Technology Android

[dilla]

Yeah, I was reading earlier today that an Italian Android website had some pics and some more details on it.

http://androidandme.com/2013/10/news/huge-leak-details-changes-coming-to-android-4-4-kitkat/

In other news, I bought two more Android themed Kit Kats and had two non-winners. Made me realize just how lucky my first three bars were.

Thinking of something to spend this $15 on.

 

[dilla]

Then there's this

 

[masta247]

Anyone else thinks it looks rather crap? The camera lens frame looks so gay.
Judging by the display placement it looks like it might have been based on the G2, but the G2 looks so much better.

 

[dilla]

I think the article that contained this video said that this might be a prototype they're using, hence some of the UI lag and stuff. Perhaps the camera is improved in the real thing as well?

 

[Casey]

 

[masta247]

The front is fine, although not stellar. I don't really like the back cover design though. Looks cheap.

 

[dilla]

Whatever. My S3 is more than powerful enough for me. I just want Kit Kat. I'm kinda sick of the blue hints in the UI. And I don't want to use another launcher or theme, or whatever.

This white should be a nice touch. I doubt the new features will be something I use.

 

[Casey]

 

[THEV1LL4N]

The build quality looks better in terms of durability. It looks like a more practical phone that you won't be so afraid about when it falls to the ground or whatever.

I really like the design.

 

[masta247]

The design does look cool on renders. I think they didn't pay much attention to how it looks like in reality though and focused on user experience (looks like it gives you better grip). I heard the battery is going to be 2300mAh which isn't great for a 5inch LCD and Snapdragon 800, but sub-par battery life is a tradition with Nexus phones. Hopefully they find a way around it soon though. I'm really hoping for improved battery performance and still better control over what's going on in the OS in 4.4 or another Android version. It seems like OEMs are doing more in their updates than Google does with the Stock version. For instance, Samsung introduced more of their own cool improvements in their 4.3 update than Google did. At this point it'd really be quite hard for me to live without Samsung's basic features.

 

[dilla]

I agree. OEMs are actually putting in apps that people want to use or find more amusing. I'm not sure how useful the eye tracking technology is, but it's neat that the S4 brought that and put it out there. Samsung's apps also get a lot of use from my friends, and it's one reason they don't want to root their phone, in case they can't put those apps back on again.

So good for OEMs for bringing out there new features. It's less work for Google to do, in terms of innovation. The voice search was cool when it first came out and it has stuck around for the four years it's been out there. Lots of other Android features really pushed the envelope and made lives easier for the user.


I don't think I can remember anything groundbreaking coming out for Android in a while now. ICS/JB's UI is better. I like it. But no software feature that can give it just another leg up on iOS. Kinda like iOS using Siri. I guess Google Now was innovative, and I use it daily as I drive around this town I know nothing about to find restaurants or even my way home with navigation.

Maybe I just got used to the early flux of cool new features, but now we're at a point where features don't make sense, and it's all about tweaks here and there for better battery, performance, etc.

On another note, Apple's iPad event is next week. Tuesday, I believe? I'm not familiar with TouchID, but I'm wondering if it's going to take off so much that Android devices come equipped with something similar. Also, many people don't like the new iOS 7's look, and one guy is even suing Apple for it. lol

Oh jeez.

 

[Pittsey]

I disagree. Samsung feel the OS with unnecessary bloat that I hate.

4.3 improved the performance of my phone massively.

I dropped my N4. The back is pretty fucked. It's making me tempted for an N5. But.... I don't think it's good enough to upgrade. So.....

 

[masta247]

I disagree. Samsung feel the OS with unnecessary bloat that I hate.

4.3 improved the performance of my phone massively.

I dropped my N4. The back is pretty fucked. It's making me tempted for an N5. But.... I don't think it's good enough to upgrade. So.....

I'm aware of lots of unnecessary functions. But even despite that it still performs better than Stock Android. Also, along the bloat (that you can easily turn off or disable) there are many little improvements that they do, and they seem to do more than Google these days.

 

[dilla]

I think that's why Samsung tops the satisfaction surveys for all Android OEMs. Their software works just fine, despite not being Stock Android. I just prefer stock, because I don't use all the bells and whistles, but those that do use TouchWiz seem to like it.

 

[Pittsey]

I'm aware of lots of unnecessary functions. But even despite that it still performs better than Stock Android. Also, along the bloat (that you can easily turn off or disable) there are many little improvements that they do, and they seem to do more than Google these days.

Everyone will feel differently. And I feel very differently to you here. The first thing I did with every Samsung phone I owned, was root the fucker. None of their modifications ever improved the performance or user experience of the phone, for me.

 

[Casey]

The LG G2 is killing it right now. Advertised all over the place here.

 

[masta247]

The LG G2 is killing it right now. Advertised all over the place here.

They just stole 14million USD worth of them in the US lol. Still it's one of the best phones right now, maybe even the best (Note 3 is bigger after all and not for everyone, while the Z1 has big bezels and inferior display). They had an advantage by coming out later than the S4 so they could put an even better chipset and reduce bezels even further.

I still by far prefer Samsung's software though. LG still can't do it well, but the G2 itself is a very cool phone.

That said, I'm still running Samsung's Android on my S4 and I've never had such a reliable phone with everything I need out of the box. I'm looking forward to the 4.3 upgrade (it's not out yet for my carrier) as it brings really a lot of improvements straight from Samsung, not Google. Google's part of the 4.3 update doesn't change anything for me other than enabling TRIM (which Samsung had in their software since the S2, possibly better implemented as they're leaders of eMMC/SSD storage).

 

[Casey]

I'll probably be rockin' KitKat by the time you get 4.3 though

TouchWiz is OK, I ran it for about 3 months when I first got the S2 before putting Cyanogen on it.

But I much prefer stock Android. I'm not interested in Samsung's bloatware and inferior cloned versions of Google's services.

 

[Casey]

My Chromecast arrived 4 days ago and I absolutely love it. Shown it to various friends and family members who have all been blown away by it and will be purchasing one upon their official release here.

 

[masta247]

Samsung has both though, and most of Samsung ones you can disable entirely. Some are really useful too. And Touchwiz comes with lots of extra features and optimizations. I think it went a long way since the Galaxy S2. Overall right now I prefer my S4 experience over my Nexus 7 experience, even though I really like both I find Samsung's software more complete. You can do more with it easily out of the box - there are more customization options, context menus are better and the UI just feels more fun to use for me. Nexus experience kind of feels a little dull in comparison sometimes. The UI is dark and begins to feel outdated.
Samsung nails it with under the hood improvements though - its software runs smoother and gets longer battery life compared to stock Android running on the same devices, even despite being more feature-rich. At the same time Samsung are introducing more improvements with their updates than Google since 4.2. That's why I'd like to see a bigger Android update, like Android 5.0.. as 4.2 and 4.3 didn't change much.

I think there is a huge need for Android to address the touch input lag issue further (4.1 only helped smooth the interactions), improve multitasking further and stand-by efficiency as well. I'd like a UI refresh too. That'd make the Nexus experience fresh again for me and I'd probably get a Nexus phone. Until that happens I feel like I'm getting more value with the OEMs, especially from Samsung.

The 4.4 unveiling is coming soon, I'm curious to see what they're going to announce this time and I am curious about first Nexus 5 reviews