Having worked at Google on Android, things aren’t looking good for Apple’s competitor. The way Android runs is so much worse for product quality. An open source core, proprietary Google systems...
Having worked at Google on Android, things aren’t looking good for Apple’s competitor. The way Android runs is so much worse for product quality. An open source core, proprietary Google systems that are more or less required, 3rd party hardware from companies that aren’t well tapped into what Google’s doing, 3rd party bloat wares as a primary way to profit from a phone sale, disfunctional Google teams, etc.
Many core projects at Google are a one man show, and when that guy quits the project lives on as an undead monster, slowly getting worse until deprecated. Honestly Google should be copying Apple at this point.
What's really bad is this is also true of core security functionality. The code that interacts with the cryptographic key store (for biometrics, attestation, DRM, app-specific stuff) has been...
What's really bad is this is also true of core security functionality. The code that interacts with the cryptographic key store (for biometrics, attestation, DRM, app-specific stuff) has been re-written a few times and the most recent iteration was written in rust by a developer that had never written rust before and quit immediately after finishing the project because it didn't get him promoted. The code is, unsurprisingly, horrific.
Related but non-sequitur: I just picked up an iPhone 15 Pro today.
In some ways Android is the most secure OS (or maybe used to be? - this is a spiel I received from a veteran Android dev as he was retiring who may have had a hard time acknowledging the trend...
In some ways Android is the most secure OS (or maybe used to be? - this is a spiel I received from a veteran Android dev as he was retiring who may have had a hard time acknowledging the trend line). iOS is in part only secure because Apple manually vets each program allowed into the ecosystem and heavily restricts what they can do (no JIT for example). Apple admits that without this their OS isn't sufficiently secure. Android was built with the understanding that people would straight up install malware and the OS needs to protect users from that.
That's the theory at least. I think the real world experiences would not match up. How many iPhones have malware vs. Android phones, how many Android phones are broken into by governments, etc.
I think it's likely that much of the bespoke code that differentiates manufacturer variants of Android is of poor quality (maybe even farmed out to lowest bid contractors) and is a source of a ton...
I think it's likely that much of the bespoke code that differentiates manufacturer variants of Android is of poor quality (maybe even farmed out to lowest bid contractors) and is a source of a ton of holes that don't exist in AOSP. Security is an afterthought, it's all about "value add" and trying to create an ecosystem to keep users from switching to other Android manufacturers.
I admire that Apple hires and fires very carefully. They were the only big tech firm that don't do mass layoffs, which disrupts teams and kills employee morale.
I admire that Apple hires and fires very carefully. They were the only big tech firm that don't do mass layoffs, which disrupts teams and kills employee morale.
In my mind it's a major error and weakness that there is no such thing as "just" Android as there is with Android's closest desktop analogue Windows. There's AOSP, Pixel Android, Samsung Android,...
In my mind it's a major error and weakness that there is no such thing as "just" Android as there is with Android's closest desktop analogue Windows. There's AOSP, Pixel Android, Samsung Android, Xiaomi Android, etc, but no singular "vanilla Android" that's a complete standalone package.
The fact that Windows is like that I think is one of the reasons why it's still hanging onto 70% global marketshare today even as Microsoft's grip on computers begins to wane. Don't like the configuration and bloatware your Dell or HP or Razer came preloaded with? No problem, blow it all away and replace it with plain Windows. That's not an option on Android though, the closest you can get is an AOSP-based distro and that's only after your phone has accumulated some age — brand new phones are stuck with what they came with.
Sometimes I really wish Microsoft didn’t abandon Windows Phone. It was actually pretty innovative and stable towards the end, but there was a chicken/egg situation with users and apps that never...
Sometimes I really wish Microsoft didn’t abandon Windows Phone. It was actually pretty innovative and stable towards the end, but there was a chicken/egg situation with users and apps that never panned out.
My opinion of google has been on a slow decline over the last 5 years or so, so that leaves me with Apple by default. More options would be great.
