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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2950 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 15, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Don't forget in Android 11 when they decided to replace the (very functional) quick settings toggles so that they were 4x the size. And made it so that the lock screen clock was so huge it got split into two lines. It was so bad I actually flashed Android 10 back onto my device.

I remember when stock Android was craved by enthusiasts. Now, I rely on OEMs to shield me from the worst of Google's cupidity.

Man, that is probably the most damning indictment of Google you could deliver, lol. Do you have any particular recommendations for OEM firmware? I have been sticking to stock Android to avoid bloatware, but maybe it's time to give something else a shot.

Hmm.. I have experience with Xiaomi and One Plus, a bit of Samsung.

None of them are remotely close to stock, but as I've already said, that has sadly become a good thing. Xiaomi has recently rebranded their UI to HyperOS, and I've yet to upgrade (I couldn't care less), but in general, all of them have significantly more flexibility and information density when compared to the closest mainstream "stock" Android in the Pixels.

Better notifications, better multitasking. These are massive. All of them have it. Bloatware and junk is no longer a big deal, and I haven't had to root my phone to remove things as I once felt obliged to back in the day. Add a DNS level adblock and practically any device is now usable as far as I'm concerned. (easily done in the settings on any device, I use AdGuard myself).

The Pixels have their own benefits, in the form of camera and AI features, but it took me all about 5 minutes to become utterly bored when messing with my girlfriend's Pixel 7A.

So Xiaomi, OnePlus, Samsung. All better than stock. Tentatively the Nothing phones, from what I've seen about them.

I haven't kept up with the custom ROM world for a while, so I can't tell you what's in vogue, but there are still misguided oldies and script kiddies who try and flash stock or Pixel ROMs on everything, not that I would recommend it. Just buy a flagship or last year's flagships over a midranger and you're set.

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