{"slug": "android", "name": "Android", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "Google's open-source mobile operating system for smartphones, tablets, and other devices.", "recommenders": 18, "commenters": 37, "warners": 15, "score": 3.763, "rising": 3.4, "first": "2025-11-26", "latest": "2026-10-30", "why": "HN commenters like Android for sideloading and software freedom, a keyboard and text editing they prefer over iOS, and being usable without a Google account.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 18, "neutral": 4, "compare": 0, "warn": 15}, "spark": [0, 1, 4, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 3, 4], "listed": true, "loved": ["Software freedom", "Keyboard"], "caveat": "Lockdown concerns", "short_quote": "I switched to android because everything iOS does is to continually put focus on iOS.", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.android.com/", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Android"], "verdict": [{"text": "HN commenters like Android for sideloading and software freedom,", "cites": [{"id": 780118208, "item_id": 48757388, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48757388", "by": "nusuth31416", "date": "2026-07-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Android because it lets me install whatever I want on my phone", "excerpt": "I use Android because it lets me install whatever I want on my phone, which it does not seem to me, controversial. The phone is either mine or it is not. I don't want Google's protection. Particularly, if I can't refuse it.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}, {"id": 759298464, "item_id": 47456154, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47456154", "by": "marssaxman", "date": "2026-03-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The fact that I can sideload whatever I need and stay out of Google's ecosystem is the whole reason I use Android.", "excerpt": "Well, this sucks. The fact that I can sideload whatever I need and stay out of Google's ecosystem is the whole reason I use Android. Given the miserable choice between two fully locked-down platforms, why would I pick theirs?", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety"}, {"id": 780137008, "item_id": 48758563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48758563", "by": "mpfect", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom.", "excerpt": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom. If Google forces ADV and locks out F-Droid, they remove the single biggest differentiator between the two platforms. Making Play Protect into a forced gatekeeper instead of an opt-in security scanner is a massive bait-and-switch for users who care about digital sovereignty.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}, {"id": 748055680, "item_id": 46753480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46753480", "by": "middayc", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I was never an iOS user, or developer - exactly because Android was more \"open\"", "excerpt": "I was never an iOS user, or developer - exactly because Android was more \"open\", exerted less control over a user of the device. The same reason I use Linux for 25 years (not ideological, but it just makes most sense by far). In time where this view (win11 vs. Linux) is starting to make sense to more and more people, few rare config nuances are getting easier to solve due to LLM-s, going into the opposite direction w", "context": "developer, Linux user for 25 years", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}]}, {"text": " a keyboard and text editing they prefer over iOS,", "cites": [{"id": 803313504, "item_id": 50207094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50207094", "by": "leoedin", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android has a far better keyboard and notification system.", "excerpt": "Yeah, give me the iPhone's hardware running Android please. I switched to iPhone because my Android phones kept dying due to hardware issues. Android has a far better keyboard and notification system. Give me it any day.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile operating system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Run full iOS 16.5 firmware on Android Devices"}, {"id": 795345728, "item_id": 49709108, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49709108", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm going to an OS that works.", "excerpt": "I switched to iPhone for 2-3 months but the keyboard was so back I switched back to Android. If Apple can't get a keyboard (any keyboard!) to work in a decade, I'm going to an OS that works. It's crazy that SwiftKey was terrible too, even though it's the one I use exclusively on Android.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 740326289, "item_id": 46270393, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46270393", "by": "l1feh4ck", "date": "2025-12-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In android it is as easy as clicking on the letter \u201cb\u201d and backspace then correct it to \u201cd\u201d", "excerpt": "I switched to iPhone from android three years ago and it still frustrates me when I have to edit a word. Say I accidentally typed ebit instead of edit. In android it is as easy as clicking on the letter \u201cb\u201d and backspace then correct it to \u201cd\u201d In ios, I have to long press the space key to move around and or do some circus to edit it. I don\u2019t understand why Apple does this.", "context": "", "use_case": "text editing on keyboard", "switched_from": "", "story": "iPhone Typos? It's Not Just You \u2013 The iOS Keyboard Is Broken [video]"}, {"id": 747684560, "item_id": 46730285, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46730285", "by": "shantnutiwari", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "until I used an Android, and it just worked", "excerpt": "The autocorrect is a real pain, especially when you are using a correct and grammatical word, but Apple decides, F&ck you, you will use this other word instead. And the text select has been broken for years, as the site points out. I thought it was a mobile thing until I used an Android, and it just worked. These are minor irritations, but they are adding up so much so I'm thinking about Android...", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bugs Apple Loves"}]}, {"text": " and being usable without a Google account.", "cites": [{"id": 803351952, "item_id": 50209497, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50209497", "by": "EvanAnderson", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I moved to Android in 2022 from the iPhone ecosystem. I've been thru one phone replacement cycle and it was glorious.", "excerpt": "I moved to Android in 2022 from the iPhone ecosystem. I've