Do not be mislead by the title of this page: Android by and large is the best mobile operating system out there however as a fan of it, I cannot help but notice certain things which warrant attention and should be fixed right away because they are simply crucial.
This is from the same author of the similarly-styled Linux, Windows 10 and iOS lists.
He forgot one item that might have me switching to the iPhone later this year… if I want an Android flagship 5″ or smaller, I have ZERO options to purchase something in the US that I can actually walk into a store and put my hands on. Sony is said to be bringing the Z5C over here, but they’re going to gimp it by removing the fingerprint sensor. And, well… I heard the battery life on this phone wasn’t so hot anyway.
Apple seems to be the only vendor left that doesn’t treat people who don’t want whales for phones like second-class citizens, and I’m just about ready to deal with iOS’s shortcomings for this reason.
Walk into a store, touch and feel the Z5C to see if it’s to your liking, then order an international version for cheaper than the US list price, getting you the sensor.
http://www.expansys-usa.com/s.aspx?search=xperia%20z5%20com…
I think you missed the part about walking into a store. In many parts of the country, there are no sony stores nor carriers that have them in their stores.
Getting a sony phone is becoming extremely difficult in the US in person. You can order one online, but then you haven’t tried it out to see if you like it.
I completely agree with the original poster on this one. I almost switched to an android device on my last upgrade. I have been an iOS user since the 3g but am getting sick of some of the issues with apple products lately. I wanted a camera that was better than 8MP and I wanted a phone that was smaller than 5″. Even then, AT&T only had one android device in the store that wasn’t at least 5″ and it was a very lowend Samsung. The specs were worse than the iPhone 5 I was replacing.
The only phone in the store that I actually liked from a hardware perspective was a Nokia and that had Windows phone on it so it was a non starter. It also had a 5MP camera which was a step backwards.
I reluctantly bought an iPhone 6 that day even though it’s huge. I don’t hate it as much as I thought, but I miss being able to use the entire screen one handed. I had to change the layout of all my apps on screen as a result and occasionally it’s still a problem. Now that apple has decided to release smaller phones, but with worse specs than the iPhone 6, I’m still stuck with a touch decision on the next upgrade cycle. I may just keep the 6 and wait until the lowend catches up to what I have and evaluate what is out there.
If I could get a Google Nexus phone smaller than 5 inches or even at 5 at this point with decent specs, I’d switch. I just don’t want to buy a phone site unseen.
As for the sony products, I thought about ordering one last year but then I read their waterproof seal wasn’t waterproof and that many people had problems with it.
I also got a free LG tablet with that iPhone so I’ve had a chance to try android finally and it’s decent.
Make sure you compare apples to apples, oranges to oranges.
The screen size and the device size do not have a fixed ratio. For example, the smaller, non-plus iPhone with it’s 4.7″ (and slightly-above 720p resolution) has physical dimensions similar to the old Nexus 5, which has 4,95″ display (and fullhd resolution). The iPhone is slightly taller, the Nexus slightly wider.
And as another people have told you, you can get Sony Z5 Compact, which with it’s 4.6 (720p) display is significantly smaller than iPhone.
Lemme add a few:
– Infamous “Runtime Broker” running full throttle when user is using PC.
– Windows Explorer crashes by itself. The Windows UI is locked up and won’t be usable while Error Reporting is doing it’s work. Users gotta CTRL+ALT+DEL and restart Windows Explorer manually. I once found a new red Message Box that told me Windows Explorer crashed. I was flabbergasted.
– Homegroup is completely broken. Worked in 7, 8 and 8.1
– Last update made Win32 apps run slower. And they won’t close fast. Especially RAM heavy ones.
If you remove the “even though it does not” part, I agree 100% with the article.
Android is so bad, unusable and impossible to upgrade than even a toy-ish super restricted OS like iOS is a better option. IMHO Android is the worst successful OS ever created, it’s a crying shame with an army of fanboys trying to deny it.
I will be down voted as hell, I know, but that’s what I really think no trolling at all. In fact, I don’t even think iOS or Windows are good, they suck too, but at very least you can use and upgrade them without having a CS degree.
The sole purpose of Android is to provide ad revenue for Google. A handset is not meant to be updated to a later software version.
The vast majority (probably >99%) of Android users have no interest in upgrading their software. They get a new version every 2-3 years when they get a new phone.
