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Comment by aboutruby | Hacker News Reader

> On Android phones, you’ve always been able to install any search engine or browser you want, irrespective of what came pre-installed on the phone when you bought it.

cough cough cough, that google search bar in the home screen by default is pretty Google Search specific.

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It's integrated in the launcher, which is a replaceable part of the system. Just pick a launcher that doesn't have it, or makes it optional.

Your parents: "Wait...say that again?"

At least there is an option if you want to. Compare to that to the Android's biggest rival, where different browsers are glorified skins on top of Webkit.

Never explain low level details to parents. Just tell them what to do. In this case, it's as easy as sending them a link like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft....

My parents are also the least likely to install a browser other than what comes default

Are launchers fully replaceable now? I remember years back you could run another launcher but the default launcher process would still execute and remain in the background. Not really a 0 cost choice at that point - especially when phones had weak hardware.

AFAIK they've been for many years.

Gotcha, ok. I started using Android ~1.5 I believe, so things have changed radically since the beginning. I recall this being the case in ~2.2 perhaps.

I used Android from 2.0 to 4.4, and the phones I had performed notably better with third party launchers, suggesting the original launcher process wasn't still using system resources.

It doesn't seem to be entirely isolated. Apparently going back to the old app switcher requires you to freeze or uninstall the system launcher, no matter what launcher you're using.

You're getting downvoted for trivializing the user confusion around replacing it, but when I first got Android I did want to get rid of it, and originally didn't know how.

So this is potentially useful information if you've gotten to this point in the thread and are suddenly saying, "wait, I can remove that?"

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