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Comment by VectorLock | Hacker News Reader

On a scale of Samsung to Google, how bad does Asus load up their Android with crapware?

I got an Asus Zenfone 8 mostly because it was one of the smaller Android phones available. It's mostly stock with a few UI changes, and I don't think it had any bloatware apps preinstalled that I can remember.

also on a Zenfone 8 currently.

main complaint is probably that the buttons are too easy to press. every time i pick it up i inevitably press something to wake it. hoping the 9 is better.

Same problem. Partly resolved by removing tap to wake on the screen. In fact all touch and motion gestures are off for me.

i have that disabled. i mean the physical buttons on the sides. simply gripping the phone is sufficient to press them. really annoying.

Having had a Samsung phone and vowing to never buy another despite how amazing the hardware was (S8) and now having a Google Pixel 5 - I love this scale

The last Android phone I used was a T-Mobile G1, but my employer recently provided me with a S21 FE. My god, the software is so user hostile - two diallers, two messaging apps, two browsers out of the box.

Samsung is also very sneaky and will consistently try to trick you into making samsung variant apps the default

I did S7 > Pixel > S20 and while there's still a few default apps (I counted 9) I'm not using, the bloatware is less invasive than it used to be. My stock apps live in a Samsung folder I never open and haven't bothered me once since I got it.

Not sure, but earlier I looked it up and apparently Zenphones get really good LineageOS support.

LineageOS support is my only criteria for selecting a phone these days... this new Zenphone looks interesting

Writing this on a Zenfone 8 running lineage, it works pretty well!

This thing looks hard to get up here in Canada

Most Asus phones are carried at Staples here in Canada.... Another place to look is potentially Swiftronics.

> Most Asus phones are carried at Staples here in Canada

Maybe they were at one point, but the Zenfone 8 was never carried at retail in Canada, and Staples doesn’t currently have any Asus phones in stock.

Very nice! Ok done... I think I've found my next upgrade

How does LineageOS compare to CalyxOS? I swore to myself to never run Google Android, or mostly Google in general, if I can avoid it. Which means Pixel phones that support CalyxOS or Graphene. Nothing wrong with Oixel hardware, but having some additional phone options would be great!

Ooh neat. Definitely interested in this phone, with the short support life being one of the only apparent downsides.

Am I right in thinking that lineageos support doesn't really have an "end of life"?

You are technically correct that there is not a formal end-of-life, but rather a point at which you will stop being able to update because there’s no longer a maintainer working on backporting patches for that device.

At the end of the day, lineageos is best effort from volunteers, and you should weigh that fact when you decide what you want to use day to day.

nope it's just stock android

Having had Samsung, Huawei, and bare android (lineageos), I know whose software I prefer... instead of a bare android with no shortcuts on the lockscreen or anywhere, and no customizability of where the back button is (should be under the thumb of the dominant hand imo), I'll have the Samsung or Huawei software please. The only downside is that you can't have microG on stock.

Who is on which end of that crapware spectrum? And what is the crapware?

Asking as someone who's only had a Pixel, or iPhone before that.

Samsung being the worst end with many crapware, while Google just shipping stock Android, if you don't count Google's own software (such as the file manager, Phone , Messages, etc not crapware).

Google is no crapware, Samsung is as much crapware as possible.

Samsung has their own version of every built-in app. Text messages for example, they have a much shittier version of "Messages" (no RCS support at least a few months ago). Their apps get set back to default randomly. Photos/Gallery, email, web browser, you name it.

They then have other junk installed. Their own app store, their own voice assistant, and other useless/niche apps.

You are blocked from uninstalling any of it.

It is the scourge of Android. "Android One" was an effort by Google to curb it, but I think only Motorola signed up (in addition to Google, obviously). OnePlus started on the premise of a clean/stock experience, but have started losing their way (rather rapidly). "Nothing" is a new manufacturer aiming for a stock experience. Asus seems to be doing stock.

If you ever consider moving away from Pixel I strongly recommend prioritizing a stock experience over _anything_ else. Crapware is maddening, full of bugs, and likely full of vulnerabilities.

Ah, you assumed Android One was the name when it's actually just the number of companies who want less crapware.

Not to mention bixbie, a toxic bane.

With Samsung phones, even if you try to disable the Messages app and install, for example, the stock android Messages app, it will pop a very annoying nag screen on your home screen warning you that the Samsung messages app is not the default, and the only way to remove that is to Force Stop the Samsung Messages app, which then restarts... The best thing to do is give the phone to someone who doesn't have a phone with the warning that it is full of crapware.

Nokia had a few decent phones in Android One, but I think they dropped from the program

I am considering moving away from the Pixel, they seem to be going downhill, so your post was a great confirmation, thank you.

Sony is pretty much stock as well. Mine came with FB and LinkedIn pre-installed though.

The updates are decent and I had no problems with them.

Google comes with less crapware but not none. Google Slides and Play Movies are a couple of examples of crap that don't really need to be there.

Depending on who you ask Google comes with it's own crapware. I use calyxos and anything google including their play services is crapware for me. So the scale should be more like Samsung to GraphenOS/CalyxOS.

There were also Nokia (IIRC they still deliver basically stock Android) and Xiaomi who had a few dedicated models for some markets (mostly India but at least two were available in the EU) under Android One.

Sony is also very close to stock. They keep stock for most of the important apps, and only have their own apps for things like the camera.

Asking the real questions..

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