Likes: The community, closest modern analog to the Galaxy S5 (my previous device), ability to open, configuring fast charge/PD speed, good custom ROM support, can be flashed with full Linux (PostmarketOS)
Dislikes: Android OS in general. The newer versions have removed so much capabilities that used to be present. I’ve got some features and feeling of ownership back by rooting, but it’s honestly a sad sign of things to come IMO. Stuff is being watered down, removed or restricted to appeal to the masses.
What things are you missing from old Android versions?
I had a realisation recently that I haven’t had the requirement to root and customise my FP4. I don’t have a terminal app and I’ve probably forgotten the majority of the ADB commands I used to use!
Maybe I’m just being assimilated into the Google/android eco-system.
Most users don’t need to root their device TBH, the stock experience is perfectly fine for the overwhelming majority of people. The ecosystem generally works too, but I personally don’t really want to depend on it, given Google’s track record of shelving good products, and some of their behaviors I find intrusive.
My few main complaints would be…
Apps can no longer be moved to an SD card easily
The changes made to the file storage API has made accessing SD card data much slower, so things like map apps and games take much longer to load if they have stored their data there (FP3 is 64GB, installed a 512GB sd card, so most apps tend to use the SD card if I haven’t manually)
Developers disabling ADB backups for their apps, making it difficult to migrate apps and data to a new device using something like Helium Backup (Google’s cloud-based solution works, but only transfers data for apps that save them to Google’s cloud. For all other apps just the application itself is transferred)
Call recording is no longer a thing, only system-level apps can do that now (root required)
Google moving my photos to the new device without asking first - I find it kind of creepy TBH, especially when the previous device doesn’t have Google Photos or save photos to Google’s cloud. On older Android versions this wasn’t a thing
Some changes were made in Android 12/13 to fingerprint scanner requirements, and sadly it is no longer possible to authenticate into most banking apps on the FP3 after updating the OS. This change will likely affect all FP owners in the future, as Google’s certification prevents the scanner from being used in secure contexts after its manufacturer drops support
By rooting, I have…
Scheduled backups to the SD card, allowing me to rollback an app+data if an update breaks something (this has saved me a few times already 😅)
Slowed down my fast charge speed from 13W to around 2.5W, I still boost it back up if I’m in a hurry
Charging stops at 91% (Most phones have this in the settings, however the FP3 doesn’t)
Syncthing uses root access to get around some limitations (I forgot what these are exactly, I think it’s the ability to watch the SD card for file changes)
Disabled/removed google apps that I don’t want (root not needed, this can also be done over ADB)
Disabled location access for the remaining Google apps… until they force-pushed a Play Services update to hard reboot the device when you do this
A few more things that I can’t recall at the mo. Generally I don’t interact with root functionality on a daily basis, it’s handled in the background by the apps that use it
Use a VPN service with a proven track record to connect to a seedbox paid for with crypto, and download only from top-level private trackers. It’s about as secure as you can get as a casual user.
In reality, though, a simple VPN is probably enough. Maybe not even that if you’re in a country that doesn’t give a shit.
There is an HTTP Header, called “Do Not Track”, but unfortunately, it has been broken.
The idea was that even under legislations that allow assuming users want to be tracked, this header being set by explicit user action would have been clear evidence that this assumption is wrong in this case.
Unfortunately, Google and Facebook refused to comply outright and with their tracking software running on pretty much all webpages, compliance was never an option for all those webpages.
And Microsoft killed it off completely, by setting it per default in Internet Explorer. Might sound like a good thing, but it meant that the header could be there, even if that particular user actually fucking loves being tracked, which meant it was pretty much legally void.
I had two moto phones back to back and then switched to the pixel. Can’t tell you how many times I tried to turn on the flashlight this way before realization kicks in.
Keep in mind your instance will cache thumbnails of remote content… including possibly illegal content for your area.
For example there’s (far too) many instances that host or are themed around “lolicon” - which is cartoon child pornography. That’s illegal in some jurisdictions.
Also remember federation is a two way street. The people you’re going to attract with this concept are largely the same groups many instances are trying to keep out. If you get even a little popularity I would expect many mainstream instances to defederate you. Then you’re basically back where you started - what’s the point?
Im aware that my server may cache illegal content. However this is usually easily delt with. It can simply be removed/user banned and can be purged from the server. This can all be done from the admin settings.
I also dont see the main instances defederating us. Our server will be moderated just as any other main lemmy server would. Just setting it up so that the users from our server can intract with any other server they wish. Any content or anyone who breaks our rules will be removed/banned. Just because we have an open federation policy does not mean there will be a lack of moderation.
I’m a recent Immich adopter, but one thing that seems to be missing compared to Google photos is the ability to manually backup by picking and choosing individual photos. Am I missing something or can you only do “all or nothing” with folder backups?
Had nothing but Motorolas since my very first Android. Absolutely loved the gestures and hands free interaction. Went through a series of Moto phones over the years until I accidentally destroyed my last one and needed a new device ASAP. Ended up with a Samsung S21 which is a perfectly fine phone,but it doesn’t have the personality of any of my old Motos. It does have a much better camera though than any of my Motorolas.
I don’t want to buy a new phone any time soon, but I definitely want to go back to Motorola.
I think modern games in general hold your hand too much. Some small level of hand holding/tutorial is fine, but so many take it way too far. I’ve gotten bored of a lot of games before they actually started because of that.
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