Re: The 10 Worst Smartphones Of All Time

badgolferman wrote on Wed, 1 May 2024 10:38:51 -0000 (UTC) :

 It is certain *apps* that are irreplaceable.

Thanks for clarifying that there is zero functionality on iOS (such as
newsreaders or findmydevice functionality) that isn't already on Android.

I am logical and sensible but I can only work off of what you actually say.

Your precisely specific wording above is much easier to agree with since
there is a lot of power in the knowledge that Android OEMs do not limit
what functionality developers can write while Apple does severely limit it.

What you're simply saying is you like some apps better than similar ones.
And that will always happen since there must be tens of thousands of apps.

-NewsTap / NewsTap Lite. There is no equivalent UseNet app that can do what
this app does.

I've used them all (Michelle Steiner gave me a key for NewsTap) in the past
and I found all phone newsreaders to be horrendous) compared to on a PC.

You simply like NewsTap better than the alternatives.
But both platforms have newsreader functionality, which is my point.

You likely don't know anything about these 7 Android newsreaders, do you?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cmg.android.phonews
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmgapps.android.phonewspro
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.almarsoft.GroundhogReader
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.piaohong.newsgroup
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ken.android.nntpreader.pro
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noasy.newsreader
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=usenet.sinaapp.com

Those APKs came from my testing archives, but I just noticed some of those
links are now dead, as newsreaders never took off on either iOS or Android.

Luckily, on Android all free apps install on any Android phone, which is a
valuable feature that apparently is "not needed" & "not wanted" only for
iOS (since every other platform easily installs any free installer on any
device, no matter what login ID is used on that device - except for iOS).

Still, with Android you can almost always get the APK installer using any
of the many mirrors out there on the Internet (another think iOS can't do).

For example, for the GroundHog newsreader on Android, APK Pure has it.
https://m.apkpure.com/groundhog-usenet-reader/com.almarsoft.GroundhogReader

Likewise with the Noasy newsreader being found on the package mirrors.
https://www.appbrain.com/app/noasy-reader/com.noasy.newsreader

- FindMy. I share location data with my family members. Maybe Android can
do this, but since my wife and youngest son use iPhones, I must too.

I think Android has a FindMy functionality but I've never tested it as the
last thing I want is someone to be able to locate my phone from afar.
https://www.android.com/learn-find-my-device/
https://support.google.com/android/answer/3265955?hl=en
https://www.theverge.com/22623185/how-to-find-android-phone-device-location-map-google

The reason there will never be any functionality on Apple devices that
isn't already on Android (even free old Android phones) is simply thus:
A. Most functionality is written by independent developers
B. Apple severely restricts what functionality developers can provide
C. Google can't.

The consumer is always going to be the loser when comparing iOS
functionality to Android because iOS can't do thousands of things
that Android easily does (as do all operating systems other than iOS).

Android even has iOS AirTag detection apps because people want them.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection.release

Looking it up, I found even Apple has a detector on the Google Play Store.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect
 "Tracker Detect looks for item trackers that are separated from
  their owner and that are compatible with Apple's Find My network.
  These item trackers include AirTag and compatible devices from other
  companies. If you think someone is using AirTag or another device
  to track your location, you can scan to try to find it."

In short, nobody has ever shown a single useful functionality that is on
iOS that is not on Android and yet there are hundreds of useful
functionalities on Android which are not & will never be on iOS.