been thru one phone replacement cycle and it was glorious. I got by without ever using Google Play and never had to tie my phone to any \"ecosystem\". I had \"sideloaded\" all the APKs for the software I used on the old phone and saved the APKs. Moving to a new phone was just a matter of loading all the software and copying my rsync'd backups onto the new phone. ", "context": "sideloads APKs, avoids Google Play", "use_case": "mobile OS with sideloaded APKs", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Your Phone Is About to Stop Being Yours: 70 Days Until Lockdown"}, {"id": 797779857, "item_id": 49861241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49861241", "by": "hadrien01", "date": "2026-09-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Android without a Google account", "excerpt": "I use Android without a Google account and I have access to banking (bank apps through Aurora Store, and NFC works without a Google account).", "context": "uses Android without a Google account", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 745566977, "item_id": 46597936, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46597936", "by": "usr1106", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Android without Google account 2024 - now", "excerpt": "I run my personal PauseOS since the early 2000s. 1. My phones are always data offline, except when I use the internet browser to read news or retrieve information. If someone wants to contact me they can send SMS or call. 2. There is no email client configured on my phone. 3. GPS is always off (not so much for pausing reasons, but to maintain orienteering skills and resist surveillance capitalism I used SymbianOS 200", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "PauseOS: Distraction-Free Phone OS"}]}, {"text": " The most common worry is that Google is restricting sideloading and moving away from openness,", "cites": [{"id": 780137008, "item_id": 48758563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48758563", "by": "mpfect", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom.", "excerpt": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom. If Google forces ADV and locks out F-Droid, they remove the single biggest differentiator between the two platforms. Making Play Protect into a forced gatekeeper instead of an opt-in security scanner is a massive bait-and-switch for users who care about digital sovereignty.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}, {"id": 763273568, "item_id": 47704598, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47704598", "by": "functionmouse", "date": "2026-04-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it may be time to abandon Android as a whole, now that it's moving away from its open source model", "excerpt": "Samsung doesn't get nearly enough hate. Any day is a great day to tell your friends at length how terrible Samsung products are! Though it may be time to abandon Android as a whole, now that it's moving away from its open source model. I used Android over iOS because I liked the control, and being able to install my own software. If my rights are taken from me here as well, though, why should I continue to use the in", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "A mysterious ghost admin is digitally bricking Samsung phones"}, {"id": 748035264, "item_id": 46752204, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46752204", "by": "BatteryMountain", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "warn", "quote": "If the make sideloading high-friction, either via account-bound or apk upload or permissions from MNO/ISP, I will leave android.", "excerpt": "If the make sideloading high-friction, either via account-bound or apk upload or permissions from MNO/ISP, I will leave android. I have a bunch of my own apps that only I use, not released to the public, if I cannot use them, I have zero reason to stay on android. I think one of the reasons they want to lockdown the system is to prevent guys like me from locking THEM out of my home/ecosystems, as and example, I build", "context": "builds own apps and launchers", "use_case": "mobile OS and custom launchers", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}, {"id": 796147440, "item_id": 49759215, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49759215", "by": "VCFundedGenYer", "date": "2026-09-18", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Android has been so thoroughly disappointing through the years.", "excerpt": "Android has been so thoroughly disappointing through the years. Started as a great open free form alternative to iOS, to becoming the very thing it sought to combat.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Android 17 is the first since 3.x to add new APIs without releasing to the AOSP"}]}, {"text": " followed by reports of declining stability and buggy updates.", "cites": [{"id": 782917920, "item_id": 48932370, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932370", "by": "pjjpo", "date": "2026-07-16", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I have felt Android get less stable with pretty much every release for many years now", "excerpt": "While I don't want to ruin this thread with coming out, I can't find a better place - sorry. While I have a guess on what elephant everyone is thinking about, I wonder if it's just the stock market - at a higher level capitalism itself. I have felt Android get less stable with pretty much every release for many years now, well before the current boom. I think this is all a long term trend devaluing craftsmanship, wit", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?"}, {"id": 782741392, "item_id": 48921337, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48921337", "by": "dilawar", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Rebooting is the only way, android is like windows currently.", "excerpt": "I use cheap android devices. My current one is a cheap Motorola and before samsung and Chinese vendors. I've never seen bugs like I have encountere since the last update (2 months ago). Unless I reboot the device everyday, I can't make a call. The button is pressed but never proceeds to ring, doesn't even show an error message. The play service complains that I am logged out but shows my account info in the login pan", "context": "uses cheap Android devices", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?"