Related
Would like to start a general discussion here.
Would it be a good idea if Google only use android on their own ( Motorola) hardware?
Take this as current state and not the changes in ice cream.
Currently android is a mess 6 versions of the the os in the market.
Three main ones app makers have to support.
I love aosp so I use cm7 as I missed the nexus one and the nexus s didn't have an SD card.
I have tried touchwiz on a galaxy s. Sense on a hero and desire HD. Motoblur on a dext and defy.
They add nothing all they do is slow down the phone and updates.
Why do company's feel the need to add old ui's ( most are ported from older model phones)
Something I miss from my iphones was updates on all devices as the same time, no waiting around for a manufactor to mess around with it,then a network to spoil it even more, then for me to get it after a slow roll out.
So maybe android needs to take a look at ios and think why do app devs like it more? Why do normal users like it more?( XDA users are not normal users)
I would like one of three things to happen.
1- all android phones are aosp.
2- added UI are installable as an option not bundled into the phone.
3- Google to only release phones for purity.
Would like to see peoples thoughts on this.
And also if you like a UI why do you like it? what do you think it adds?
I repair things I am not a writer so hope its coherent enough to get the jist.
Sent from my Tablet
HTC, Samsung, Moto, etc... they put those UIs on to dumb down the OS. Make it simple. Simple sells.
Simple UI plus a Powerful OS = great sales!
But sense adds even more settings and more to the lockscreen more everything.
Motoblur seems to need a blur account then you need your Google account for market.
Not that simple to me.
Touchwiz just seems to change things not add or take away.
Sent from my Phone
All of those make it simple. How do you add to the lock screen on stock Android?
vetvito said:
All of those make it simple. How do you add to the lock screen on stock Android?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't on stock its a simple unlock or mute
Sent from my Phone
What makes apple so "great" in most customers eyes is the simplicity. I love android just for the fact that there are so many ways time customize it it's ridiculous. Example: apple had to release almost 5 generations of the iPhone just to try to keep up with the android.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
aurgerman said:
Example: apple had to release almost 5 generations of the iPhone just to try to keep up with the android.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure I agree with that.
Android only really took over apple when android got to 2.2( not everyone even has that yet)
Ios is very rock soil and before ios4 didn't really crash on me. I have only started noticing problems since ios4.
And with the customization with our phones there is a limit to what you can theme on stock rom without root.
Installing cydia on ios devices you get loads of themes and changes some of them are even better then android visually.
Sent from my Phone
Are you sure ^ ? 2.2 - 2.3 is on 85% of Android devices right now.
Let's keep in mind that all these companies need to distinguish themselves from their competition. Consider all the competing phones based on, say, the ARM A8 platform. With similar core hardware under the hood running the same underlying OS, the interface is simply the best place to make a given model noticeably distinct to the average consumer.
Google may not be thrilled with platform fragmentation, but I'd wager that the various royalties / licensing fees / brand recognition opportunities / whatever more than make up for it. Going full-turtle would be bad business. Just my 2 cents...
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
iammodo said:
3- Google to only release phones for purity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming soon from Google: AryanOS, locked down tighter than **** Cheney's butthole to guarantee purity!
/Godwinned
Sent from my SCH-I500 using xda premium
vetvito said:
HTC, Samsung, Moto, etc... they put those UIs on to dumb down the OS. Make it simple. Simple sells.
Simple UI plus a Powerful OS = great sales!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So true.
Also, Google, Moto, Sammy, and HTC don't fight back enough with carriers, mainly Verizon, against bloat. Verizon would probably say "To hell with Android then" if they did, since they don't have as much leverage as the iPhone and Apple.
Jazz is also right. If every manufacture had stock on their phones, you wouldn't know which to choose since there would be no difference. Only buyers, like us, that actually care about the speed of a phone, and the ram and rom and all that jazz would know the differences, but average users wouldn't. Hell, my sister, who is only 21, doesn't understand the difference between a Droid and an Android phone, she assumes that every phone that runs Android is a Droid...like my aunt's Evo. (lol)
I actually like Sense, especially Sense 3.5. I think it makes Android look a little nicer, especially if you don't want to root or use custom roms. Touchwiz is also kinda nice, but it's really just the launcher that is changed. Blur is a piece of doodoo though. Can't even install the Facebook app onto my X2 because of Blur's useless Facebook integration that works like hell. Tells me everything I don't want to know, and nothing that I do.