I just buy a new bargain basement prepaid handset every 12-18 months for less than $50. I get modern hardware and a current version of Android for minimal cost. My next phone will be running Android M.
Edited 2016-01-26 01:34 UTC
Yeah that doesn’t work. Not saying it’s a bad plan, just saying that for $50 you are getting a truly terrible smartphone experience compared to a mid or top range model.
Nothing wrong with this $50 phone
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_258667.html
Are you being ironic? Shitty battery? Shitty camera? Poor data frequency support? That phone would be almost totally useless to me in the capacity I would want to use my phone.
I am not a high-end phone fanboy. I have bought Chinese phones. Let’s just not insist good hardware does bring anything.
All phones are made in China so I’m not surprised.
Edited 2016-01-26 08:30 UTC
There is a difference between being developed (or ‘designed’ *fapfapfap*, like they say it at Apple) in China and being assembled in China.
The idea that the Chinese merely assemble phones is complete and utter bollocks. They have been designing and manufacturing complete phones (including in house ARM processors) for years. In fact most of the low end phones are just Chinese OEM models with slightly different cases.
Few years ago, in the Android 2.x era, Orange was selling ZTE Blade for 100 pounds.
It was one of best phones I’ve bought, especially for the money they asked for it.
.. except for child labour and all the other nasty things that capitalism does with people and environment if consumers do not care but for the price.
(Mind you: I don’t say flagship phones are any better, but cheap crap sure gives all the wrong signals to companies that don’t care at all.)
That’s very true, but poverty and child labor are not a capitalism problem per se (in fact, in China, there were much more poverty and child labor BEFORE capitalism than after capitalism).
Initiatives like “Fair Trade” are super interesting, maybe if influential companies take them more seriously and market them as some kind of luxury brand or status symbol people will be more attracted to pay extra cash for “ethical” products. (just like they pay extra cash for Apple products because they are trendy or cool).
your $50 handset is probably 2-3 years old hardware and the software version is most likely Android 4.x, maybe Android 5 if you are very lucky.
This phone is AUD49 (USD35).
Android 5.1 with 4G.
http://offer.optus.com.au/shop/prepaidmobile/alcatel-pixi-4g
Vanilla Android is very fast and responsive even on basic hardware.
In six months time the same AUD50 will get me Android 6 and better hardware.
Edited 2016-01-26 09:09 UTC
Yeah, you see, this phone lacks the capability to properly browse the web or watch HD-videos, or whatever else you might want to do with a properly equipped smartphone that you cannot do with this one.
This is a phone that is like the flagships of 2011-2012: hopelessly inadequate for most people that have grown into depending on the usefulness of current mid (+€150) and high (+€300) end smartphones.
It’s not that I have a smartphone with a FullHD screen and a diagonal of more than five thumbs because I was feeling like throwing away a lot of money; no, I have it because I use it and feel impaired without it during that use.
I have had a phone that is similar to what you quote, but that was four years ago and I’m glad I have something better now.
Edited 2016-01-26 09:38 UTC
Complete and utter BS. The main difference between a modern budget phone and a flagship is camera quality and screen resolution. The other points are basically non-issues.
Exactly right, you cannot properly browse the internet without a high resolution screen, if your internet site does not feature a proper mobile site or if you like to have more than ten words at the same time on your screen.
The lack of resolution has really been the main disadvantage of my old phone. The next one featured an HD screen, which was quasi sufficient for web browsing, but still lacked when viewing comics on screen: the lettering was too small to be able to read properly on such a screen.
Next is the point that the difference in performance between my older snapdragon s4 dual core and my current SD801 is noticeable still, although the s4 was sufficient. The sd801 is much more frugal and *that* is another advantage.
Edited 2016-01-26 17:09 UTC
You can’t really read non-mobile sites on a 5″ screen because the text is too small. Likewise watching a movie on a small screen is basically a pointless exercise.
Your problem is using a bloatware ridden Samsung. Vanilla Android is a totally different experience even on modest hardware.
I agree that Samsung is bloatware ridden; that’s why I chose Sony where the firmware is quasi vanilla Android and where the extra features are not just gimmicks, but actually useful; like Stamina mode which is more or less like Doze in Android 6, but it’s already present in their Android 4 ROMs!
I have the Xperia Z2 for which Sony solemnly (ha,as if) swore to release all of its required binary blobs to be able to build your own ROM. Isn’t that lovely?