}, {"id": 798712352, "item_id": 49919522, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49919522", "by": "bob1029", "date": "2026-10-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Looking back at android in 2026, I don't see any remaining upside.", "excerpt": "Android used to be the open option for me. I moved to Apple because I got tired of buying a new phone every 12 months and dealing with really bad OS updates (bricked phones). It felt like a major sacrifice at the time. Looking back at android in 2026, I don't see any remaining upside.", "context": "moved to Apple", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fuck Android Developer Verification Program"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Software freedom", "summary": "Users choose it because they can sideload any app and stay out of Google's ecosystem.", "quotes": [{"id": 780118208, "item_id": 48757388, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48757388", "by": "nusuth31416", "date": "2026-07-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Android because it lets me install whatever I want on my phone", "excerpt": "I use Android because it lets me install whatever I want on my phone, which it does not seem to me, controversial. The phone is either mine or it is not. I don't want Google's protection. Particularly, if I can't refuse it.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}, {"id": 759298464, "item_id": 47456154, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47456154", "by": "marssaxman", "date": "2026-03-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The fact that I can sideload whatever I need and stay out of Google's ecosystem is the whole reason I use Android.", "excerpt": "Well, this sucks. The fact that I can sideload whatever I need and stay out of Google's ecosystem is the whole reason I use Android. Given the miserable choice between two fully locked-down platforms, why would I pick theirs?", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety"}, {"id": 780137008, "item_id": 48758563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48758563", "by": "mpfect", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom.", "excerpt": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom. If Google forces ADV and locks out F-Droid, they remove the single biggest differentiator between the two platforms. Making Play Protect into a forced gatekeeper instead of an opt-in security scanner is a massive bait-and-switch for users who care about digital sovereignty.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}]}, {"label": "Keyboard", "summary": "Commenters find its keyboard and text editing far better than iOS's.", "quotes": [{"id": 803313504, "item_id": 50207094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50207094", "by": "leoedin", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android has a far better keyboard and notification system.", "excerpt": "Yeah, give me the iPhone's hardware running Android please. I switched to iPhone because my Android phones kept dying due to hardware issues. Android has a far better keyboard and notification system. Give me it any day.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile operating system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Run full iOS 16.5 firmware on Android Devices"}, {"id": 795345728, "item_id": 49709108, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49709108", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm going to an OS that works.", "excerpt": "I switched to iPhone for 2-3 months but the keyboard was so back I switched back to Android. If Apple can't get a keyboard (any keyboard!) to work in a decade, I'm going to an OS that works. It's crazy that SwiftKey was terrible too, even though it's the one I use exclusively on Android.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 740326289, "item_id": 46270393, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46270393", "by": "l1feh4ck", "date": "2025-12-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In android it is as easy as clicking on the letter \u201cb\u201d and backspace then correct it to \u201cd\u201d", "excerpt": "I switched to iPhone from android three years ago and it still frustrates me when I have to edit a word. Say I accidentally typed ebit instead of edit. In android it is as easy as clicking on the letter \u201cb\u201d and backspace then correct it to \u201cd\u201d In ios, I have to long press the space key to move around and or do some circus to edit it. I don\u2019t understand why Apple does this.", "context": "", "use_case": "text editing on keyboard", "switched_from": "", "story": "iPhone Typos? It's Not Just You \u2013 The iOS Keyboard Is Broken [video]"}]}, {"label": "Works without Google", "summary": "Several run it without a Google account or Google Play, including for banking apps.", "quotes": [{"id": 803351952, "item_id": 50209497, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50209497", "by": "EvanAnderson", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I moved to Android in 2022 from the iPhone ecosystem. I've been thru one phone replacement cycle and it was glorious.", "excerpt": "I moved to Android in 2022 from the iPhone ecosystem. I've been thru one phone replacement cycle and it was glorious. I got by without ever using Google Play and never had to tie my phone to any \"ecosystem\". I had \"sideloaded\" all the APKs for the software I used on the old phone and saved the APKs. Moving to a new phone was just a matter of loading all the software and copying my rsync'd backups onto the new phone. ", "context": "sideloads APKs, avoids Google Play", "use_case": "mobile OS with sideloaded APKs", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Your Phone Is About to Stop Being Yours: 70 Days Until Lockdown"}, {"id": 797779857, "item_id": 49861241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49861241", "by": "hadrien01", "date": "2026-09-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Android without a Google account", "excerpt": "I use Android without a Google account and I have access to banking (bank apps through Aurora Store, and NFC works without a Google account).", "context": "uses Android without a Google account", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 745566977, "item_id": 46597936, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46597936", "by": "usr1106", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Android without Google account 2024 - now", "excerpt": "I run my personal PauseOS since the early 2000s. 1. My phones are always data offline, except when I use the internet browser to read news or retrieve information. If someone wants to contact me they can send SMS or call. 2. There is no email client configured on my phone. 