. Credit: Florence Ion Android manufacturers can't ...
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Credit:
Florence Ion
Android manufacturers can't stop mucking up
Android. Here's why we still need Professor Google to give everyone an
object lesson in how to make a proper Android phone.
The Nexus 6P and 5X could be the perfect Android phones we’ve been
pining after for years. Great build quality, a top-flight camera, rapid
updates, all wrapped together with a pure and unsullied unsullied
version of Android.
It’s especially that last item that phone manufacturers keep fumbling. You can get an excellent camera with a new Galaxy S6 or the LG G4. HTC’s all-metal One series
has always been a leader in the looks department. And the Moto X lets
you build a device to your liking in a near-stock Android package
(Though how often it stays up-to-date is another matter.)
They’re
all good phones. But all are susceptible in one form or another to a
list of grievances. Slow updates. Pre-installed apps you can’t get
eliminate (from the device maker and carrier!). Interface tweaks that
merely change, instead of improve, the Android experience.
These continual problems have convinced me that despite what others may say,
we desperately need Nexus phones to lead the way. I’m optimistic as
ever with what Google produced in the Nexus 6P and 5X. Here’s why Google
still needs to school everyone about how it’s supposed to be done.
A Touch of the Wiz
We’ve
railed plenty of times here about third-party software. Samsung’s
TouchWiz and the custom interfaces from LG and HTC are easy targets. But
why is that one of our constant gripes? Often
they don’t really add any value. Most of these custom UIs unnecessarily
change the configuration of the settings, home screen, and other
features. Yes, Android is all about openness and customization and
giving everyone the freedom to do this. But they should actually make
things better. To
be fair, sometimes they do. Samsung adds some useful tweaks to
TouchWiz. For example, there’s a handy checkbox in the drop-down menu to
turn on auto-brightness. You can also customize which settings are at
the ready from this spot (pictured). TouchWiz also lets you uninstall an app from the home screen - something Android finally added with Marshmallow.
Phone makers can, and should, add these kinds of things if they make
the experience better. But they don’t need to mess with the way buttons
and switches look, or turn toggles into checkboxes just because they
can. There’s no need to switch up the fonts and colors or copy iPhone
features like rounded app icons and a Parallax wallpaper (looking at
you, Samsung).
Bloatware: still nonsense
While the bloatware situation has somewhat improved, it’s still rather terrible. Take this example: on the Galaxy Note 5,
you can’t install Word, Excel, or PowerPoint from the Play Store.
Nope—you have to get them from Samsung’s own Galaxy Apps market.
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