I seriously don't see the point of bloat anyways. If the app is already installed on my phone and I never use it, what is the difference between that and it not being on my phone entirely. If I wanted the dang app, I would've clicked the Verizon tab in the market and downloaded VCast or VMusic. Best answer is probably that Verizon has some stupid person in HR or whatever deciding on what is preinstalled on the phone, instead of the actual consumer. (Then again, I don't see the point in a Facebook phone as well..)
Thanks
Enviado desde mi SM-G925F mediante Tapatalk
Its like looking into a time machine , i remember iOS3 & 4 when it was as simple as jailbreak.me man it used to be so easy :/
Google is rightfully proud of its native theme in Ice Cream Sandwich. Dubbed Holo, it's intuitive, functional and -- dare we say it -- downright sexy. Now, in an effort to provide all users with a consistent interface, the company is making the theme essential for all Android 4.0 devices that come bundled with the Android Market. That's right, the stock, undiluted experience. Don't be alarmed, though, because manufacturer customizations aren't going anywhere, and the changes aren't terribly drastic. In fact, for users of Sense, TouchWiz and the like, Google is issuing architectural mandates that will make it dead simple for independent developers to create apps that fit nicely into these customized environments, complete with the proper widgets and colors. In other words, app designers may effortlessly choose between Holo or the manufacturer's default theme when considering the software's interface -- although, we'd really love to see this decision extended to end-users. Meanwhile, it seems terribly unlikely that Google's new mandate applies will bring choice to the home screen, keyboard and dialer as well. We can only hope, right?
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Click to collapse
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/03/google-makes-holo-theme-mandatory/
Stock Android FTW! Though I really liked the functionality of TWlauncher.
Seems like a nice decision.
$1 gets you a reply
Seems a good choice as one common complaint with android is the lack of a common default experience like iphone so might attract more new users.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
I also like the idea. It's something that should have been all along. People wanting different UIs can simply install them from the market.
About time!
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
In before ppl say they are copying apple by having one std. interface....lol
Its a shame it only applies to settings menus.
But, I guess its one step closer to forcing a AOSP, skinless experience as a choice to the end user.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
quarlow said:
Its a shame it only applies to settings menus.
But, I guess its one step closer to forcing a AOSP, skinless experience as a choice to the end user.
Sent from my Galaxy S II (i777)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing to make it go faster... Convince everyone to buy a device without skins. People buy the skins for my than just eye candy.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
MartyLK said:
I also like the idea. It's something that should have been all along. People wanting different UIs can simply install them from the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your assumption seems to be based on the fact that everyone knows how to do that. Power users like us found on the site make up a minute number of phone users. Outside of the states, the phone experience is a far larger factor than anything else. Thus users who buy Nokias are buying them for the Nokia experience primarily.
Make it mandatory to use Holo by default.
Allow oems to provide ttheir own user interfaces as a downloadable addon, ( while emphasizing e fact that they are unsupported by e rest of the android development community)
Thus providing a choice for users and at e same time mminimize or even remove fragmentation.
Sent from my HTC Desire
The article makes it sound as if you the user can get the stock experience on their Sense/TouchWiz devices. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. This theme applies to text color, dialog backgrounds, etc, those sort of things. It does not make Sense or TouchWiz go away.
The only thing this applies to is to DOWNLOADABLE apps (from Android Market, for example). Such an app can choose to use the Google-original Holo theme, or whatever the device is running. This is a choice for the app developer.
A good app developer will still opt for the "whatever the device is running" option, as this will make sure your app fits into the device experience. For a "normal" user, if all the apps on a phone have one look, and your app has another look, chances are, the user will be confused and/or annoyed by your app, as it's not consistent. Us power users might rather want to use the Google experience, but for most people consistency is key. And consistency, unfortunately, is not something Android has particularly much of, design-wise (there are whole sites dedicated to documenting this).
Furthermore, the change presents a problem, because on Honeycomb devices if an app developer chose to use Holo, the app would look like the OEM-customized Holo theme. On ICS, it will look like Google's original Holo theme instead. So while this app looks consistent on Honeycomb, it'll look weird on an OEM-customized ICS !
Of course, solutions are available (see this article for example: http://www.chainfire.eu/articles/109/Themes_across_Android_versions/ )
I see this article posted and reposted everywhere, but I think most readers have the wrong idea about what has actually changed !
Isn't it merely a case that things will have to follow certain design conventions, so even when skinned to hell, the overall design conventions are based on what Google has designated?
sabret00the said:
Isn't it merely a case that things will have to follow certain design conventions, so even when skinned to hell, the overall design conventions are based on what Google has designated?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.
