26 and my iPhone 13 Pro Max (6GB) on iOS 17.

I think both platforms have pros and cons but unfortunately iOS is starting to lose its magic - speed and smoothness - after the iOS 26 release.

 

[flybub]

I think both platforms have pros and cons but unfortunately iOS is starting to lose its magic - speed and smoothness - after the iOS 26 release.

Nailed it, they both have their issues. I can live with Androids issues, but folks still line up ready to give Apple their wallets. I don't understand it.

 

[BSDnostalgia]

An android tablet with older and slower SOC feels faster and is A LOT smoother than my iPhone 17 Pro on iOS 26.

I think both platforms have pros and cons but unfortunately iOS is starting to lose its magic - speed and smoothness - after the iOS 26 release.

Nailed it, they both have their issues. I can live with Androids issues, but folks still line up ready to give Apple their wallets. I don't understand it.

But, you aren't really buying an "Android" phone or tablet, you are buying a OnePlus or Samsung or whatever. Now, perhaps something has changed, because I gave up on Android and have no recent experience, but, in my previous experience, Android was an absolute time-wasting mess when it came to getting security updates installed. Many manufacturers really put no effort in keeping "their" version of Android patched. (Same with "smart" TVs, and refrigerators, and, ...)

In my opinion, it is grossly irresponsible for "industry" to ship devices with internet capability when they have no ability or intention to keep those devices secure for the expected lifetime of the device.

 

[flybub]

While the definite preferred option is to have the most recent security updates installed, this whole security thing is overblown. Unless you are a complete moron with how you use your device, connect to sketchy public WiFi, open emails from unknown senders, leave Bluetooth on when not using it, etc., I fail to see the up in arms reactions regarding security updates. Most attack vectors require some sort of access to a hardware component, just don’t give it to them. Most security practices regarding apps on Android are held through the Play Store which has its own security updates aside from the OS.

 

[cigz]

But, you aren't really buying an "Android" phone or tablet, you are buying a OnePlus or Samsung or whatever. Now, perhaps something has changed, because I gave up on Android and have no recent experience, but, in my previous experience, Android was an absolute time-wasting mess when it came to getting security updates installed. Many manufacturers really put no effort in keeping "their" version of Android patched. (Same with "smart" TVs, and refrigerators, and, ...)

In my opinion, it is grossly irresponsible for "industry" to ship devices with internet capability when they have no ability or intention to keep those devices secure for the expected lifetime of the device.

Of course I know that there's multiple different skins(?) from different manufacturers on top of Android and some of them might work better or worse than the other. I just wanted to share my experience with OnePlus and the OxygenOS on top of Android 16 and that experience is better than I expected, to the point that an older and slower hardware works better than latest hardware from Apple but that's strictly only because of the software and Apple still can or they actually should fix the latest software.

Regarding updates, yes, android devices always got like 2-3 years max of OS updates, lately it's changed and they're promising more, or at least some companies promised that. My android tablet released with Android 14 and it's supposed to get update to Android 17 but that'll probably be the last update. I consciously bought it, knowing that, because I don't plan to use it longer than year or two, I'm just waiting for Apple to release iPad mini with OLED screen.

But at the same time, even though Apple supports devices longer, we can't tell the same about apps and the developers that build apps on iOS. Look at some Apple devices that are already stuck on iOS 17 - some apps (example - Brave) are starting to require iOS18 or even iOS26, meanwhile on Android I'm seeing a lot of apps that require Android 6, an OS that was released in 2015, while iOS17 was released in 2023. So even though these android devices are not getting any OS or security updates, they're still able to install major apps (even just to use for stupid things like scrolling through Instagram, not banking apps), while on Apple devices you can't.

 

[HouseLannister]

but, in my previous experience, Android was an absolute time-wasting mess when it came to getting security updates installed.

That’s my experience with Apple. Waiting two months between point releases and then releasing an update that says 50+ security fixes. Those could have been rolled out daily on Android, because the OS is so componentized that almost any part of the OS can be patched with an app update instead of waiting months while active exploits are going widespread on the dark web. Then we get to the issue of Apple denying security updates to people who didn’t like iOS 26. They did walk it back eventually and provided iOS 18 updates, but it is a horrible security precedent. Apple just moves too slow to be serious about security. DarkSword still took multiple patches to fix and was widely exploited. Just going to a malicious website could compromise your device. Never seen anything that bad on Android.

 

[BSDnostalgia]

While the definite preferred option is to have the most recent security updates installed, this whole security thing is overblown.

No, it isn't.

Apple just moves too slow to be serious about security. DarkSword still took multiple patches to fix and was widely exploited. Just going to a malicious website could compromise your device. Never seen anything that bad on Android.

I would love to see the industry get in a serious contest over security. Take 6 months off from any new features and do nothing but security improvements. And, I would love to see the general public get interested.

 

[artifex]

But I also agree with the fact that Android is not good when it comes to RAM management. My tablet has 16GB of RAM and the apps reload quite frequently.
But at the same time I don't see much of a difference between my iPhone 17 Pro (12GB) on iOS 26 and my iPhone 13 Pro Max (6GB) on iOS 17.

The OnePlus website says the Pad 2 has 12GB, so if you're seeing 16 it's probably using swap. Ick, turn that off. It may be under system settings as "memory extension" or something similar.

 

[capamac]

Re swap: https://web.archive.org/web/20260324133649/https://chrisdown.name/2018/01/02/in-defence-of-swap.html

Lotta great things about swap.