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Comment by ornornor | Hacker News Reader

Worked for Samsung a while back and can confirm all of the above. You couldn’t pay me enough to own and use a Samsung anything.

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I'd love some examples of this. I'm about to buy a new phone and originally planned to get a s21/22. But now I'm questioning this. But I'd also like some more details on this

See parent’s links, Samsung is very proud of their automatic content recognition (ACR) and ad retargeting technologies. I also remember the tv scanning your network and hdmi devices to figure out what you own and add to your advertising profile.

what are the alternatives in the Android space with good camera and good user experience?

I have a Huawei phone which is excellent =)

Seconded. I'm happy that my Mate20X came out just before Google yanked Play Store access to all subsequent Huawei devices.

I'm a big fan of Nokias as they don't come with the bloatware common on some other Android phones.

I had to upgrade recently and went for a Nokia XR20. It might not have the latest and greatest hardware but I honestly don't notice. It's a phone that I sometimes browse the internet on. Also dual SIM and has a 3.5mm jack.

A Pixel phone.

Honestly Pixel should be the only android you consider as its the only phone that doesn't come loaded with trash spyware (outside of niche phones like Fairphone)

I love Pixels, closets thing to be spyware free. If you ignore being spied upon by Google, that is. Also very easy to get other Android versions on them, and those other OSes offer great, long term compatibility.

So we are talking about Samsung because they spy to much on us and the phone you recommend is the one from Google? Interesting...

note that i said "doesn't come loaded with trash spyware"

Google might have some spyware (e.g. play store). But it's not trash. I trust them to not get hacked (definitely more than Samsung or Huawei)

They also afaik have better support for replacing the stock firmware (although I've never done that)

Any Android phone will be spied on by Google so long as Play Services are installed with elevated privileges(aka 99.9% of phones being commerically sold). At least with Pixels you don't have OEM bloatware on top of that.

For those inclined for more privacy, Pixels are one of the only phones that allow you to install de-googled Custom Roms without compromising the Android security model.

Check out the motorola's, they have batteries that actually last an entire day. Mine is usually around 40% on an average higher usage day.

Well if you're ready to spend a month's salary on a phone, you'll probably get better hardware/software from Fairphone or Librem. Pinephone is also an option (at a more accessible price point) but it's still in some kind of beta where random users who just want to take photos and have a long-lasting battery are not the target audience.

I know many people who use Fairphones and they've never been disappointed. You can still find the spare parts, remove the battery, and setup the OS you want. Be careful though the "setup your own OS" part may not be supported for a few months after a new model comes out so be sure to check the compatibility list on lineageos.org.

Unfortunately to my knowledge all other vendors are just scammers who will sell you half-functioning phone due to spyware bundled as part of the system (just try to remove Google Play Services :)) where you can't unlock the bootloader to setup your own system.

Strictly speaking about repairability, yes. But in terms of performance, specs, camera, etc. Samsung / iPhone of 5 years ago is still ahead of the Fairphone and co

That's correct but misleading. First because we don't need all this raw power, and as much power as we give our devices, all of it will be (ab)used according to Wirth's law [0].

Second, because this is primarily due to economies of scale and predatory behavior from economic giants: if consumer/environmental protections don't outlaw ethical abuses from the few corporations who capture the market (see also planned obsolescence [1]), the "ethical" alternatives are always going to be more expensive and less attractive.

Third, because there are simple ways to have a strong impact immediately. For example, by forcing all hardware manufacturers to publish the entirety of their data sheets / schematics / research, you'd find a much better OS support for older devices (and new devices too), which would bring a practical incentive (cost) to use older hardware which currently has to be thrown away (for example if the OS does not support newer TLS standards [2]).

The situation is only bad because we let it be. Going with big tech for short-sighted, individualized gains, fails to address the elephant in the room that we as humanity can do so much better and everyone would be better off.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirth%27s_law

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

[2] https://f-droid.org/pt/2020/05/29/android-updates-and-tls-co...

take a look at the new Motorola phones, they are getting pretty good.

https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones?ds_rl=1242193&ds_rl=...

Does it apply to washing machines? I use one from Samsung. It's not connected.

I had a Samsung oven that self-destructed beyond repair on the first attempt of the pyrolytic cleaning program, less than a year after purchase. I know multiple people that got less than year of service from their other sort of Samsung appliances. So yes, it does apply.

In my experience, a Samsung badge is like a seal of guaranteed low quality. Bling bling and looks good but no substance. Like I said, I steer clear of Samsung for anything. Even semiconductors if I can help it, although I have no idea if their semis are as bad as their full products. But just in case. Companies usually share this kind of traits across divisions and groups, it’s in their dna.

The washing machines are actually great, mine has worked perfectly for the past 7 years.

My girlfriend in 2016 had a brand new Samsung that sometimes made a lot of noise, as if the shock-breakers were busted (it was standing on the floor correctly). She called the Samsung service, in the Netherlands they advertise with a really nice service where the mechanic will come to your house for service. They asked her a hundred questions, and after 15 minutes she was done with it and put the phone down. That situation made me angry and I called and answered diligently all the questions for about half an hour to make sure that a mechanic would show up. Apparently they play a game on the phone by putting up such a barrier for service, just to save some money. I told her to never buy a Samsung again and also tell her friends that.

They did have an issue with some bursting into flames a while ago.

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