Finally Android devices will hv the same look and polish as iOS device and Apps! This is amazing news! Good job Google!
So I decided to take the plunge and try out a stock Android rom. I'm a fan of Sense. I actually prefer all of the overlays from the various manufacturers but I decided to see what all the fuss was about with stock.
To me, stock Android just seems boring. Sense, to me, seems more polished. The widgets are nicer and more useful. The stock Android widgets are plain and boring.
I don't notice the speed difference, that people claim is so substantial, at all. In fact, the sense roms we have seen to be speedier.
So, my question is, why all the fuss over stock Android? I know people complain about Sense taking up a ton of resources, but I don't notice a dip in performance at all.
P. S. Remember, these are my opinions. You may not agree. Don't flame me for it.
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
SkizzMcNizz said:
So I decided to take the plunge and try out a stock Android rom. I'm a fan of Sense. I actually prefer all of the overlays from the various manufacturers but I decided to see what all the fuss was about with stock.
To me, stock Android just seems boring. Sense, to me, seems more polished. The widgets are nicer and more useful. The stock Android widgets are plain and boring.
I don't notice the speed difference, that people claim is so substantial, at all. In fact, the sense roms we have seen to be speedier.
So, my question is, why all the fuss over stock Android? I know people complain about Sense taking up a ton of resources, but I don't notice a dip in performance at all.
P. S. Remember, these are my opinions. You may not agree. Don't flame me for it.
Sent from my One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it's a blank canvas. Check out mycolorscreen.com, justreveal.net for some examples of what I mean.
Also, if the stock Android ROM you tried was on this device...then you haven't really experienced stock Android yet. There are still lots of bugs and what not that are being ironed out which cause lags in performance and other issues, so it's not really fair to judge the experience if it did occur on the One XL.
I do strive for AOSP on all my devices, but Sense is the ONLY tolerable manufacturer "skin" as far as I'm concerned. I dealt with Sense right up until a couple days ago since having my device. When I had my Samsung devices, Touchwiz was gone ASAP.
nooomoto said:
Because it's a blank canvas. Check out mycolorscreen.com, justreveal.net for some examples of what I mean.
Also, if the stock Android ROM you tried was on this device...then you haven't really experienced stock Android yet. There are still lots of bugs and what not that are being ironed out which cause lags in performance and other issues, so it's not really fair to judge the experience if it did occur on the One XL.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah buy a nexus 7 or a galaxy nexus if you to experience aosp.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I do agree that the Sense widgets are awesome and much better than what is available on stock, HD Widgets is pretty nice though but still prefer the Sense ones IMO. And I too like the Sense launcher, at least with 4.0, seems to be much improved upon HTC's previous Sense versions. I'm no developer, but if it was at all possible to port the widgets to stock ROMs and launchers, that would be incredible.
All-in-all though I think I still prefer stock ICS/JB to Sense (can't wait for new stable AOKP and CM10!). I think part of the reason many people prefer stock is that although Sense is very nicely polished in places, many tasks feel like they take more actions to complete than it would on stock. Another part would be customization, especially if you go with stock-styled launchers like Apex or Nova, you have more control. And finally I think simplicity plays a part, stock ICS and JB have a very simple, clean, but still aesthetically pleasing interface IMO.
This is also I think was really puts Android above iOS and WP, the choices. It's really what you want to make of it.
Honestly, Sense is the only reason why I own an android device. I tried to like TouchWiz or stock, but I just couldn't. To me it feels like using a powerful computer on windows xp, but sense to me is like being on windows 7. Don't know if this is understandable. Anyways, that's just my opinion.
Sent from my HTC One X using Xparent SkyBlue Tapatalk 2
I don't mind sense. Been using it over its various generations. Modern versions are far less resource-hogging than the older ones.
Stock android i find far more appealing bar a couple of things like the calendar widget, but i had replaced the android one with Pure Grid calendar anyway so I wasn't missing anything there
i love stock android, its a much cleaner platform to me than sense, but I still have much love for sense.
I love both. Sense for me is just easier to use though. But if a fully working CM10/AOKP build came out, I would definitely switch.
I use to have a SGS and I hated the TW. Nova was my default launcher.
But I kind of like Sense. The only think I don't like are the Dialer app ( very ugly... I use exDialer instead ) and messaging app ( using jellybean Aosp)
Other than that widgets are pretty cool. They are all themed and they change when you switch to another theme.