3. GPS is always off (not so much for pausing reasons, but to maintain orienteering skills and resist surveillance capitalism I used SymbianOS 200", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "PauseOS: Distraction-Free Phone OS"}]}, {"label": "Fewer annoyances", "summary": "iOS switchers report fewer usability bugs and less nagging than on iPhone.", "quotes": [{"id": 752263984, "item_id": 47016499, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47016499", "by": "qnleigh", "date": "2026-02-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there's just aren't any usability bugs that I deal with on Android anymore.", "excerpt": "It's so strange, when I switched to Android, it felt like iPhones had more polish and fewer glitches like these. But there's just aren't any usability bugs that I deal with on Android anymore. I think the blog explains why people put up with such a buggy OS: > I randomly tried Android again for a few months last spring. Using a functioning keyboard was revelatory. But I came crawling back to iOS because I'm weak and ", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Apple, fix my keyboard before the timer ends or I'm leaving iPhone"}, {"id": 797100897, "item_id": 49818806, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49818806", "by": "BatchJob", "date": "2026-09-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to android because everything iOS does is to continually put focus on iOS.", "excerpt": "iOS has essentially been nagware for a long time now. I switched to android because everything iOS does is to continually put focus on iOS. So many nagging prompts, so much broken/misleading configuration. iOS is now the hellstew du jour. Android is with the exception of Gemini, a peaceful computing platform. Also developing for iOS which I did for a long time will turn you off iOS when you see how slow the apps are ", "context": "former iOS developer", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 748113488, "item_id": 46757093, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46757093", "by": "asadm", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android does not suck anymore.", "excerpt": "iOS has fallen behind, I am struggling to use apps and even type on new liquid glass. My 2TB photo library is useless with the current photos app. I am trying out Pixel 10 on the side and I HIGHLY recommend it! Android does not suck anymore. I am in process of migrating stuff over slowly.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Lockdown concerns", "summary": "Users warn that restricting sideloading or F-Droid would remove their reason to stay.", "quotes": [{"id": 748035264, "item_id": 46752204, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46752204", "by": "BatteryMountain", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "warn", "quote": "If the make sideloading high-friction, either via account-bound or apk upload or permissions from MNO/ISP, I will leave android.", "excerpt": "If the make sideloading high-friction, either via account-bound or apk upload or permissions from MNO/ISP, I will leave android. I have a bunch of my own apps that only I use, not released to the public, if I cannot use them, I have zero reason to stay on android. I think one of the reasons they want to lockdown the system is to prevent guys like me from locking THEM out of my home/ecosystems, as and example, I build", "context": "builds own apps and launchers", "use_case": "mobile OS and custom launchers", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}, {"id": 763273568, "item_id": 47704598, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47704598", "by": "functionmouse", "date": "2026-04-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it may be time to abandon Android as a whole, now that it's moving away from its open source model", "excerpt": "Samsung doesn't get nearly enough hate. Any day is a great day to tell your friends at length how terrible Samsung products are! Though it may be time to abandon Android as a whole, now that it's moving away from its open source model. I used Android over iOS because I liked the control, and being able to install my own software. If my rights are taken from me here as well, though, why should I continue to use the in", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "A mysterious ghost admin is digitally bricking Samsung phones"}, {"id": 780137008, "item_id": 48758563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48758563", "by": "mpfect", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom.", "excerpt": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom. If Google forces ADV and locks out F-Droid, they remove the single biggest differentiator between the two platforms. Making Play Protect into a forced gatekeeper instead of an opt-in security scanner is a massive bait-and-switch for users who care about digital sovereignty.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}]}, {"label": "Stability", "summary": "Some report Android getting less stable with releases, with bugs requiring daily reboots.", "quotes": [{"id": 782917920, "item_id": 48932370, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932370", "by": "pjjpo", "date": "2026-07-16", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I have felt Android get less stable with pretty much every release for many years now", "excerpt": "While I don't want to ruin this thread with coming out, I can't find a better place - sorry. While I have a guess on what elephant everyone is thinking about, I wonder if it's just the stock market - at a higher level capitalism itself. I have felt Android get less stable with pretty much every release for many years now, well before the current boom. I think this is all a long term trend devaluing craftsmanship, wit", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?"}, {"id": 782741392, "item_id": 48921337, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48921337", "by": "dilawar", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Rebooting is the only way, android is like windows currently.", "excerpt": "I use cheap android devices. My current one is a cheap Motorola and before samsung and Chinese vendors. I've never seen bugs like I have encountere since the last update (2 months ago). Unless I reboot the device everyday, I can't make a call. The button is pressed but never proceeds to ring, doesn't even show an error message. The play service complains that I am logged out but shows my account info in the login pan", "context": "uses cheap Android devices", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?"}, {"id": 798712352, "item_id": 49919522, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49919522", "by": "bob1029", "date": "2026-10-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Looking back at android in 2026, I don't see any remaining upside.", "excerpt": "Android used to be the open option for me. I moved to Apple because I got tired of buying a new phone every 12 months and dealing with really bad OS updates (bricked phones). It felt like a major sacrifice at the time. Looking back at android in 2026, I don't see any remaining upside.", "context": "moved to Apple", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fuck Android Developer Verification Program"}]}, {"label": "User control", "summary": "One commenter finds it hard to just do things without a real shell outside sandboxing.", "quotes": [{"id": 787036578, "item_id": 49189786, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49189786", "by": "tester457", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There's a powerlessness to using Android.", "excerpt": "There's a powerlessness to using Android. It's difficult to just do things. Even windows feels more \"free.