I have had the opportunity during a previous job to regularly use a whole range of phones (Xperia T, Nexus 4, One M7, Xperia Z, Nexus 5, Optimus G, etc) and the trend that Vanilla Android was indeed the most complete in terms of user experience and niceness rings true. That’s also the reason why in my choice for phone I only considered phones with a near-vanilla Android firmware, like Motorola and Sony. I really need my µSD-card, so a Nexus is not an option for me, alas.
At the bottom line, the best advice is this: just find out what you need and try not spending more than that.
I don’t see many, or any ads on Android. I do see a lot tracking, a ridiculous amount of tracking that I assume Google aggregates and sells.
Edit: On the other hand: Statistics is not Google’s core business, and there is an equal amount of tracking on iOS. Maybe it is an obsessive compulsive disorder to snoop that afflicts mobile OS developers?
Edited 2016-01-26 22:47 UTC
Why?
Android isn’t difficult to upgrade, unless you’re using third party roms on your device.
So how do the Joe and Jane user of the street upgrade their Android devices, when it is so easy?
Similar to an iOS or Windows device: they wait for the update notification and click it?
If iOS devices are a better option as suggested by the OP then it’s reasonable to compare them with premium Android devices. And those do get updated.
Still waiting for my security updates on my premium S3 and S4 phones.
Even a lame Lumia 630 has better performance than Android devices of the same price range with similar hardware.
IMO Lumia phones have vastly better price/performance than any other phones. The Lumia 640 cost USD48 unlocked at best Buy and has hardware arguably as good as an iPhone 6.
Sure, if you don’t mind outdated, crap applications that don’t get any updates, and very buggy and downright broken Windows 10 Mobile.
However, it’s interesting to see Windows Phone fans being relegated to the “permanently detached from reality denial status” as the BeOS support club were in the naughties, and the last holdouts of the Amiga cult in the 90s. Talk about a karmic cycle at work…
I do have developer experience in all three major mobile OSes.
My experience is that Android is the MS-DOS/Windows 3.x of developer tooling, in terms how the whole stack looks like and the overall architecture.
And like MS-DOS and Windows 3.x did with the PCs, it is taking the world of mobile computers, but it doesn’t mean it has the best stack.
that purely subjective qualitative assessment kind of reinforces my point, thank you.
Edited 2016-01-28 21:24 UTC
I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read the first complaints, regarding the Android UI and not being able to tell the difference between “text” and “controls”. I remember well a couple years ago when EVERY tech website was ranting & raving that Android and iOS were old & tired, boring, needed updating, skewmorphism was old-hat and out of date, they just couldn’t WAIT until there was a wholesale overhaul of cellphone interfaces.
Well, they got what they wanted, interfaces that are a sheet of white space with a couple lines of text or a couple of graphic lines, nothing is allowed that could possibly look like a button, oh no, that is so passè and “uncool”, so you have to poke around everywhere on the screen to find where and what actually makes something happen, totally useless and incomprehensible UI elements, and it is coming back to haunt them. Now they’re griping that the sparse, bare, minimalistic UI’s are hard to figure out, and this is just too funny to me. The whole bare-minimum “nothing is a button” thing was a total disaster, just as I knew it would be.
These UI problems also affect iOS, because Apple succumbed as well to the rantings that their UI was ancient and un-hip and needed complete overhaul to make them incomprehensible, so there is equal scorn to go around.
Edited 2016-01-26 10:42 UTC
“Android by and large is the best mobile operating system out there”
I dis-agree
BBOS10 is the best OS I have used by far on a phone, it is quick and very stable and it is such a shame about the lack of Apps (which doesnt make the OS sh*t) – A very cool OS though.
Well, while we are dreaming…I LOVED PalmOS. It was great…just didn’t have good hardware to go with it and had terrible developer support.
It takes more than a good OS these days…you have to have a good OS, good hardware AND a good ecosystem to go with it.
Perhaps BBOS10 was the best OS but as for now it’s pretty much abandoned.
yeah it is and its a shame.
There is no choice any more for the common user, but I guess the common user doesn’t really care… I would love to see choice when I walk into a phone store, would be great to see a different OS like.. Sailfish, Maemo, just some choice away from IOS and Android, Windows Phone (which is sh*t) is pretty much gone aswel.
Android and iOS are slowly getting to BBOS10 features and stability parity. Design is not even close.