Good job on that HTC... But really Phone app is horrible.
Personally, I am loving AOKP/Stock for a few reasons. Note that I'm going to try to keep this to Stock-specific things, since I know AOKP adds a bunch of cool (but non-Stock) functionality.
1. Accurate signal quality, rather than AT&T's bull**** "4G" icon (this is a small one, I know)
2. Stock multitasking (both interface and performance). I don't know why HTC changed the multitasking interface with Sense, because seeing one app at a time is a lot less efficient than seeing 4-5. I use the multitasking switcher a lot more sense installing a stock ROM.
3. This is related to #2, but things generally seem to "work better". I think this is due to the Sense skin's over-ambitious task killing, but for example, in Sense, sometimes my background Pocket downloads would randomly get stuck. Same with Store app updates. Haven't had this problem on Stock yet. Also, Stock didn't seem to want to kill RunKeeper while I was in the middle of an activity, so that was nice.
4. The general "feel" is more consistent, because apps that use the Holo interface are designed to "blend" better with Stock Android. I also prefer the transition animations in Stock. Overall, Android just feels more "right" because this is how it's intended to be used. It's hard to explain beyond that.
Those are the big things. Notice there aren't all that many, and it's (mostly) about personal look-and-feel preferences...that's because Sense really isn't bad, and there are even some things I prefer, like social network integration and (of course) the camera. If I was forced to use Sense, I would still love this phone, because really, we're splitting hairs at this point. This is an amazing piece of hardware, whether it's running Sense or Stock.
Of course, its hugely a matter of personal preference, especially as far as aesthetic differences go. But XDA folks seem largely in favor of AOSP ("vanilla") ROMs versus manufacturer skinned versions of Android like Sense. On older devices, this was largely understandable. On those devices, Sense looks nice, but leads to huge lag. But with the One X, you don't really have that. Maybe some minor lag in a few places, like opening the app drawer, but really its not significant. The hardware has finally reached a point that it can handle Sense smoothly (plus HTC's streamlining of Sense with version 4). There has also been the argument that Sense takes up too much memory. But that seems largely solved with 4.0.4.
Sense has some nice widgets and apps. But while some may see these as a "pro", other may see it as a "con". If you don't use them, they can be seen as bloatware. Personally, many of the widgets and apps are superior to what you can get on the Play Market. More functional, and the fact that they are themed to match the overall UI is very nice. Getting Stocks and other apps/widgets from the Market for use on AOSP ROMs just makes it feel like a messy mish-mosh. One thing I am continually shocked about is that AOSP ROMs don't have a built-in timer and stopwatch. Seems like a no-brainer to have these integrated into the clock, just like alarms. When I've been on AOSP ROMs, it was always a bummer to have to use 3rd party stopwatch/timer apps. Even though there are dozens of choices, they are all fugly and clumsy compared to what HTC has integrated into the clock.
Again, it all comes down to your own preference. The great thing is that the devs give us a variety, and let us choose whatever we like better!
I used to be all about aosp roms, customizing them is easier, on older devices they were noticeably snappier. However, on this hoxl, and specifically sense 4.0, I have been converted. Customization is less, true, but sense 4.0 really adds quite a bit to our phone that I can't seem to let go.
I've tried many roms here on xda, aokp, cm9, cm10, clean rom, three different roms from xsmagikal, and I discovered with the aosp roms that I missed fully working roms, and many features from sense roms and would flash back within two days.
I did the ota, and honestly, after being on stock (rooted, unlocked, but bone stock 2.20 ota) for five days or so, I almost think I could stay stock through the next year,and I would be satisfied with my phone.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
Disclaimer!!
This thread ain't intended to start a flame war or to bash me because you can download new diallers, contacts etc just my opinion on touchwiz after seeing various youtube video's and to see if I am not the only one who feels this way.
First of all I am a fanatic bordering on OCD when it comes to the look and feel of the OS as well as the apps which run on top of it and my biggest gripe back when I had my first android phone was that applications varied wildly in the quality of design and aesthetics and Google had a lot of work ahead of it to tidy up the UI to get it up to the standard of iOS for a uniform feel and to get developers to have a similar feel across the board for their apps.
Android is and always was a superior OS just to clear that up I am not an iOS fanboy!
Fast forward to today and Android has changed so much it blew me away all the apps now look and feel like they follow the guidelines set out by Google with the holo theme (I had a Google Nexus 720p and sold it purely because all the apps looked well out of place) and everything is very smooth with next to no lag or stutter so consider me impressed.
