Everyone has their preferences, I would love to hear why you guys prefer using Android!
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I want a customizable phone that is not stuck in a walled-garden. Plus I do not use Apple products.
In no particular order
- File management works like a charm
- USB-C and fast charging
- Customizations
- Custom ROMs
- Privacy (getting a Pixel soon for GrapheneOS)
- Easier to repair
- More efficient (takes less steps to do stuff)
- Looks better
- Sideloading
- More choices for phones
Sideloading is the big one. I was considering an iPad before getting Xiaomi tablet (even though it costs roughly the same), but sideloading is game changer.
- YouTube Vanced
- Emulators
- Stremio and torrents
Along the lines of sideloading: proper adblock
I was reminded ads exist after I bought an iPad for school (sadly the notetaking experience is truly unrivaled). Adblock only works on Safari and whether it’ll work properly is another roll of the dice.
I have an iPad too. Try NextDNS. I have it set up on my iPad. I think it works but I only use it as a glorified notebook so I’m not sure
If you use any app other than what Apple provides, you become a second class citizen on your own phone.
Third party apps simply don’t integrate with iOS nicely unless Apple allows it. Even though you can choose a web browser, it has to use Safari’s underlying code base.
I’m on a Pixel 7. A lot of people say it’s like Google’s iPhone, but I can use Firefox as my browser natively. Adblocking actually works, too. I can choose any app as a default for whatever. Lots of FOSS! Google doesn’t own my Pixel the same way Apple owns the iPhone.
On a pixel phone you can even install a google free OS like graphene (that’s what I did)
Hi. I’ve heard quite a few people do this but never managed to ask why. So, taking the opportunity to ask.
What I mean is, if the large part of the phone is about the software experience and software optimisation (and the hardware in itself is nowhere near cutting edge) what’s the upside of installing a non-google OS on it?
Perhaps I’ll try it someday. For today, just curious. If you could shed some light on it. Thank you!
Sorry for the late reply, still getting used to lemmy and missed the notification.
I’m probably in the minority but I didn’t actually do it to completely de-google. I still have some Google services installed, they are sandboxed and limited to what I actively want though.
My main reason was removing the insane bloat that comes with modern phones. Think Facebook/Google and vendor specific apps being preinstalled without the ability to remove, forced google search bar on the home screen etc… Now I have a pretty clean, fairly safe, OS which behaves almost exactly like a normal phone.
Also important to remember on GrapheneOS is that your google play services are
- Optional
- Sandboxed Meaning even if you need google play, it’s a more private experience than stock android. I personally use a separate user profile for apps that require google play services.
Some people want to get away from Google services and tracking; having a non-Google OS can allow for that. 🙂
Not the original commenter but I’d imagine it’s for privacy reasons.
I used it initially, because I hated Apple and their proprietary stuff and have stayed ever since. I liked androids more universal approach. SD cards, usb, etc.
Having the ability to add an SD card is great
Was great
Exactly. Also, custom kernels, rooting, optimizing battery life by underclocking, disabling wakeups, and a helalalot more
Iphone is incredibly expensive. IOs seems much more restrictive than Android. There’s a bigger offer of different phones and manufactures in Android. Most people in my country use Android.
- File management is noice, the ability to plug in a USB C usb is very clutch.
- I swear a lot more apps on iOS are subscription based than on Android.
- A lot more open source apps.
- Modded apps.
- I can easily connect my phone to my laptop and copy actual files.
- Sideloading.
- Choice.
#2 I am a developer, the reason for this is that publishing an app in App Store is not free unlike in Android where it’s a one time payment.
I swear a lot more apps on iOS are subscription based than on Android.
I used an iPhone for a week for the first time in my life earlier this year and I realized that if I were to switch to IOS, I’d end up spending literally hundreds of dollar per year on stuff I can get for free on Android via piracy.
In regards to point 2, this is very true. Apps that are free or freemium on Android are often subscription on iOS. I wonder if a part of it is the higher costs of requiring a Mac to develop the app (and iPhone to test it), and any app store differences that may account for this. Big companies can handle this, but for little guys it’s a barrier to entry
I think it’s also a chicken-or-egg question:
Apple users are more willing to pay for apps. So if you’re a dev and you want to release a paid app, iOS is the platform of choice. So more devs release paid apps on iOS, so iOS becomes the platform with more paid apps. So users are more used to pay for apps. So paying for apps is normalized, so Apple users are more willing to pay for apps.
Etc. etc. etc.
- Headphone jack
- SD slot
Yes I’m using a Sony phone (Xperia 1V)
How do you like it?
Been deciding between an Xperia 1V and s23 ultra.
It’s a great phone. Good camera and it has a dedicated shutter button too. I’m not going to pay flagship money for a phone that doesn’t even have a headphone jack…
I see!
