Hacker News Reader

Comment by chrismsimpson | Hacker News Reader

Having not used Android in basically forever, how tightly is search integrated with the OS/interface? If spotlight can be designated a search engine can Android be as well? Google can’t talk out of both sides of its mouth here and be taken seriously: “we can’t allow someone else to have a monopoly in search because that’s our shtick”.

View on HN

Google Search is an app like any other. It might be tightly coupled with your launcher app, and also other apps like Google Translate and voice input might require it. But the EU has forced Android to provide a search engine selection option when you first setup your device. The EU also wants to both break up Google and force Apple to open up and allow other app stores and browsers. If the EU succeeds in all these endeavors, Google will both be in a great and a bad place.

Doesn't Google already allow other app stores and browsers?

PlayProtect Entered chat

Prevented install

Prevented install

Prevented install

does the dumb dev tab dance, that'll likely be removed later, and enables "3rd party apk"

Playprotect wants to block it cause "scary"

Have to select "dont scan"

Playprotect keeps pestering you about turning back on and scanning

Now this doesn't match my experience at all. The most extreme thing you can do to trigger Play Protect (besides installing an app with a known virus) is to install a self signed apk. Even then it is 2 clicks to bypass. Common APKs like F-Droid won't trigger Play Protect. It's almost exactly like SmartScreen on Windows.

Also just disable play protect globally?

I didn't say otherwise.

Not only do I have an Android phone, I have a Google Pixel phone and Google Fi is my provider. I don't see Google search integrated at all. Maybe it's there, but if it is, it's not obvious to me. I launch Chrome, which defaults to searching Google, and I use it a lot that way. Other than that, I don't know if it's present. I never search my actual phone via anything like MacOS's Spotlight. I don't even know if my phone has any search capability like that.

I launch apps and use them, that's about it.

Is there not a Google search bar at the very bottom of your home screen? Maybe you use an alternative launcher?

Wow, there is, and I somehow had no memory of it. My first thought was "no, the bottom row is just my quick-launch apps, where I typically launch Chrome". But you're absolutely right. I don't think I've ever used it. I somehow tuned it out entirely.

How often do people even use that? I remember having it on all my phones, but I'm so used to searching via the browser (where I now have Kagi as default) that I never even think to use the search bar widget.

Not the OP, but I use an alt launcher, and I use Firefox (w/ Privacy Badger + Ublock) with Kagi set to the default search.

I'm sure Google still see some metrics from me (maybe from Google Services Framework or Android System - two services that Glasswire reports sending small amounts of data periodically.)

In some system apps it's deeply embedded, others not at all.

e.g. The Google phone dialler which is pre-installed on a lot of phones can bring up the phone number for nearby places without them being in your contacts.

It changed over time, and now the answer is not much.

The early idea was very much like spotlight where each app would be able to respond to search queries itself without needing any remote connection. (The Android infra for this inter app functionality like this is criminally wasted).

Google suffered from what now afflicts Microsoft where you alter the product away from what is good for the user towards strategic interests of the company, so the Android search bar widget becomes a Google search bar widget.

Android is a truly lost opportunity - things like it should be possible to launch an Activity on another device, access content providers from another device and so on, all mediated by the OS.

> things like it should be possible to launch an Activity on another device, access content providers from another device and so on, all mediated by the OS

Actually, that does exist, at least for smartwatches. I fail to see the use case for other devices beyond sending links between Chrome on the device and on a laptop.

Sounds like something similar to what Samsung has where certain apps like Samsung Notes can 'move' between devices, such that if you were working on a note on phone and immediately switched to a Galaxy book or tablet, a notification shows to continue editing on that device.

Besides, links and notes, a seamless transfer like that would be a pretty convenient feature for video/audio apps like YouTube.

> how tightly is search integrated with the OS/interface?

Basically not at all.

usually very little / not-at-all

but I never owned a Google made smartphone

Generally not very tightly but of course with Android, there are many different OEMs and they all try to do their own things to stand out

Reply on news.ycombinator.com