However this is what bugs me now, when I first got a Galaxy S II touchwiz looked good and it added some nice little touches and over all and made a very nice change to Sense which was bloated and slow now fast forward to the Galaxy S IV announcement and touchwiz now looks very dated and from what I can gather it does not follow the holo guidelines whatsoever and the enhancements are a slightly more toned down look (still cartoony like in appearance) and whites in the menu's.
So here is a breakdown of my gripes/concerns about Touchwiz on this flagship phone.
The dialler looks absolutely awful and seriously dated by todays standards
The contact list and/or contacts follows the same lines as the dialler and looks very dated
The camera icons have a fake metal look and stick out a mile
Basically Touchwiz looks way too cartoony, garish and lacks the polish and finish of the Nexus range and even the HTC One.
And last things last I appreciate that you can customise the hell out of Android with new diallers, new themes, tweaks and what not but this post is purely about the stock experience.
Aside from that Touchwiz does have some nice touches just Samsung need to bring it out of the gingerbread days and screaming and kicking into the holo days.
One last note I own a windows phone purely because of the aesthetics and all applications follow the same guidelines but there is such a lack of support I am coming back to Android at some point in the very near future.
Samsung always had a bunch of awful designers. They desperately need to hire better designers.
Re: Touchwiz ruins the Galaxy S4
All those complaints can be changed with simple fixes right here on XDA...
NightHawkUndead said:
All those complaints can be changed with simple fixes right here on XDA...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely agree not denying that whatsoever and my complaints are purely about the design and look of Touchwiz not how to fix it
Some like it, some don't. Touchwiz UI never looks great to me, and its features (s voice, s beam, palm swipe screen capture etc) are nothing but bloats for me. However if you're gonna buy a S4 you'll have to find a way to like Touchwiz. Don't think you'll be able to flash CM or AOSP on an S4 and everything's gonna work well and great. With the lack of support and Samsung's attitude towards devs, open source development on this device is gonna be a pain.
Or you use a different launcher.
I'm riding the same boat as you mate, currently a Lumia 920 owner, came from S2 and Nexuses aren't sold in the country I live in. Samsung's totally effed it up, it looks so gingerbread :x
BoneXDA said:
Or you use a different launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touchwiz is not just the launcher. It's the whole experience.
Livebyte said:
Touchwiz is not just the launcher. It's the whole experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't of said it better myself and also nice signature, typing on a Macbook Pro Retina as we speak
Re: Touchwiz ruins the Galaxy S4
Livebyte said:
Touchwiz is not just the launcher. It's the whole experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly correct which is why when u change the launcher it's different because the experience changes
And you can still flash a rom anyway
PHONE SLOW CLICK ME?
1 days 2 s4
Totally agree with you.
Amoled display on Touchwiz added insult to injury. Its oversaturated/ unrealistic colors made it look more awful.
I'm not against samsung or its nature UX, I've seen the S4 personally and its display is really gorgeous. its just that just like you, i'm not into the outdated user experience with added features from the gingerbread days.
Re: Touchwiz ruins the Galaxy S4
Have to disagree. Love the touchwiz. And absolutely love most of the things u guys call 'bloat'.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
NightHawkUndead said:
All those complaints can be changed with simple fixes right here on XDA...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Samsung has no use for OCD types....They will never be satisfied and are too infinitesimal in the millions and millions of sold product. I don;t like TW. I use Nova Problem solved.
My feelings are if you are paying for a top end flagship device then everything should ooze quality and Touchwiz is firmly stuck in the days of gingerbread and it's getting totally left behind.
Launchers can only do so much imho.
tbong777 said:
+1
Samsung has no use for OCD types....They will never be satisfied and are too infinitesimal in the millions and millions of sold product. I don;t like TW. I use Nova Problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova launcher is slick.
deleted
daleski75 said:
My feelings are if you are paying for a top end flagship device then everything should ooze quality and Touchwiz is firmly stuck in the days of gingerbread and it's getting totally left behind.
Launchers can only do so much imho.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Launchers can and do COMPLETELY change the experience. They do a lot. and then even more... In fact the problem people are having with TW can be completely eradicated with a very large choice of proven launchers.
REAL Flagship devices don't become antiquated in 6 months. I think the word "flagship" in this world of Mobile devices is over used. carries to high of expectations, and is over exaggerated for a $600 all in one device. The Note 3 will be the flagship device in a few months...Then what?
