Why does Android get so much hate on social media?

Genuinely curious. Whenever Android comes up I see people hating on it, but from what I can tell it’s not that bad? You can customize basically everything, there are phones at every price point, the file system actually lets you do stuff, and stuff like sideloading and default apps just works. Google’s apps are solid too.

Is there something I’m missing? Is it the update situation, the fragmentation, the “green bubble” thing, or the app quality compared to iOS? Or is it just the “Android bad” reflex?

Not trying to start a fight, just trying to understand the hate. Would love to hear from people who’ve actually switched between them.

https://redd.it/1xj05qe
@reddit_android

If your car's GPS antenna is broken, Android Auto navigation is ruined. Let's get a "Force Phone GPS" toggle by +1'ing this Google Issue!

Hey everyone,

​We all know that Android Auto defaults to the car's built-in GPS antenna. But here is a massive design flaw: when a car's GPS antenna fails, your navigation goes completely crazy.

​Depending on the car model, repairing or replacing a built-in GPS antenna can cost hundreds of dollars, require dismantling the entire dashboard, or be completely impossible. Meanwhile, we have perfectly working GPS receivers right in our pockets, but Android Auto doesn't allow us to default to the phone's GPS.

​I've created an official Feature Request on the Google Issue Tracker asking for a simple "Force Phone GPS" toggle (even if it's just hidden in the Developer Settings).

​If we get enough votes, Google's triage team will have to notice it.

​How you can help:

​Click this link: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/577213793

​Click the +1 button at the top right of the title.

​🚨 Important Note: Please DO NOT leave comments like "Me too" or "Please fix" on the tracker. Google engineers consider "me too" comments as spam and they might lock the thread. Just hitting the +1 button is exactly what we need to increase its priority.

​Thanks for the support! Let's hope we can get this basic quality-of-life feature added.

https://redd.it/1xid4lt
@reddit_android

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 sales jump over 20% in Korea after iPhone Duo launch
https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10924160

https://redd.it/1xmw4uz
@reddit_android

Google is testing an iOS-style Family hub on the Pixel
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-family-hub-test-ios-style-3729970/

https://redd.it/1xmvyyn
@reddit_android

Qualcomm Snapdragon chips will support Android's Linux terminal

I was catching up on old news last week, and came across a Google blog post that seems to have fallen under the radar.

>MediaTek recently announced support of the pKVM-backed On-device AI seal on MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets will also support our architecture via AVF as we expand across the broader silicon ecosystem.

For context, the Linux development environment on Android allows you to run Debian in a non-protected virtual machine on supported hardware (Tensor, select Exynos, and select Mediatek chips). Snapdragon chips don't support running non-protected VMs because they use Gunyah as the hypervisor. Switching the hypervisor to pKVM means that Snapdragon chips will support running non-protected VMs, allowing for the Linux VM to work.

The Snapdragon X Elite Dell and HP Googlebooks also serve as real-life examples of this. All Googlebooks support a pKVM hypervisor, and the Linux terminal app is present and functional on the aforementioned laptops. Additionally, we can verify support for pKVM and non-protected VMs using adb. Here's the output from a Dell Googlebook:

adb shell /apex/com.android.virt/bin/vm info
Both protected and non-protected VMs are supported.
Hypervisor version: 0.0.1
/dev/kvm exists.
/dev/vfio/vfio exists.
VFIO-platform is supported.
Assignable devices:
Available OS list: "microdroid"
Debug policy: Ok(DebugPolicy { log: false, ramdump: false, adb: false })
Updatable VM is supported.

The only question left is whether devices with the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and 8 Elite Gen 6 chips support the Linux terminal app. If you have one of those devices, feel free to test it and report back in the comments.

Lastly, in related news that probably doesn't deserve its own post, I was able to test and confirm the Samsung Galaxy A08 4G (Mediatek Helio G99) supports running non-protected VMs. Unfortunately, the Linux terminal app is unable to connect to the VM just like the Galaxy Tab S12 series. To my knowledge, it's the first Helio G99 device to support it. Notably, other devices with the Helio G99 don't support it, including older Samsung devices on Android 16 like the A07 4G, and A17 4G.

Lastly lastly (I promise), I was also able to test and confirm the S26 FE supports the Linux terminal. There weren't any doubts about the Exynos 2500 having support, but it hasn't been tested and confirmed until now.

https://redd.it/1xmzzq6
@reddit_android

Xiaomi HyperOS 4 Rollout Schedule [Android 17]
https://x.com/XiaomiHyperOS_/status/2117572511168860262

https://redd.it/1xmw4ab
@reddit_android

Global Smartphone Revenue Defies Shipment Slump, Rising 3% YoY
https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/global-smartphone-revenue-defies-shipment-slump-rising-3-yoy

https://redd.it/1xmx8wh
@reddit_android

Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus Gen 2 review – Premium tablet with a 4K screen and excellent battery life
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-Yoga-Tab-Plus-Gen-2-review-Premium-tablet-with-a-4K-screen-and-excellent-battery-life.1439437.0.html#c17505066

https://redd.it/1xn5kmt
@reddit_android

Upgraded Sleep Apnea Feature Now Available on Galaxy Ring Following Regulatory Approvals From US FDA and Korea MFDS
https://news.samsung.com/global/upgraded-sleep-apnea-feature-now-available-on-galaxy-ring-following-regulatory-approvals-from-us-fda-and-korea-mfds

https://redd.it/1xmvy4w
@reddit_android

Honor's 14,000mAh smartphone battery can reportedly last a week
https://www.gsmarena.com/honors_14000mah_smartphone_battery_can_reportedly_last_a_week-news-75326.php

https://redd.it/1xn8kad
@reddit_android

ProCraft is now available for Android
https://github.com/surfrpt1/procraft

https://redd.it/1xnc6rv
@reddit_android