Android Lollipop is a 'train wreck'

[Darthbobcat]

The "phones not tablets" thing seems to be a common complaint, including the Nexus 9, from the reviews I've read. I haven't heard a lot good said about the 9.

 

[prasath1234]

Kitkat is great improvement to android.Dont know about lolipop am afraid to flash it in my Moto g.

From Windows phone

 

[kristalsoldier]

Can't say its a train wreck, maybe a derailment. My brother updated his Nexus 10 and it became unuseable, he had to do a factory reset and return it to KitKat just to be able to get a Wifi connection. There were several other features that either did not work or was not to be found. That was over a week ago and he still does not have a update that will fix the problems he had. My own Moto G was not much better, I moved it back to KitKat too. Don't get me wrong both of us never had any trouble with KitKat and we are going to stay there til they work out the problems. Not sure if this is the norm or not.

Actually, I had a similar experience with my Nexus 10. But it appears to have stabilized on its own. By my estimation, I think it has also improved the battery life - though since I do not use the N10 frequently, I am not sure about this.

 

[Visa Declined]

Dont know about lolipop am afraid to flash it in my Moto g.

Don't be, I've had it on my Nexus 5 since the preview, and no major problems there. I don't really use that phone though so there could be hidden issues. My Sony Z Ultra GPe got Lollipop yesterday, and it's been fantastic. Not one single problem of any kind so far. This is sooo much better than KitKat.

 

[Steve Adams]

and vanilla android?

what?

 

[KhawarNadeem]

Our update experience with WP8.1 was anything but problem free, then again, we had only one or two well known update related issues per device. I thought we had a really rough time, and although MS shouldn't allow that to happen again, this at least shows it could have been far worse.
Sorry for that slight detour in the second half. Back to lollipop... I say "not a train wreck". Perhaps "arbitrarily buggy" is more appropriate.

I agree with you (as usual! ). Arbitrarily buggy is right. Like on my sister's N4, the front facing camera got messed up, and now the pictures are far too grainy and the motion on screen isn't smooth, it's actually jerky. But she's not having any other issues besides the camera. Another friend on his N4 is telling me his battery drains in 5 hours of light use. And yet another friend is getting too many 'force close' errors on his Nexus 7 with apps such as Outlook and Whatsapp.

It's supposedly a big update, because runtime changes are never smooth. But I wouldn't call it a trainwreck...

 

[Soulstream]

what?

Samsung's version of Android is far from the best implementation. They add too much on top of Android and most of the times they don't optimize it enough. The problem is that Samsung being the best selling Android OEM, most people associate them with Android. Vanilla Android is the one you find on Nexus devices without any interference from anyone.

I can't verify this with any study but from my friends, most of the ones that complain abouts lag are Samsung users. LG/HTC/Motorola are far better in implementing their flavor of Android and I haven't heard much complaining of lag on such devices.

 

[Jazmac]

I haven't used it but I don't expect it to be a "train wreck". It will probably be like any other OS. In the hands of people who are NOT fixed in the past, comfortable in their understanding of how this thing works or why it works the way it does, it'll be fine for those people. For those that expected more of an IPhone clone or working the same way the last OS did, there will be hate. We see it here with WP all day long.

 

[DJCBS]

I've only heard major complaints about it on the Nexus 6.

But I don't intend to update to it anyway. The "Material Design" is horrible and ruins Android. If I want simplistic colourful designs I would sooner return to Windows Phone. At least there the minimalistic is done right. I'll keep Holo, thanks. (Unless Sony completely redesigns Lollipop...which I doubt).

 

[Steve Adams]

Samsung's version of Android is far from the best implementation. They add too much on top of Android and most of the times they don't optimize it enough. The problem is that Samsung being the best selling Android OEM, most people associate them with Android. Vanilla Android is the one you find on Nexus devices without any interference from anyone.

I can't verify this with any study but from my friends, most of the ones that complain abouts lag are Samsung users. LG/HTC/Motorola are far better in implementing their flavor of Android and I haven't heard much complaining of lag on such devices.

I had HTC devices and were laggy as well. However, I will say that HTC's version of android was much cooler than samsungs. But performance however did not change much.

 

[EBUK]

Windows is more of type of OS for the power user who's tired of changing and tweaking things all of the time.

That's a good way to put it. I got tired of having to hack the system just to get basic things done - like being able to store data and apps on an SD card. What is the point of having an SD card slot if you can't use it for anything useful. Unlock the bootloader, root the phone, install Xposed framework, find an Xposed Module that is compatible with your phone, tweak system files... that's just too much effort!

WP makes things simple. I can simply tell it to install apps and data where I want them. Job done. Simple.

Of course, tweaking can be fun; it helps you gain a better understanding of the way the system works which can be invaluable when something goes awry and a technical fix is needed.

 

[Visa Declined]

That's a good way to put it. I got tired of having to hack the system just to get basic things done - like being able to store data and apps on an SD card. What is the point of having an SD card slot if you can't use it for anything useful. Unlock the bootloader, root the phone, install Xposed framework, find an Xposed Module that is compatible with your phone, tweak system files... that's just too much effort!

WP makes things simple. I can simply tell it to install apps and data where I want them. Job done. Simple.

Of course, tweaking can be fun; it helps you gain a better understanding of the way the system works which can be invaluable when something goes awry and a technical fix is needed.