For MOST the S4 WILL "ooze quality" I know a few non rooting users who cannot wait to get their upgrades and have been completely satissfied with their S3s. WE in XDA are very very tiny consumer base for Samsung. They throw a few bones to developers for their own benefit so we can beta test their new stock firmwares. But tey are not building these devices for hackers who will run Cyanogen on them or care about slightly blue tints or plastic cases and screens (which are likely to be covered with the latest Otter box and ZAGG crap)
OCD/Anal users usually don't run their devices out of the box bare as designed, like I do. So does the plastic body and slick glass really matter?
Touchwiz came a long way since gingerbread. It's only downfall is that it's still choppy in very few areas (like widgets tab). Other than that, I'd rather have it then Sense (which comes with features you can't disable, at Touchwiz gives you the option to disable features you don't want) or stock android which is bare-boned and lacks features.
Just wait for custom roms.
They will bring new life to the s4.
TingTingin said:
Exactly correct which is why when u change the launcher it's different because the experience changes
And you can still flash a rom anyway
PHONE SLOW CLICK ME?
1 days 2 s4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So RUN AOSP in it, or run a Touchwiz run de-touchiwzed.
Let me start off by saying that I am not trying to troll at all I am just generally curious. I for one have had a galaxy nexus, and I loved it (minus the battery life) and also been through a galaxy s 3 and 4. Off the bat the 3 and 4 both have a butt load of features that I always missed when I would flash stock android roms and it always seemed like the camera software was far better than anything a stock android device can get. I do get that stock android devices get updates directly from google and I also get that the skins take up a lot more space but besides those reasons is that alone what makes stock android far better than anything else? I hear people complain about the tw skins or sense skins about how it looks so ugly but isnt a simple fix for this is to just add another launcher like apex? Anyways this is just my personal opinion on the matter and I just wanted to see other peoples inputs. Like I said im not trolling but I just want to see what everyone else thinks.
blackguy101 said:
Let me start off by saying that I am not trying to troll at all I am just generally curious. I for one have had a galaxy nexus, and I loved it (minus the battery life) and also been through a galaxy s 3 and 4. Off the bat the 3 and 4 both have a butt load of features that I always missed when I would flash stock android roms and it always seemed like the camera software was far better than anything a stock android device can get. I do get that stock android devices get updates directly from google and I also get that the skins take up a lot more space but besides those reasons is that alone what makes stock android far better than anything else? I hear people complain about the tw skins or sense skins about how it looks so ugly but isnt a simple fix for this is to just add another launcher like apex? Anyways this is just my personal opinion on the matter and I just wanted to see other peoples inputs. Like I said im not trolling but I just want to see what everyone else thinks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a combination of factors, IMO. There are some folks who are Android "purists" who like the hardware, but want just the stock version of Android better than anything an OEM adds onto it. Kind of like stripping down a car to keep the engine and the body shape, but tuning it to run the way you like it. Most of the people here at least want to have the ability to remove any apps or parts of the "skin" (like Touchwiz) that they don't want or use and want them gone so that they're not taking up system resources. On the SGS4, for instance, there's been allot of blow back at Samsung because they've crammed so much software for their bells and whistles that the 16GB model has almost half it's system memory (the area where applications, games, Google Play Music or movies, etc.... have to reside) that there's hardly any room to include a new launcher and most of the Apps you might want to run. The expandable storage is nice for pictures, videos, or MP3s you already own and want to store, but it's not usable by applications.
In short, if it's my phone I want total control over what is and what isn't on it no matter what Samsung and AT&T want to cram down my throat. Samsung's Camera software is something I'd probably like to keep, but the silly air gestures and "touchless scrolling" I could care less about. Not to mention the load of programs AT&T also drops on there which I never use and am perfectly happy to see gone also.
If you're happy with your phone the way you currently have it, then no one else's opinion should matter as to how you should have it set up. But there's a wide variety of what people do and don't want on their phones and if they want Vanilla AOSP or CM or modified Touchwiz and they're willing to trade off some Stock features to get what they want, this is one of the places people come to do that. As long as someone accepts the responsibility that they may brick their phone and void the warranty by playing with the software, then they should have the freedom to do whatever they want with it.
As of today, is it possible to install stock Android on the current Samsun Galaxy S4 (mine is from Canada Fido).
Funny thing is, I wish google didn't install their bloat onto the gs4. If there's already a stock music app why preinstall google music. Same with all their other bloat. Not needed like chrome. They should of made google software optional. Keep samsungs in since it is their product.
