I’m planning on switching platforms and I’m just curious of the opinions of people here. I think that Android can have advantages in areas of privacy and external app installation, but most of the benefits come with a lot of tinkering out of the box.

I’m a very capable person at modifying my phone and I don’t generally mind doing that. I can make the interface work however I want. But I find myself caring less and less about how I interact with things in the light of what Apple is doing.

I’m looking at Android and it seems to be pretty far behind iOS at the moment. The messaging service is a huge sticking point and progress isn’t being made to unify iMessage with RCS apps. It seems to me like Samsung is making more progress with the platform than Google itself is. Like they’re the ones carrying it right now.

Keep in mind, I’m not a shill here. I haven’t used iOS in years. I still think they’re overpriced phones and Apple isn’t a great company. And I wish USB-C was a thing. This isn’t an ad. I’m just frustrated with the android platform and Apple seems to be leaving it behind.

Example features: FaceID, iMessage, home screen UX, battery life, and extended software support.

So can anyone tell me if they feel the same or help me in my decision? Not trying to start a tech war btw

  • @hnh@beehaw.orgEnglish
    3•1 year ago

    I hate to disappoint you, but the software part controlling your phone is the baseband processor. No matter what you replace and root, that one is in control and you cannot in any legal way replace it.

    • @pemmykins@beehaw.orgEnglish
      3•1 year ago

      I mean, you can say the same about nearly all hardware for sale today (coreboot etc being the exception). Being able to control what the OS is doing is enough for most enthusiasts.

    • 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏English
      2•1 year ago

      This way of thinking could be extended to the microcode on a x86 CPU, the Intel Management Engine, or even the propietary Broadcom boot blob on a Raspberry pi IMO.

      While the real solution would be RISC with fully transparent hardware and an open-source boot process, I myself am happy settling for as much control as I can get over my device. For me that’s root access on my Android, and Linux on everything else.

      There are still unsolved issues such as Qualcomm GPS modules using clear HTTP to fetch the Almanac with details such as your device’s serial number, regardless of root or custom rom ☹️