I've used Android phones since 2010 and I'm pretty sure I'll be replacing my Pixel 7 with an iPhone 15 Pro in a couple months. Over the years, iOS has been adding more of the features I enjoy in...
I've used Android phones since 2010 and I'm pretty sure I'll be replacing my Pixel 7 with an iPhone 15 Pro in a couple months. Over the years, iOS has been adding more of the features I enjoy in Android and Android has been removing more features that differentiated it from iOS.
Specifically in regards to the Pixel 7, I don't like how hot it gets under reasonable conditions and I absolutely hate the under-screen fingerprint sensor.
I will miss sideloading FOSS apps through F-Droid, but since I already use Macs for all my computers, I think the synergy will be worth it.
The back fingerprint sensor was a great example of a benefit of Android over Apple phones. The under-the-screen sensor is so bad it might as well not exist. And, at least in my experience, face...
The back fingerprint sensor was a great example of a benefit of Android over Apple phones. The under-the-screen sensor is so bad it might as well not exist. And, at least in my experience, face unlock works much better on iOS than Android.
I'm not a Googler but I have had Pixel phones since the 3A and I love the front sensor on my Pixel 6. It works perfectly well, to the point I actually use fingerprint lock where on previous...
I'm not a Googler but I have had Pixel phones since the 3A and I love the front sensor on my Pixel 6. It works perfectly well, to the point I actually use fingerprint lock where on previous devices it was so annoying to have to pick the phone up to unlock it that I just didn't use a screen lock at all.
I have a Pixel 7 Pro, about the only one in their lineup the under screen finger print works well for, and I still don't want it under the screen. The scanner on the back was just good and didn't...
I have a Pixel 7 Pro, about the only one in their lineup the under screen finger print works well for, and I still don't want it under the screen.
The scanner on the back was just good and didn't need change for the sake of change.
You can still sideload apps (without jailbreaking, which is increasingly far behind the latest iOS releases) on iOS, you'll just have to fork over $99/yr to Apple to have the privilege. I sideload...
I will miss sideloading FOSS apps through F-Droid
You can still sideload apps (without jailbreaking, which is increasingly far behind the latest iOS releases) on iOS, you'll just have to fork over $99/yr to Apple to have the privilege. I sideload my custom eReader app (which through very hacky means has volume buttons to turn pages) and some emulators.
Check out AltStore. It takes some setup but it allows apps to be refreshed (somewhat) automatically. Once the setup is complete, you can the install .ipa (iPhone app) files directly from the file...
Check out AltStore. It takes some setup but it allows apps to be refreshed (somewhat) automatically. Once the setup is complete, you can the install .ipa (iPhone app) files directly from the file manager in iOS.
If you pay Apple $99/year, you do not. They will need refreshing once a year. There's not really the same community of apps, it's mostly open source emulators since that's a niche the app store...
If you pay Apple $99/year, you do not. They will need refreshing once a year. There's not really the same community of apps, it's mostly open source emulators since that's a niche the app store can't fulfill.
Having worked at Google on Android, things aren’t looking good for Apple’s competitor. The way Android runs is so much worse for product quality. An open source core, proprietary Google systems that are more or less required, 3rd party hardware from companies that aren’t well tapped into what Google’s doing, 3rd party bloat wares as a primary way to profit from a phone sale, disfunctional Google teams, etc.
Many core projects at Google are a one man show, and when that guy quits the project lives on as an undead monster, slowly getting worse until deprecated. Honestly Google should be copying Apple at this point.
What's really bad is this is also true of core security functionality. The code that interacts with the cryptographic key store (for biometrics, attestation, DRM, app-specific stuff) has been re-written a few times and the most recent iteration was written in rust by a developer that had never written rust before and quit immediately after finishing the project because it didn't get him promoted. The code is, unsurprisingly, horrific.
Related but non-sequitur: I just picked up an iPhone 15 Pro today.