I honestly think that stock Android is pretty overrated. I've had the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 and they were both pretty terrible. What makes Android so awesome are the different tweaks and software that the makers use. Sure, the simplicity of stock is fine, but that's about it. For example, the TW SG4 will have IR support, a better camera app, etc. You loose a lot of functionality with going stock.
What I really want to see is some fusion rom with the stock Android mixed with all the TW goodies, like the gestures, camera app, etc.
j510 said:
Funny thing is, I wish google didn't install their bloat onto the gs4. If there's already a stock music app why preinstall google music. Same with all their other bloat. Not needed like chrome. They should of made google software optional. Keep samsungs in since it is their product.
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Because, manufaturers have to keep a crlertain amount of stock android included in their phones...as in a certain percentage of software with no touchwiz...so that is likely why they left some of the stock google apps in
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
j510 said:
Funny thing is, I wish google didn't install their bloat onto the gs4. If there's already a stock music app why preinstall google music. Same with all their other bloat. Not needed like chrome. They should of made google software optional. Keep samsungs in since it is their product.
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The hardware might be Samsung's product, but Android is Google's product.
Manufacturers don't have to keep anything. They use stock android as the basis. The pieces you mention like ir blaster use drivers outside of stock android. If devs had these drivers then we would have stock android with goodies. Stock is good because source code is available for all of it. That means it can be heavily customized. Touch wiz is Samsung's and they will not release the source.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
First off, it is all preference--no phone, OS is perfect for everyone.
I have been flashing roms heavily for over 3 years. Mostly HTC like the Nexus One and One S.
I found things I liked in both Sense and AOSP. I did like theming status bar items, color, look etc. Most of the flashing was to get newer versions of Sense and Android. I was running 4.2.2 on One S long before it was on hardly any phones.
It did seem no matter what custom rom you ran, you lost something you liked from another one. There were always minor issues with wifi, audio, reboots etc for many people. Some roms just didn't play well with some phones. So, lots of soft bricks and frustration. I was lucky there.
This is the first phone I have owned that I have no interest in flashing custom roms. I can't believe i even like and don't want to change the wallpaper. I usually always made my own semi-gloss black. But, the colors are so vibrant and icons stand out extremely well on S4. Would like to get rid of balloon on lockscreen. But, no one stares at their lockscreen.
With all the trolls and nay-sayers on the forum, both mine and my son's S4's run perfect. No lags and all the "gimicks" work as advertised. I find myself using them more and more. Wouldn't want to give them up now. S-Voice is perfect and Air View I really like. Don't use the scroll though. S-Memo is an essential for me now. A carry over from Note 2. I even like the stock calendar which I hated when just testing the Note 1 and 2 awhile back. Love being able to create and move calendar events by voice. Don't use GMail calendar anymore other than my work one is tied to it. Camera is great too.
I could see rooting for Nandroids and Titanium though.
This is a great phone regardless of what others say. But, each to there own--
Oh yeah--love Blocking Mode--an imitation of Quiet Hours on Android--couldn't live without it
And I don't know about Touch Whiz. But, whatever it is suppose to be it works great on S4
The "quirky" Air Gestures work fine too. Palm for Screenshots is a little tough to work out though
There is so much on this phone it will take me 6 months to learn and remember to use all of it--
Every time there's a new nexus coming out I have to get it. I enjoy it for about a month then it bores me to death and I go back to a Samsung, HTC or LG phone. I much prefer the UI overlays over stock. Not that stock is bad or anything, it runs super smooth but it is just boring. Hopefully KLP will bring some visual changes as well.
It's like driving a Chevelle Super Sport (SS) 454, which I did. Compared to a 2013 fully technical (GPS/Audio etc) loaded Mercedes or equivalent. The Chevelle had all the power you could ever want. But, in the end that is all it had. Now you have all the bells and whistles on these cars like the S4 has fun features.
I came from the Galaxy Nexus to the GS4 1337.
What I hate the most is the duplication of functions! That drives me insane. Google already has a contacts app, so why do I need a fugly AT&T contacts app? Why do I need a AT&T navigation app AND GMaps? Why do I need a Google calendar, AT&T calendar, Samsung calendar all on the same phone?? Just setting up the phone from scratch infuriates me... skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip
and my favorite... TWO APP STORES! That was jaw dropping. It's a constant assault to your intelligence trying to automate everything in the worst way possible. It's like Samsung apps are at war with Google Apps and everyone is at war with AT&T apps.