\" Phone OSes are built like prisons. Ideally Android would let you drop into a real shell, without having to deal with android sandboxing. Regardless, I use termux and tasker to get my automations done.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux"}]}, {"label": "Accessibility, languages", "summary": "Braille support is called poor, and multilingual setup is reported as broken.", "quotes": [{"id": 787003298, "item_id": 49187706, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49187706", "by": "devinprater", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "If Google can stand having poor Braille support on Android, fine, I'll use an iPhone.", "excerpt": "Totally blind person. I once had this bright idea that the blind community could fix Linux into our perfect platform. I don't care all that much anymore about anything being fixed, foss or not. FOSS is everyone scratching their own itch, and if a developer who can see creates a program that scratches his itch but isn't accessible, but his itch is scratched, why would he then spend time fixing it up for the one blind ", "context": "Totally blind person", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The \"Disability Dongle\": Why Silicon Valley Hates Me and You"}, {"id": 797275457, "item_id": 49829716, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49829716", "by": "radicalbyte", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "They've broken Android too, you can't even set it up with multiple languages", "excerpt": "I absolutely hate that YouTube is doing that; I'm Dutch/English so obviously fluent in both languages yet YouTube randomly decides to give me this horrific AI dub for some Dutch videos. They've broken Android too, you can't even set it up with multiple languages. I use three daily - Dutch / English / American - and also a bit of German / French / Spanish / Italian here and there. Plus of course Latin because on my En", "context": "multilingual user", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Meta takes down a critical video about meta AI Glasses after filming at Meta"}]}, {"label": "Security, networking", "summary": "Its sandboxes are called weaker than Qubes, and it still lacks DHCPv6 support.", "quotes": [{"id": 737062849, "item_id": 46066428, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46066428", "by": "fsflover", "date": "2025-11-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Android's sandboxes are weaker and AFAIK rely on closed, non-auditable hardware", "excerpt": "Qubes is a much more secure alternative to Android without its main downside, which is that Google owns it and steers its development toward enshittification and control [0]. The latter even affects security directly [1]. Android's sandboxes are weaker and AFAIK rely on closed, non-auditable hardware (which is owned by Google in, e.g., GrapheneOS). Qubes protects you more reliably and doesn't require to abandon root ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC"}, {"id": 804771984, "item_id": 50298249, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50298249", "by": "cyberax", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "warn", "quote": "And Android _still_ doesn't support DHCPv6.", "excerpt": "I'd argue that it's still not mature. ULA/GUA mess is one example, I recommend reading this delightful thread with beer and popcorn: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/v6ops/7-SuigPyP0R-C6ZChm4-EOERBIQ/ Having to waste 64 bits for the local part of the address is another one. There's an RFC in progress to allow neighbor discovery with shorter prefixes, so we might be able to use it by 2045. And Android _still_ doe", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "If IPv4 were land"}]}, {"label": "Desktop mode", "summary": "Desktop mode on an external display is described as only passable, with apps scaling poorly.", "quotes": [{"id": 798454304, "item_id": 49903394, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49903394", "by": "JeremyNT", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I would describe the experience as... passable.", "excerpt": "Android actually does have a desktop mode when you connect an external display. I'm not sure how much this is standardized / merged into AOSP, but I use it with my stock Pixel 10 Pro. I would describe the experience as... passable. Historically it was quite glitchy but recent OS updates have improved it. The biggest issues resolve around apps which do not scale their UIs correctly.", "context": "uses a stock Pixel 10 Pro", "use_case": "desktop mode with external display", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google ending ChromeOS support two years early"}]}], "who": [{"by": "EvanAnderson", "context": "sideloads APKs, avoids Google Play", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50209497", "date": "2026-10-23"}, {"by": "JeremyNT", "context": "uses a stock Pixel 10 Pro", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49903394", "date": "2026-09-30"}, {"by": "hadrien01", "context": "uses Android without a Google account", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49861241", "date": "2026-09-26"}, {"by": "BatchJob", "context": "former iOS developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49818806", "date": "2026-09-23"}, {"by": "annzabelle", "context": "longtime Pixel user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49000104", "date": "2026-07-21"}, {"by": "adjejmxbdjdn", "context": "long-time WP7 user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48906338", "date": "2026-07-14"}, {"by": "middayc", "context": "developer, Linux user for 25 years", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46753480", "date": "2026-01-25"}, {"by": "hashta", "context": "long time Android user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46593362", "date": "2026-01-12"}], "tags": ["for sideloading apps", "usable without Google account", "for iOS switchers"], "use_cases": ["mobile os", "phone os", "daily use", "mobile os with sideloaded apks", "mobile operating system", "base for mobile os"], "compared": [{"slug": "ios", "name": "iOS", "co": 30, "switched_from": 5, "switched_to": 6}, {"slug": "grapheneos", "name": "GrapheneOS", "co": 9, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 4}, {"slug": "sailfish-os", "name": "Sailfish