Google Keeps Making Smartphones Worse
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I think what they were trying to say is "I heard people use an Apple watch to get NFC payments working". I'm not confident that answer=Apple (also I have no idea if that would actually help), but it's the best I can come up with.
Android watch maybe.
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Unfortunately the Android experience is getting more and more bloated and users' freedom to tinker with their phones or sideload apps is getting more and more difficult. The Play Store is riddled with more ads than useful content. Just try searching for something, and oftentimes more than half of your screen is ads.
I've been with Android since the start and I hate what Google is reducing it to. It pains me that the only viable alternative is Apple and I feel trapped.
Support devices like the Liberux Nexx or the pinephone, especially if you are a developer!
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Yup. Motorola is Chinese Lenovo now sadly. Lenovo is absolute trash devices and support.
Been using Moto since Z1 and would say that their phones are fine. $200 for a phone that lasts 4 years is a decent deal.
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You get 2 or maybe 3 years of updates and then the device is trash.
Yeah, I've noticed this as well...
... which is why I was surprised when I read that Nothing Phone 3 will get 5 years of updates + 2 years of security updates.
Nothing Phone 3 will get the company's best software update promise to date
The Nothing Phone 3 is confirmed to get up to seven years of software updates, including five major Android versions.
Android Authority (www.androidauthority.com)
Nothing’s Co-Founder and Head of Marketing, Akis Evangelidis, has confirmed that the upcoming Nothing Phone 3 will ship with a “5+7” software update promise. ...likely means the phone will get five years of Android version updates and seven years of security patches...
Although, you can't install GrapheneOS on Nothing phones... so,
Yeah that's great news. Esp. considering it's an $800+ phone.
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You get 2 or maybe 3 years of updates and then the device is trash.
Yeah, I've noticed this as well...
... which is why I was surprised when I read that Nothing Phone 3 will get 5 years of updates + 2 years of security updates.
Nothing Phone 3 will get the company's best software update promise to date
The Nothing Phone 3 is confirmed to get up to seven years of software updates, including five major Android versions.
Android Authority (www.androidauthority.com)
Nothing’s Co-Founder and Head of Marketing, Akis Evangelidis, has confirmed that the upcoming Nothing Phone 3 will ship with a “5+7” software update promise. ...likely means the phone will get five years of Android version updates and seven years of security patches...
Although, you can't install GrapheneOS on Nothing phones... so,
With the new sustainability laws in EU they have to offer 5 years of updates from the sale of their last unit.
The Ecodesign Regulation lays out minimum requirements for mobile phones, cordless phones and tablets to be sold on the EU market to ensure
- greater resistance to drops, scratches, dust and water
- use of more durable batteries, capable of at least 800 charge cycles while retaining at least 80% of their initial capacity
- clear rules on disassembly and repair, requiring manufacturers to supply key spare parts within 5-10 working days, and for at least 7 years after the product model is no longer sold in the EU
- longer availability of operating system updates, at least 5 years from the date the last unit model is sold
- fair access for professional repairers to the software or firmware needed for repairs
New EU rules for durable, energy-efficient and repairable smartphones and tablets start applying
Designed to boost the product lifespan, energy efficiency, and ease of repair, the measures will also help consumers make more informed and sustainable purchasing choices.
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu)
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android peaked with the pixel 2. then everyone went overboard on bezel-less displays and fast refresh rates and smart assistant services and brought the whole damn thing crashing down.
... and I want my headphone jack, back.
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The big problem with anything not Google or Samsung is, as it's always been, software support. You get 2 or maybe 3 years of updates and then the device is trash. So you can save a buck on the short term but it will cost you more in the long run and you'll have shitty devices all the way along anyway.
You can buy a 2 year old Pixel for $2-300 and it will last you another 4-5 years (unless Google remotely nukes your battery).
Just because it doesn't have latest Android doesn't mean it's trash. And Fairphone also aims for 7 years support just like your Pixel example.
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Yup. Motorola is Chinese Lenovo now sadly. Lenovo is absolute trash devices and support.
I think Moto's are a pretty good budget friendly phone. Sure their update policy is lacking, but the Moto G Power or Moto G Stylus phones come decently equipped. Plus you can still get expandable storage and headphone jacks.
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Android watch maybe.
Garmin would work and isn't iOS or Android based
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Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source nature over the last decade.
Originally published on The Lever, but that one asks you to sign up.
Sadly iOS is not much better
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Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source nature over the last decade.
Originally published on The Lever, but that one asks you to sign up.
Google keeps making everything worse.
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Just because it doesn't have latest Android doesn't mean it's trash. And Fairphone also aims for 7 years support just like your Pixel example.
It doesn't need to be the latest android version per se, but I wouldn't want to use a phone that's not getting security patches anymore
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Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source nature over the last decade.
Originally published on The Lever, but that one asks you to sign up.
Two most important open source projects right now are PostmarketOS and Servo.
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Unfortunately the Android experience is getting more and more bloated and users' freedom to tinker with their phones or sideload apps is getting more and more difficult. The Play Store is riddled with more ads than useful content. Just try searching for something, and oftentimes more than half of your screen is ads.
I've been with Android since the start and I hate what Google is reducing it to. It pains me that the only viable alternative is Apple and I feel trapped.
Long term you should look out for Waydroid compatible devices. Basically linux devices (smartphones, tablets, pcs) that run android containers very close to hardware so you can run your important android apps while not having to rely on the mess that android is for everything. There is a GApps version too if you need google shitware for some reason. Ubuntu Touch (smartphone os) is one of the most prominent to implement it. Personally i hope to eventually just get rid of my phone and only have a laptop with a sim-card and waydroid.
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Fairphone just released the Fairphone 6.
Unfortunately for the EU only. -
Just because it doesn't have latest Android doesn't mean it's trash. And Fairphone also aims for 7 years support just like your Pixel example.
Not having security updates makes it effectively trash, as far as I'm concerned.
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Garmin would work and isn't iOS or Android based
I bought a Garmin to accompany my Graphene Pixel, only to discover that my bank doesn't support Garmin Pay.
So, MagSafe wallet attached my phone it is then.
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The big problem with anything not Google or Samsung is, as it's always been, software support. You get 2 or maybe 3 years of updates and then the device is trash. So you can save a buck on the short term but it will cost you more in the long run and you'll have shitty devices all the way along anyway.
You can buy a 2 year old Pixel for $2-300 and it will last you another 4-5 years (unless Google remotely nukes your battery).
All phones that are sold in the EU now have to have 5 years of updates after the phone is no longer sold.
Basically, all phones have 6+ years of updates now.
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android peaked with the pixel 2. then everyone went overboard on bezel-less displays and fast refresh rates and smart assistant services and brought the whole damn thing crashing down.
I don't think the issue with phones is the smaller bezels or better displays.
That's not what's ruining them.
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Google’s Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, started life as open-source software. In its quest for ever-greater profits, the tech giant has been gradually eroding Android’s open-source nature over the last decade.
Originally published on The Lever, but that one asks you to sign up.
I'm on hyperos and every time I have to touch anything pure Google I feel like I'm on a windows PC.
Don't get me wrong, hyperos isn't a pinnacle of freedom, but all I do with my phone is basically using Firefox and take photos (+ signal, & SMS) and use the lichess app.
It's so infuriating, they steal our data, but just needs more. I'll try a Linux FOSS system next phone.
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