In some ways Android is the most secure OS (or maybe used to be? - this is a spiel I received from a veteran Android dev as he was retiring who may have had a hard time acknowledging the trend line). iOS is in part only secure because Apple manually vets each program allowed into the ecosystem and heavily restricts what they can do (no JIT for example). Apple admits that without this their OS isn't sufficiently secure. Android was built with the understanding that people would straight up install malware and the OS needs to protect users from that.
That's the theory at least. I think the real world experiences would not match up. How many iPhones have malware vs. Android phones, how many Android phones are broken into by governments, etc.
I think it's likely that much of the bespoke code that differentiates manufacturer variants of Android is of poor quality (maybe even farmed out to lowest bid contractors) and is a source of a ton of holes that don't exist in AOSP. Security is an afterthought, it's all about "value add" and trying to create an ecosystem to keep users from switching to other Android manufacturers.
Yeah when I say "Android" I mean AOSP/Pixel. You can sneak in security issues with a custom/OEM ROM.
I admire that Apple hires and fires very carefully. They were the only big tech firm that don't do mass layoffs, which disrupts teams and kills employee morale.
In my mind it's a major error and weakness that there is no such thing as "just" Android as there is with Android's closest desktop analogue Windows. There's AOSP, Pixel Android, Samsung Android, Xiaomi Android, etc, but no singular "vanilla Android" that's a complete standalone package.
The fact that Windows is like that I think is one of the reasons why it's still hanging onto 70% global marketshare today even as Microsoft's grip on computers begins to wane. Don't like the configuration and bloatware your Dell or HP or Razer came preloaded with? No problem, blow it all away and replace it with plain Windows. That's not an option on Android though, the closest you can get is an AOSP-based distro and that's only after your phone has accumulated some age — brand new phones are stuck with what they came with.
Sometimes I really wish Microsoft didn’t abandon Windows Phone. It was actually pretty innovative and stable towards the end, but there was a chicken/egg situation with users and apps that never panned out.
My opinion of google has been on a slow decline over the last 5 years or so, so that leaves me with Apple by default. More options would be great.
I've used Android phones since 2010 and I'm pretty sure I'll be replacing my Pixel 7 with an iPhone 15 Pro in a couple months. Over the years, iOS has been adding more of the features I enjoy in Android and Android has been removing more features that differentiated it from iOS.
Specifically in regards to the Pixel 7, I don't like how hot it gets under reasonable conditions and I absolutely hate the under-screen fingerprint sensor.
I will miss sideloading FOSS apps through F-Droid, but since I already use Macs for all my computers, I think the synergy will be worth it.
I never met a single Googler that didn't want the fingerprint sensor returned to the back of the phone.
The back fingerprint sensor was a great example of a benefit of Android over Apple phones. The under-the-screen sensor is so bad it might as well not exist. And, at least in my experience, face unlock works much better on iOS than Android.
I'm not a Googler but I have had Pixel phones since the 3A and I love the front sensor on my Pixel 6. It works perfectly well, to the point I actually use fingerprint lock where on previous devices it was so annoying to have to pick the phone up to unlock it that I just didn't use a screen lock at all.
I have a Pixel 7 Pro, about the only one in their lineup the under screen finger print works well for, and I still don't want it under the screen.
The scanner on the back was just good and didn't need change for the sake of change.
You can still sideload apps (without jailbreaking, which is increasingly far behind the latest iOS releases) on iOS, you'll just have to fork over $99/yr to Apple to have the privilege. I sideload my custom eReader app (which through very hacky means has volume buttons to turn pages) and some emulators.
Don't you have to refresh them every week or something though? Is there a good repo for such apps like an F-Droid equivalent?
Check out AltStore. It takes some setup but it allows apps to be refreshed (somewhat) automatically. Once the setup is complete, you can the install .ipa (iPhone app) files directly from the file manager in iOS.
If you pay Apple $99/year, you do not. They will need refreshing once a year. There's not really the same community of apps, it's mostly open source emulators since that's a niche the app store can't fulfill.
That's not great, but better than I thought it was. I'll look into it more; thanks!