Flashback: a look back at the "pure Android" Google Play Edition phones and why they failed
- c
- castlefox
- qJV
- 14 Jul 2022
Personally, I got the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, I was never tempted to spend more to try those "pure Android" / Google Play Edition phones. After that I think I got the One Plus: One
- Neel Gupta
- rK@
- 17 Oct 2021
Since the launch of Android, I have bought multiple pure Android phones...
Google HTC Nexus one
Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus
Micromax Yu Yureka
Xiaomi Mi A1
- I
- IpsDisplay
- ri0
- 16 Oct 2021
Negatrev, 15 Oct 2021You do realise for any apps like that, you can just disable... moreThis isn't fully true some will not give you functionality once internet is on your phone and they read that the update isn't in effect
Some will even have pop ups prompting an update
- N
- Negatrev
- nSH
- 15 Oct 2021
IpsDisplay, 11 Oct 2021I'm serious because all those apps WILL update themsel... moreYou do realise for any apps like that, you can just disable them so they never update.
- v
- vs88
- SnY
- 14 Oct 2021
GSMarena please, could you create and maintain a list of current phones in regards to how many OS updates does the manufacturer provide? It could even be incorporated in the spec. page of each phone!
- I
- IpsDisplay
- iV%
- 11 Oct 2021
Anonymous, 10 Oct 2021Uhhh, so you download apps that bloat your phone? What are ... moreI am saying apps will constantly update themselves and hence "bloat" the phone
- I
- IpsDisplay
- iV%
- 11 Oct 2021
an0n, 10 Oct 2021You're kidding right? It's not bloated when you d... moreI'm serious because all those apps WILL update themselves constantly
And all these multiple apps have multiple different developers with different intentions
And many times those updates have things in them we don't want
PLUS once storage is written into your device it permanently Lowers the performance of your device
- ?
- Anonymous
- kky
- 11 Oct 2021
Anonymous, 11 Oct 2021it was... touchwiz was laggy... even htc, sony, motorola u... moreIt lagged a little. But so did others. Severely exaggerated.
- ?
- Anonymous
- vGE
- 11 Oct 2021
Anonymous, 11 Oct 2021Google play edition phones, Android One phones and Google&#... moreYes so basically custom Android OS are far better. One UI is not the only one such out there. Oxygen OS too is very feature rich. The scrolling, animations etc are very smooth as well because OnePlus highly optimizes the OS for smooth operation. The features are something that vanilla Android will never have or maybe in thirty years or something
- A
- AlienKiss
- iDB
- 11 Oct 2021
"It's better to have things you don't need, rather than dreaming about having them".
If you don't want a certain app or feature, most of the time you can disable it on Android phones. Either from app details -> Disable button, or by installing adb tools on your pc (no root needed). With adb you can disable/ uninstall any system app for the current user. Again: NO ROOT needed!
Just use the thingy inside your skulls called the brain 😂
https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/
- ?
- Anonymous
- x{6
- 11 Oct 2021
Google play edition phones, Android One phones and Google's Pixel phones ALL FAIL because Google is more concerned protecting its own interests rather than really providing for the best software experience for its customers. Google does things that protect its vested interests much like what Apple does to iPhones. With 'pure/vanilla' Android phones, there's always a limitation to the software capability because like Apple, Google wants to maximize profits. There are many limitations in pure/vanilla Android phones (whether they be Google Play edition, Android One or Pixel phones) because Google is slow to adopt ingenius ideas from other manufacturers or Google outright refuses to adopt features from other manufacturers because it would rather protect its vested interests than improve the user experience.
Samsung's OneUI is actually the best implementation of android. It's lightweight and efficient, allows customizations never allowed in vanilla android, and has many features vanilla android can only dream of. OneUI 3.0 for instance, allows for manual 2G/3G/4G/5G band selection, allows hiding the status bar and navigation bar using ADB commands even in Android 11 (where Google has stopped supporting the feature), allows Desktop mode (DEX mode), allows micro SD encryption for media storage (not restricted to adoptable storage) allows expandable storage (none at all in Pixel phones), allows hidden SSID when sharing a personal hotspot, allows Wifi direct/Miracast/wireless screensharing of DRM encoded offline downloads and in the process, even allows changing the phone screen's aspect ratio so 16:9 content will display without black bars in TV displays. There are also many simple yet well thought of features in Samsung's OneUI implementation: The status bar menu pull down for instance brings the toggles close to the bottom of the screen for easy reach. In vanilla android phones, its a tedious reach to the top everytime you access the quick settings especially with 21:9 phones nowadays. Then there's added security with Samsung's Knox software and pre-installed alternatives to Google's apps like One Drive and Microsoft Office which many people prefer to use, plus additional extensive customization from Samsung's theme store (from wallpapers to Always on display, to virtually the entire interface). Vanilla android phones are just way behind in features and improvements, I never want a vanilla android device be they a Google Play Edition device, an Android One or the latest Pixel phones. The last remaining advantage of vanilla android phones - 3 year Android software support and timely software updates is already offered by even midrange Samsung phones. Sure they're not the first to update but they're fast enough and are loaded with more and better features, you won't mind even if they come second to Pixel phones only in speed of updates.
- g
- gringo
- EgY
- 11 Oct 2021
GPE dropped because Adroid One.
Android One dropped ... now nothing from oem !
- N
- Namukali Davies
- fuf
- 11 Oct 2021
Anonymous, 11 Oct 2021It can be disabled in few minutes or at the start of phone&... moreGood
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- Anonymous
- I@H
- 11 Oct 2021
Anonymous, 11 Oct 2021Eh. Stock has never really been better or what the fans thi... moreit was... touchwiz was laggy...
even htc, sony, motorola uis were not as laggy as touchwiz... it might be exaggerated by some, but it was laggy... followed by lg... "was"...
it is not hard to search youtube and see videos from years ago and see touchwiz lag right before your eye...
so thankful they minimize such on oneui...
- ?
- Anonymous
- mA{
- 11 Oct 2021
Anonymous, 10 Oct 2021Samsung doesn't bake ads in their os. They have ads in... moreIt can be disabled in few minutes or at the start of phone's configuration
- ?
- Anonymous
- kky
- 11 Oct 2021
Eh. Stock has never really been better or what the fans think. Heck it wasn't even always faster compared to the TouchWiz counterpart.
Especially back then TouchWiz was leaps ahead of most other ui's. Contrary to the exaggerated claims speed was not an issue either. It did lag a little more back then. But so did ecru single other phone out there. EVERY phone.
- R
- Rippy
- NUw
- 11 Oct 2021
I'm a big pixel fan but would love to see a brand new classy phone from HTC.
- N
- Ni
- Ki8
- 11 Oct 2021
What i hate from samsung is that they also provide their own "market app" so it feels like samsung is adding their own mobile services which is a bloatware. Nobody need that, google playstore is more than enough
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- Anonymous
- M@p
- 10 Oct 2021
Scram, 10 Oct 2021Stop embarrassing yourself! The HTC One won design awards a... moreThe HTC one M8 camera setup looks like buttcrack. Only appeals to millennial neckbeards.
- ?
- Anonymous
- mIm
- 10 Oct 2021
Does stock Android even have scrolling screenshots yet? Samsung has had it for like 8 years, LOL