The very first possible second I could load CM10.1 on this phone, I did.
While I was waiting on the unlocked bootloader, I did play around with the S Health, WatchON, and the camera/video, and I did enjoy them and miss them from my CM 10.1 experience, but even that couldn't make up for the garbage installed on this phone from the factory.
it's funny on everyone's experience. i found no problem setting my homescreens up and just ignored apps i didn't want. at this point don't even know they are in app drawer.
I bought Nexus 4 after already had Galaxy s3 for a while. Even though Nexus 4 is fantastic device, I thought its too vanilla for me. Even though compared to S3, there was not much feature differences. I don't think I will ever get Pure Nexus phone again..may be tablet will be fine. The other thing is I sometimes get into a phase where I want to use AOSP rom so I flash CM10.1 or AOKP. But as soon i get bored back to TW rom. Can't do that with Nexus devices...
The only thing i want from Stock is the AOSP messaging app. The quick reply from the notification drop down and pop up is awesome.
mr_blanket said:
I came from the Galaxy Nexus to the GS4 1337.
What I hate the most is the duplication of functions! That drives me insane. Google already has a contacts app, so why do I need a fugly AT&T contacts app? Why do I need a AT&T navigation app AND GMaps? Why do I need a Google calendar, AT&T calendar, Samsung calendar all on the same phone?? Just setting up the phone from scratch infuriates me... skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip
and my favorite... TWO APP STORES! That was jaw dropping. It's a constant assault to your intelligence trying to automate everything in the worst way possible. It's like Samsung apps are at war with Google Apps and everyone is at war with AT&T apps.
The very first possible second I could load CM10.1 on this phone, I did.
While I was waiting on the unlocked bootloader, I did play around with the S Health, WatchON, and the camera/video, and I did enjoy them and miss them from my CM 10.1 experience, but even that couldn't make up for the garbage installed on this phone from the factory.
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God forbid they give you a choice of which app to use. Having a choice is one of the main factors that make people choose android over ios.
PuffinNugz said:
God forbid they give you a choice of which app to use. Having a choice is one of the main factors that make people choose android over ios.
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Agreed, but not allowing the complete uninstall of a duplicated app goes against the fundamental philosophies of android.
This goes for both Google, Apple, Windows or any other OS. What I want is the most basic OS possible and add apps as I see fit from the app store. I do not want anything forced on my device. The closest you can get to that nirvana is an AOSP ROM or Nexus.
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Pure Android will mainly attract the developers as it is a great base to work from. Most average people will chose Sense or TW or any of the other Android distros (as that is more correct them calling them skins) due to the features. Most of those features can't be utilized by Devs unless they pay for the SDK like Samsung is doing now with them for the sensors in the S4. Only big companies are gonna be able to afford to pay what Samsung wants for the SDK to develop with.
Wayne Tech Nexus
WA_Bob said:
On the SGS4, for instance, there's been allot of blow back at Samsung because they've crammed so much software for their bells and whistles that the 16GB model has almost half it's system memory (the area where applications, games, Google Play Music or movies, etc.... have to reside) that there's hardly any room to include a new launcher and most of the Apps you might want to run.
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This is a gross overexaggeration of the storage situation on the SGS4.
The only way I can think of that you can fill the ~9.7gb of internal storage with app data is if you're downloading every high resolution, high graphic intensive game available for the platform. If that's your case, then you're absolutely right. While admittedly not a high number, I have over 68 apps(most of which I use on a near daily basis) installed on my phone with the highest occupying 64.93mb. Most apps range from 10-30mb. At 64.93mb, I can have ~152.97 of those sized apps on my phone before running into storage capacity issues.
I like the rest of your post though.
One of the reasons I got the S4 and gave my iPhone 5 to the wife was mostly the software features Samsung added. I really do like the voice control for the camera and music apps, and I find some of the air gestures pretty good too. Going with a "Nexus" experience S4, I'd lose the very features I got the phone for.
zelendel said:
Pure Android will mainly attract the developers as it is a great base to work from. Most average people will chose Sense or TW or any of the other Android distros (as that is more correct them calling them skins) due to the features. Most of those features can't be utilized by Devs unless they pay for the SDK like Samsung is doing now with them for the sensors in the S4. Only big companies are gonna be able to afford to pay what Samsung wants for the SDK to develop with.
Wayne Tech Nexus
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wow.... there is a name I haven't seen for a long time... Did you get get an S4?