I wish BlackBerry had made an effort to break out of their 2007 reputation.
Hard to take the guy seriously when his complaints about Windows 10 have the usual age old lies about Performance degredation and Windows updates being slow … that might have been true of XP (they were horrifically slow), but I don’t even realise anymore they are being installed until it prompts me to restart.
Also disabling the auto updates in 10 doesn’t require using hacks in services, you just change the Group Policy settings to not auto update.
Realistically all but Enterprise users should have updates enabled anyway. I run my business from my Win 10 desktop and they have been a minor annoyance at most … but I been letting Windows auto update since Vista.
Edited 2016-01-26 19:26 UTC
Ok, I’d agree if you could define who an enterprise user was, and why there requirements are different.
By far that’s my most hated term: “Enterprise”. Far worse than cloud.
Edited 2016-01-26 23:50 UTC
“Enterprise” means people who are too stupid to allowed to control their own settings.
Most large orgs won’t let you install updates unless they are pushed out by administrators. Your machine’s configuration is dictated via Group Policy.
I don’t think either term (cloud or enterprise) is as nebulous as you make out but I worked in mostly corp environments most of my career.
Edited 2016-01-27 06:00 UTC
Never ran into the term “Enterprise grade” before? Its like its strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.
Usually it really means over complicated, expensive and prone to failure…
But anyways, why do smaller non “enterprises” not need to control what gets installed on their computers? I totally understand the need to control it on networks with thousands of computers. The cost of breaking those is absurd. With a large network breaking 1000 out of 10,000 is too much,. but isn’t breaking 10 out of 10 also just as bad for the micro business?
Well obviously anyone with a domain controller can set group policy, not only “Enterprise”.
I am not a Windows Network Administrator but I have heard that these tasks have got easier from a friend of mine that is a network administer for a few 100 computers in an Education environment.
The point is that Microsoft sell a version of 10 for us plebs and they sell a version to business .. while essentially the same has a different default config out of the box.
> Hard to take the guy seriously when his complaints about Windows 10 have the usual age old lies about Performance degradation(!) and Windows updates being slow
Care to prove him wrong? Or you are a Microsoft fanatic?
The burden of proof really isn’t on me regarding the “apparent” problems with Windows Updates and Speed degradation.
I haven’t seen one performance test ever on any website that is along the lines of:
* Running a CPU bound task, IO bound task, GPU bound task on a new Windows installation
* Running the same 3 tests after 6 months of use.
He offers no real stats or reproducible results of his claims about Windows 10 regarding performance.
Edited 2016-01-27 19:36 UTC
It’s not about benchmarks – when people run them they unload all Windows applications but people do not work in benchmarks, they work in real life applications.
Compare a new Windows installation with a Windows installation that has 50+ software titles installed, 10+ resident applications running, 20+ applications in automatic start up and you’ll probably realize that Windows tend to slow down over time.
Consider various Adobe’s auto updaters and start up optimizers, consider Oracle’s Java updater, consider McAffee security scan which most people install without thinking.
Don’t get me started on multitude of custom updaters by Autodesk, Corel, Google and other companies.
Yeah, in your little perfect world you only run plain Windows, plus Windows Defender and your $favourite_webbrowser.
The truth is Windows Defender sucks as an AV, in fact even top AV solutions nowadays suck and you must have at least malwarebytes antimalware installed to be safe.
Every AV, every malware defender, every messenger, every updater, Steam/Uplay/etc. add their own footprint and do not tell me they don’t slow down Windows considerably.
In fact, you sound like a Microsoft shill or a person who hasn’t really worked with thousands of Windows PCs. I will ignore your comments from now on, ’cause I don’t care about astoturfers.
If I ran any Operating system with lots of background tasks it would become unresponsive. It is not the OSes fault.
What you are complaining about is crap software that happens to be popular that tends to be installed alongside the OS. No argument on that, I make sure that a lot of that crap never gets to touch my machine.
As for me being some sort of shill …
http://imgur.com/a/0Zed9
The pics
*Install of OpenBSD on my laptop
*Running raspbian on a RPi2
*Setting MacOSX up and XCode up for iOS dev.
Stop being a f–king dick.
Edited 2016-01-29 20:00 UTC
No they are not. You’re just overly critical. Most of those criticisms are not experienced by most users. Some of those like the update mechanism are valid and make sense, but the tacky ones degrade the quality and make the signal to noise ratio suck.