OS", "co": 7, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "windows-phone", "name": "Windows Phone", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "e-os", "name": "/e/OS", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "ipados", "name": "iPadOS", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "meego", "name": "MeeGo", "co": 3, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "macos", "name": "macOS", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46688804", "title": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48920698", "title": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48755965", "title": "A new Android malware from Google", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50287775", "title": "If IPv4 were land", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50291945", "title": "Google Search is now less than half of Alphabet\u2019s revenue", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50208558", "title": "Your Phone Is About to Stop Being Yours: 70 Days Until Lockdown", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"warn": 1}, "2025-12": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {"warn": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 4, "warn": 4, "neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"warn": 3}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 3, "warn": 2, "neutral": 2}, "2026-10": {"warn": 2, "recommend": 4}}, "quotes": [{"id": 804771984, "item_id": 50298249, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50298249", "by": "cyberax", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "warn", "quote": "And Android _still_ doesn't support DHCPv6.", "excerpt": "I'd argue that it's still not mature. ULA/GUA mess is one example, I recommend reading this delightful thread with beer and popcorn: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/v6ops/7-SuigPyP0R-C6ZChm4-EOERBIQ/ Having to waste 64 bits for the local part of the address is another one. There's an RFC in progress to allow neighbor discovery with shorter prefixes, so we might be able to use it by 2045. And Android _still_ doe", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "If IPv4 were land"}, {"id": 804675488, "item_id": 50292218, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50292218", "by": "sebastiansm7", "date": "2026-10-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android, Maps and Chrome I use it almost daily for years.", "excerpt": "Android, Maps and Chrome I use it almost daily for years. Dont know if are great at revenue, but are great products for me :)", "context": "", "use_case": "daily use", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google Search is now less than half of Alphabet\u2019s revenue"}, {"id": 803351952, "item_id": 50209497, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50209497", "by": "EvanAnderson", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I moved to Android in 2022 from the iPhone ecosystem. I've been thru one phone replacement cycle and it was glorious.", "excerpt": "I moved to Android in 2022 from the iPhone ecosystem. I've been thru one phone replacement cycle and it was glorious. I got by without ever using Google Play and never had to tie my phone to any \"ecosystem\". I had \"sideloaded\" all the APKs for the software I used on the old phone and saved the APKs. Moving to a new phone was just a matter of loading all the software and copying my rsync'd backups onto the new phone. ", "context": "sideloads APKs, avoids Google Play", "use_case": "mobile OS with sideloaded APKs", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Your Phone Is About to Stop Being Yours: 70 Days Until Lockdown"}, {"id": 803313504, "item_id": 50207094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50207094", "by": "leoedin", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android has a far better keyboard and notification system.", "excerpt": "Yeah, give me the iPhone's hardware running Android please. I switched to iPhone because my Android phones kept dying due to hardware issues. Android has a far better keyboard and notification system. Give me it any day.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile operating system", "switched_from": "", "story": "Run full iOS 16.5 firmware on Android Devices"}, {"id": 800906976, "item_id": 50056686, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50056686", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "you may as well just fork Android and go from there. Because Android is open source and already has billions of apps.", "excerpt": "Well then he is missing my point. Which may mean I was unclear, or course. My point was that \"Linux on Mobile\" seems to be mentioned a lot when talking about an alternative to evil BigTech. The thing is, if you want to fork something and make it a modern mobile OS, you may as well just fork Android and go from there. Because Android is open source and already has billions of apps. Microsoft didn't make an open source", "context": "", "use_case": "base for mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?"}, {"id": 798712352, "item_id": 49919522, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49919522", "by": "bob1029", "date": "2026-10-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Looking back at android in 2026, I don't see any remaining upside.", "excerpt": "Android used to be the open option for me. I moved to Apple because I got tired of buying a new phone every 12 months and dealing with really bad OS updates (bricked phones). It felt like a major sacrifice at the time. Looking back at android in 2026, I don't see any remaining upside.", "context": "moved to Apple", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fuck Android Developer Verification Program"}, {"id": 798454304, "item_id": 49903394, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49903394", "by": "JeremyNT", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I would describe the experience as... passable.", "excerpt": "Android actually does have a desktop mode when you connect an external display. I'm not sure how much this is standardized / merged into AOSP, but I use it with my stock Pixel 10 Pro. I would describe the experience as... passable. Historically it was quite glitchy but recent OS updates have improved it. The biggest issues resolve around apps which do not scale their UIs correctly.", "context": "uses a stock Pixel 10 Pro", "use_case": "desktop mode with external display", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google ending ChromeOS support two years early"}, {"id": 797779857, "item_id": 49861241, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49861241", "by": "hadrien01", "date": "2026-09-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Android without a Google account", "excerpt": "I