Android 5.0 Makes SD Cards Great Again, Extends API To Allow Full Directory Access, Automatic MediaStore, And Improves Security

 

[EBUK]

Interesting article, but still no native ability to move apps to an SD as there is in WP.

So many Android phones come with 8GB storage, but the Android OS will eat up a fair amount of that. Unless you have a phone with 16GB or more of internal storage, the ability to store apps on an SD card is essential.

 

[thesachd]

That's a good way to put it. I got tired of having to hack the system just to get basic things done - like being able to store data and apps on an SD card. What is the point of having an SD card slot if you can't use it for anything useful. Unlock the bootloader, root the phone, install Xposed framework, find an Xposed Module that is compatible with your phone, tweak system files... that's just too much effort!

WP makes things simple. I can simply tell it to install apps and data where I want them. Job done. Simple.

Of course, tweaking can be fun; it helps you gain a better understanding of the way the system works which can be invaluable when something goes awry and a technical fix is needed.

The definition of power user is confusing one, but for me it is someone that wants his phone to do more than what the average consumer.

Even for power users, and this is backed up by many reputable companies, Android is still king. Among widgets, apps that can float above other apps, true multitasking, keyboard switching, better notifications, video transcoding/encoding and tons of other stuff, Android is still the right place for power users even without much tweaking or customisation.

Windows Phone is only suitable for the average Joe, and maybe some functionality that goes beyond that, but for the most part it definitely isn't the OS for power users IMO.

Interesting article, but still no native ability to move apps to an SD as there is in WP.

So many Android phones come with 8GB storage, but the Android OS will eat up a fair amount of that. Unless you have a phone with 16GB or more of internal storage, the ability to store apps on an SD card is essential.

Native ability to move apps to an SD Card? I don't know what Microsoft has been feeding you lately but Android was the first modern smartphone OS to allow moving to apps and data to the SD Card.

I admit that there are apps that can't be moved, primarily those with widgets, but Android app sizes are generally smaller than Windows Phone ones.

But the situation is improving.

 

[SammyD97]

The definition of power user is confusing one, but for me it is someone that wants his phone to do more than what the average consumer.

Even for power users, and this is backed up by many reputable companies, Android is still king. Among widgets, apps that can float above other apps, true multitasking, keyboard switching, better notifications, video transcoding/encoding and tons of other stuff, Android is still the right place for power users even without much tweaking or customisation.

Windows Phone is only suitable for the average Joe, and maybe some functionality that goes beyond that, but for the most part it definitely isn't the OS for power users IMO.



Native ability to move apps to an SD Card? I don't know what Microsoft has been feeding you lately but Android was the first modern smartphone OS to allow moving to apps and data to the SD Card.

I admit that there are apps that can't be moved, primarily those with widgets, but Android app sizes are generally smaller than Windows Phone ones.

But the situation is improving.

Do you really spend as much time on Non-Android forums preaching the Android gospel as it seems?

 

[thesachd]

Do you really spend as much time on Non-Android forums preaching the Android gospel as it seems?

I'm sorry did I say something that wasn't true?

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

Do you really spend as much time on Non-Android forums preaching the Android gospel as it seems?

Yes it appears that way. He must be trying to save us from this tyranny of windows phone and makes us into power users. Because you know we can't be power users on windows phone or apple. We have to use android lol.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I'm sorry did I say something that wasn't true?

Yes you did. Because who are you to define what myself and others are considered as. For you android works and everything and that is great. But that doesn't mean that you are somehow a power user as you call it and I'm not lol. You sound really arrogant right now.

 

[EBUK]

Native ability to move apps to an SD Card? I don't know what Microsoft has been feeding you lately but Android was the first modern smartphone OS to allow moving to apps and data to the SD Card.

WAS, not STILL IS.

I cannot move any apps to the SD card without having to meddle with the system. Although I am quite prepared to hack away, many people aren't.

For someone who proclaims to be a power user you seem to know very little about the most recent iterations of Android.

 

[thesachd]

Yes it appears that way. He must be trying to save us from this tyranny of windows phone and makes us into power users. Because you know we can't be power users on windows phone or apple. We have to use android lol.

Actually I never mentioned Apple, but even Apple users could call themselves power users considering the plethora of professional applications for image, video and audio editing and creation.

The only use case where Windows Phone could excel with "power user" use would probably be the photography suite because of manual controls and RAW support, but other OSes are catching up as we'll.

The definition of power user can't be someone who just uses his phone for a call, some browsing maybe a few games.

Yes you did. Because who are you to define what myself and others are considered as. For you android works and everything and that is great. But that doesn't mean that you are somehow a power user as you call it and I'm not lol. You sound really arrogant right now.

Please I would like anyone of you to enlighten me on what your definition of power user is and how Windows Phone is the best in it.

WAS, not STILL IS.

I cannot move any apps to the SD card without having to meddle with the system. Although I am quite prepared to hack away, many people aren't.

For someone who proclaims to be a power user you seem to know very little about the most recent iterations of Android.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/1...s-automatic-mediastore-and-improves-security/

This should alleviate, some if not all, of the issues you are facing. The ability to store apps to the SD card is some thing certain OEMs are enabling/disabling on their own, many devices such as the HTC One M8 and Nvidia Shield still allow for app moving to the SD Card.