Hacker News Reader

Comment by lvh | Hacker News Reader

What control does Android give you that you want? (I’m legitimately asking: is there an immediate pragmatic reason, or is it a principled stance against walled gardens?)

View on HN

Being able to change the default apps and layout the home screen any way I like, including using a completely new launcher, are big pluses for me. Being able to drag and drop music and files directly onto my device is another. Running real Firefox and not a Safari wrapper is a big deal too IMO.

I also find Android notifications and the Google keyboard way more ergonomic than on iOS and third party keyboard support on iOS is still pretty buggy.

But the real kicker is being able to side load apps when necessary. I didn't like the idea of giving Apple complete control over what I can run on my phone when they first announced the App Store and I still don't like it and consider it a serious threat to the future of general purpose computing.

The replaceable launcher is a big one. Tasker was another (though I heard Google Play was cracking down on non-accessibility uses of accessibility features for security reasons?)

I switched back to iOS when the SE came out, but I still miss Nova Launcher. Especially being able to put two actions on each dock icon, one for tap and one for swipe up. So if you have something like friends split over two main chat platforms you can stuff Discord and SMS apps in the same icon and have them both quickly accessible.

I just can't believe that 10 years later I still have to have a grid and have to hide apps I don't care about in folders.

have to hide apps I don't care about in folders

iOS lets you delete most 1st party apps: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208094

I think you and all the replies to the parent have missed the point trying to be made. If you view the homescreens in iOS as your desktop, you don't want all your apps littering it with shortcuts. The op is talking about having to setup folders to hide away apps that they use rarely but don't want to uninstall. Android handles this in a far better way, where you have an app drawer that pulls up all your app icons on a grid that is easily searchable if you want to get to any installed app. That frees up your homescreen to be used for exactly those icons and widgets that you want, which is a lot nicer than the iOS way.

What stops you from putting everything in a folder called App drawer, except the most used apps you want on your desktop?

Lack of notification. So you end up with a giant folder with a single "NEW NOTIFICATION" star above it. Then you have to open it and scroll through the limited 3 x 3 view.

The hard limit on how many apps a folder can hold?

If you weren't aware: You can fit 135 apps in a folder. Folders inside of folders are also supported so there's practically no limit.

I was aware since I just made that exact point. You want an "App drawer" folder that has a hard limit of 135. Not to mention the terrible UX of folders at that scale.

Folder in folders are not supported, except via strange glitches.

You can delete the vast majority of the base apps on modern releases.

”have to hide apps I don't care about in folders.”

Almost all apps can be deleted now days on iOS, including most of Apple’s stock apps. The only exceptions are a few core system apps, like Settings and App Store.

It’s not about deleting. It’s about having them on the desktop. On Android you have a drawer for all apps and only the ones you use often on the desktop. In iOS everything is on the desktop. In android I also can have the same app in two different folders which is quite useful.

You can delete most apple apps now.

Alt launchers are cool but Android doesn't give them full support for widgets.

Accessibility still matters even if you aren't blind, and apps for blind users can still be malicious.

Android has been steadily removing user control features to be more locked down like iOS but without privacy controls.

Apps for blind people could still be malicious, but that’s not a reason to justify random bullshit apps claiming accessibility permissions.

A real address book app could still harvest your contact data and sell it for marketing purposes, but if google cracks down and says “Hey flashlight apps, you aren’t allowed to scrape Contacts information anymore” that would be entirely reasonable.

Abuse of android’s accessibility services is particularly dangerous, hence the push for tighter controls on who can use it.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-android-banking-malware-s...

I'm at a buddies house and need to transfer a file. I can boot up a simple HTTP server with /Download mounted.

I can connect to my ps4 controller through Bluetooth

Tasker

I can inject a payload into my switch over usb-c

I can literally run Linux (and do all the time) using a 20 dollar hdmi adapter

Which Linux programs do you use that benefit from being on your phone when you have a monitor but no computer?

Some things that come to mind : You can replace the launcher. You have a real file system. You can side load apps. Apps can do background operations.

Loading apps outside the appstore/playstore is the best android feature

Reply on news.ycombinator.com