use Android without a Google account and I have access to banking (bank apps through Aurora Store, and NFC works without a Google account).", "context": "uses Android without a Google account", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock"}, {"id": 797275457, "item_id": 49829716, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49829716", "by": "radicalbyte", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "They've broken Android too, you can't even set it up with multiple languages", "excerpt": "I absolutely hate that YouTube is doing that; I'm Dutch/English so obviously fluent in both languages yet YouTube randomly decides to give me this horrific AI dub for some Dutch videos. They've broken Android too, you can't even set it up with multiple languages. I use three daily - Dutch / English / American - and also a bit of German / French / Spanish / Italian here and there. Plus of course Latin because on my En", "context": "multilingual user", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Meta takes down a critical video about meta AI Glasses after filming at Meta"}, {"id": 797100897, "item_id": 49818806, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49818806", "by": "BatchJob", "date": "2026-09-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to android because everything iOS does is to continually put focus on iOS.", "excerpt": "iOS has essentially been nagware for a long time now. I switched to android because everything iOS does is to continually put focus on iOS. So many nagging prompts, so much broken/misleading configuration. iOS is now the hellstew du jour. Android is with the exception of Gemini, a peaceful computing platform. Also developing for iOS which I did for a long time will turn you off iOS when you see how slow the apps are ", "context": "former iOS developer", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 796147440, "item_id": 49759215, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49759215", "by": "VCFundedGenYer", "date": "2026-09-18", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Android has been so thoroughly disappointing through the years.", "excerpt": "Android has been so thoroughly disappointing through the years. Started as a great open free form alternative to iOS, to becoming the very thing it sought to combat.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Android 17 is the first since 3.x to add new APIs without releasing to the AOSP"}, {"id": 795457606, "item_id": 49716100, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49716100", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android is pretty much on par with iOS", "excerpt": "I mean every OS breaks I love Linux (first used it when I was 12yo in 1994), but I also had a Mac since 2007 and macOS never broke for me? The other thing is that even basic stuff like calendars, address books, etc. work many times better on macOS than the Linux desktop. For instance, last time I set up calendar sync in KOrganizer (Evolution-based CalDAV never worked well for me) about a year ago, it started triggeri", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Leaving Linux"}, {"id": 795345728, "item_id": 49709108, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49709108", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm going to an OS that works.", "excerpt": "I switched to iPhone for 2-3 months but the keyboard was so back I switched back to Android. If Apple can't get a keyboard (any keyboard!) to work in a decade, I'm going to an OS that works. It's crazy that SwiftKey was terrible too, even though it's the one I use exclusively on Android.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 789132432, "item_id": 49320777, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49320777", "by": "temp0826", "date": "2026-08-16", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Android (the only current realistic alternative; I don't have the time nor care to fiddle with technical details on a device that I need to be a reliable tool.", "excerpt": "My current excuse? Android (the only current realistic alternative; I don't have the time nor care to fiddle with technical details on a device that I need to be a reliable tool. I'm not afraid of going deep on something less standard, Linux has been my daily driven OS for literally decades) is trash and untrustworthy in my experience. Browser extensions alone are not nearly enough to tip the scale for me to go back ", "context": "Linux user for decades", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Firefox for iOS now has a native adblocker"}, {"id": 787036578, "item_id": 49189786, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49189786", "by": "tester457", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There's a powerlessness to using Android.", "excerpt": "There's a powerlessness to using Android. It's difficult to just do things. Even windows feels more \"free.\" Phone OSes are built like prisons. Ideally Android would let you drop into a real shell, without having to deal with android sandboxing. Regardless, I use termux and tasker to get my automations done.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux"}, {"id": 787003298, "item_id": 49187706, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49187706", "by": "devinprater", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "If Google can stand having poor Braille support on Android, fine, I'll use an iPhone.", "excerpt": "Totally blind person. I once had this bright idea that the blind community could fix Linux into our perfect platform. I don't care all that much anymore about anything being fixed, foss or not. FOSS is everyone scratching their own itch, and if a developer who can see creates a program that scratches his itch but isn't accessible, but his itch is scratched, why would he then spend time fixing it up for the one blind ", "context": "Totally blind person", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The \"Disability Dongle\": Why Silicon Valley Hates Me and You"}, {"id": 784001665, "item_id": 49000104, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49000104", "by": "annzabelle", "date": "2026-07-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I think it makes the most sense to stick with stock Android.", "excerpt": "I've been looking into GrapheneOS as a longtime Pixel user who is thinking of becoming a bit more security conscious. But, looking around at its current state RE: RCS and camera apps, I think it makes the most sense to stick with stock Android. I also have a really niche feature I rely on daily (letting me \"wifi call\" from one sim over the data line of the other sim), and it's really hard to tell if GrapheneOS suppor", "context": "longtime Pixel user", "use_case": "daily driver phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Roblox Officially Supports GrapheneOS"}, {"id": 783825425, "item_id": 48989089, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48989089", "by": "dgfl", "date": "2026-07-21", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I realized how awful of an OS modern android is when I bought an iPad.", "excerpt": "I realized how awful of an OS modern android is when I bought an iPad. I later fully switched to iOS and never looked back. Point is, sometimes people just have different experiences from you.