I understand for me the big point is the update policy. Just 2 years of OS updates is dissapointing, same as the 30Watt max charger.
But indeed the Headphone jack and SD card functionality are such a big plus.
Thanks for the input!
Is 30W low? I just charge a bit everyday morning before I go out and it got to 100%
I am spoiled haha. I had an realme x2 pro since 2018 or 19 and that was already 50watts.
Also got the Realme Gt 5G as an replacement 2 years ago which is 65 watts.
Anything below 50watts seems slow in comparison haha ;).
i ended up getting the S22U, just because the Xperia wasnt availble locally. If i had had a choice, i would have gone for the Xperia every day.
No SD card on that S23 = not good
Root.
That’s it. Root.
Much more freedom
- iOS is very restricted compared to Android.
- iPhones overpriced like crazy for what you get.
- GrapheneOS
To feel that YOU are the one really owning your phone.
iOS is always over-protective and doesn’t allow sideloading. Whenever I use an iPhone I feel like I’m using a phone lent by a parent to some child.
There’s not equivalent F-droid for iPhone, and almost all apps on Appstore contain ads.
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I may be one of the last hangers-on for this issue, but: my Android phone has a headphone port! That was non-negotiable for me last time I got a new phone. Earbuds do not stay in my ears, are super uncomfortable, and I don’t want to charge a wireless headset or mess with an adapter all the time. I have cheap wired headphones for going out and about that I don’t lose when they fall out because the wire catches them, and really nice wired headphones at home that are much better quality than wireless ones. My car also has a 3.5 mm hookup that sounds a lot better than Bluetooth audio.
Besides that: Having more customization and control. Firefox + adblockers and other extensions. ReVanced for YouTube. Easier access to the phone’s storage and files. Being able to block ads adds so much quality of life.
I absolutely agree with the 3.5mm headphone port. I use mine all the time as every wireless set of earbuds that I’ve tried has hurt my ears in minutes. I also can’t forget to charge my wired ones. It’s getting harder to find a decent phone that has both a headphone port and a micro SD card slot.
I literally can’t keep the wireless earbuds in! I don’t know if my ears are too small or weirdly shaped on the inside or what. Sometimes I can kind of wedge them in for a minute, but only by having them actively digging into the sides of my ear. That hurts and it still falls out as soon as I move my head.
My current phone doesn’t have a micro SD card slot, but that’s another improvement I would really like to have. I like to keep a lot of pictures and files on my phone and it would be great to be able to upgrade the storage as it fills up.
Definitely agree with the port.
I have the Qudelix 5K for really close to quality Bluetooth 3.5mm using Sony LDAC, and cost me 100 bucks.
Similar devices with lower quality are around 50-100 bucks.
Granted some do have great ways to enhance audio though.
Though for your earbuds, I’d get custom ear tips.
Like these
Headphones always win though, just that earpods are more mobile.
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Exactly. Using CalyxOS myself.
I also like IOS due to stability (I have an Ipad Mini) but I need some things firat before switching.
- Tachiyomi (Manga Reader)
- Ad free youtube aka Revanced
- Desk mode for playing TFT on a Monitor
- Sideloading unavailable regionally locked apps
- Emulators
I think there is an app in development called Paperback that could resemble what Tachiyomi it’s doing for iOS
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I can sideload apps. These apps are usually either obscure but useful or FOSS and designed for the user rather than for money.
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Even the apps officially on the Google Play Store are more powerful, such as emulators and an app using an advanced algorithm to change the speed and pitch of music while having it still sound high-quality. And of course, a file manager is a must-have.
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The ability to have Firefox+uBlock origin is a must-have for web browsing.
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More powerful in automation tools. I didn’t care too much about this until I found it extremely useful for work.
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More hardware variety. I hate that you can’t get a headphone jack on an iPhone and that the storage markups are absurd. Here I am with a $300 phone with a good performance, 256GB internal storage, a headphone jack, and a MicroSD slot. Bonus: The iPhone notch is incredibly ugly and the way Android does notches and punch holes is way better.
Unfortunately, we are beholden to greedy Google that actively is nerfing Android. Android 11 made it harder to access files, Android 12 replaced the WiFi and mobile toggles an incredibly poorly-designed internet toggle, and Android 14 is gonna restrict sideloading of older apps (which generally use less storage and are more optimized).
Wow, fuck everything then. I hope forks of Android continues to thrive, but there is only so much we can do when the base starts deteriorating in quality.
Too bad Linux phones failed to launch. I mean, if there is as great working phone that reliably makes calls and fully accepts SIM cards, I will buy it the day my phone dies. There needs to be a Fedora phone, an open source backed up by an established freedom respecting company with a lot of money.
Maybe it’s just Samsung, but at least One UI refused to give in to Google retardedly combining the WiFi and mobile data toggles together.
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