Google's increasingly prickly Android perception problem - eviltoast
  • sparky@lemmy.federate.cc@lemmy.federate.cc
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    1 year ago

    I think the point is rather the opposite, what can Android do that iOS can’t? And the honest answer is effectively nothing. It can’t side load unsigned apps. Literally nothing else. So to claim that Android is so super advanced in the article is disingenuous.

    As power users we should be watching both mobile platforms closely and honestly, and demanding parity and improvements in both. The moment we declare one “better” and the other one trash is the moment we stop holding our own platform of choice to account for bettering itself.

    • On@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Just off the top of my head, Android allows multiple browser engines to work on it, allowing firefox to use extensions. Android can torrent, while you can’t on stock iOS without hacks. Firefox with extensions on Android is god send if you’re a power user.

      For someone who claims to be a power user, it’s really showing… And don’t forget open source ecosystem is much much much bigger on Android.

        • nappingkat@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Meaning, we dont have extension in firefox. We get it.

          • launchers; icon packs, system ui changes
          • custom roms
          • android kitchen to make your own android
          • those root level apps
          • adb (wireless as well.)
          • linux windows interoperability
          • set your cpu and gpu governor
          • kde connect and other stuff which wants to work in backend can keep working
          • others… i dunno i am bored cannot think of more
          • ability to pirate apks
          • third party stores
          • easier to develop for

          But yeah mostly for nerds🤓

          • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            This is a great list! Allow me to help expand it:

            • Multiple user accounts (great for kids)
            • Multi tasking split screen with different apps
            • Direct plug-and-play access to files on a computer with a usb cord

            And since it’s impossible to ignore the fact Android allows for hardware choice, there’s hardware benefits like…

            • Faster charging
            • Brighter, more advanced screens
            • High frame rate (Apple is still stuck on 60fps)
            • Foldable
            • Better cameras
            • Charge other devices with your device
            • External storage Alright, there’s a LOT more, but I realized I don’t want to do the legwork haha. These are huge features, though.
          • sparky@lemmy.federate.cc@lemmy.federate.cc
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            1 year ago

            Some of those are true I don’t think it’s fair to say Android is easier to develop for. I’ve been developing software for both professionally since 2012, and I would argue iOS may be slightly easier, due to the maturity of the tooling and ubiquitous, predictable, and mature system frameworks. I often find myself reaching for some dependency on Android to provide what a one-liner on iOS can do. Just my two cents.

            • nappingkat@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              While i understand you are coming from, when i said its easy to develop for android i meanT that i can work in almost any os and the tooling will be available to develop. So its easier to start for most people.

              I.e. easier to develop without requiring specialized hardware

              Other than that, what you said is true. java is a VERBOSE language. Kotlin solves this a little

        • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Safari is extremely limited, and web developers are starting to hate it. For example, the latest wepm video type that’s been out for years doesn’t work on Safari. It’s the only viable format for making videos small enough to not impact performance.

          As such, iPhone and Mac users often don’t have the same web experience as literally every other Browser. Not many people know this, but now you do!

          Source: I’m a web developer.

    • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Are you for real?

      Downloading third party apps is the single biggest advantage I’d argue android has over iOS. This is highly practical - for example, I get zero ads on YouTube, and it even skips the sponsored content. This is free to everyone on Android. You have to pay Google’s troll toll if you want half of that on iOS (you cannot pay to skip the sponsored stuff.)

      You can also easily, and safely install Roms on Android. This extends support for old hardware out, and gives full control over just about every single aspect of your phone.

      Additionally, unless something changed recently, Firefox doesn’t have extensions on iOS still. This means you can’t use vital plugins looks ublock origin to block ads like you do on your computer.

      Next we have one of my favorite features - swapping the entire launcher. You can’t do that on iOS, but on Android you can easily switch between really creative and interesting layouts in seconds.

      There’s a lot of other things Android can do that IOS can’t (multiple user accounts, simultaneously running multiple instances of the same app, multi tasking apps in split screen, advanced keyboards that have gifs and such built in, direct and full access to the storage via usb, changing the default system apps, etc.), but the above are the practical ones I use daily.