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Qwen 3.8 Max Preview"}, {"id": 783063984, "item_id": 48941499, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48941499", "by": "hagbard_c", "date": "2026-07-16", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Android but I do not use Google", "excerpt": "Nope, they're not rational actors by supporting marketing-driven limitations. These limitations are not needed to create a well-working device, they're only there to keep the profits up because heavens forbid, someone might offer an alternative which allows users to get their software fix without paying their pound of flesh to the app store. The example you gave on it not just being you who needs to change but the fa", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS without Google services", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reynard: A real Firefox web browser for iOS 13 or later"}, {"id": 782917920, "item_id": 48932370, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932370", "by": "pjjpo", "date": "2026-07-16", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I have felt Android get less stable with pretty much every release for many years now", "excerpt": "While I don't want to ruin this thread with coming out, I can't find a better place - sorry. While I have a guess on what elephant everyone is thinking about, I wonder if it's just the stock market - at a higher level capitalism itself. I have felt Android get less stable with pretty much every release for many years now, well before the current boom. I think this is all a long term trend devaluing craftsmanship, wit", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?"}, {"id": 782741392, "item_id": 48921337, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48921337", "by": "dilawar", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Rebooting is the only way, android is like windows currently.", "excerpt": "I use cheap android devices. My current one is a cheap Motorola and before samsung and Chinese vendors. I've never seen bugs like I have encountere since the last update (2 months ago). Unless I reboot the device everyday, I can't make a call. The button is pressed but never proceeds to ring, doesn't even show an error message. The play service complains that I am logged out but shows my account info in the login pan", "context": "uses cheap Android devices", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?"}, {"id": 782501409, "item_id": 48906338, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48906338", "by": "adjejmxbdjdn", "date": "2026-07-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The obvious, both contemporaneous and in hindsight, choice was to go with Android", "excerpt": "Even if one assumes that Windows Phone was wonderful (and a long WP7 user, I\u2019m sympathetic to this view), it still doesn\u2019t follow that Windows Phone didn\u2019t kill Nokia. - Windows Phone had no brand value. It didn\u2019t add to the Nokia brand. It detracted from it - Windows Phone allowed very minimal UI customization. This meant that Nokia could add little to no Nokia specific functionality - Windows Phone allowed minimal ", "context": "long-time WP7 user", "use_case": "Nokia's phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Nokia's 14 Years of Mobile-Phone Supremacy Ended in an Afternoon"}, {"id": 782161936, "item_id": 48885121, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48885121", "by": "dredmorbius", "date": "2026-07-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I'm increasingly not a fan of Android in any form", "excerpt": "I'd split this question into a set of parts: - Why to read? - How to read (from a literary / skills perspective)? - What to read: authors, topics, books, etc? - How to read (practice / technology)? Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book addresses most of the first three questions, and ... would be a good book to read itself. For an overview of it: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book> (Wikipedia) <https://a", "context": "", "use_case": "e-reader operating system", "switched_from": "", "story": "How to Read More Books"}, {"id": 780137008, "item_id": 48758563, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48758563", "by": "mpfect", "date": "2026-07-02", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom.", "excerpt": "This is exactly why I use Android over iOS, for software freedom. If Google forces ADV and locks out F-Droid, they remove the single biggest differentiator between the two platforms. Making Play Protect into a forced gatekeeper instead of an opt-in security scanner is a massive bait-and-switch for users who care about digital sovereignty.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}, {"id": 780118208, "item_id": 48757388, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48757388", "by": "nusuth31416", "date": "2026-07-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Android because it lets me install whatever I want on my phone", "excerpt": "I use Android because it lets me install whatever I want on my phone, which it does not seem to me, controversial. The phone is either mine or it is not. I don't want Google's protection. Particularly, if I can't refuse it.", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "A new Android malware from Google"}, {"id": 763273568, "item_id": 47704598, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47704598", "by": "functionmouse", "date": "2026-04-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "it may be time to abandon Android as a whole, now that it's moving away from its open source model", "excerpt": "Samsung doesn't get nearly enough hate. Any day is a great day to tell your friends at length how terrible Samsung products are! Though it may be time to abandon Android as a whole, now that it's moving away from its open source model. I used Android over iOS because I liked the control, and being able to install my own software. If my rights are taken from me here as well, though, why should I continue to use the in", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "A mysterious ghost admin is digitally bricking Samsung phones"}, {"id": 759298464, "item_id": 47456154, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47456154", "by": "marssaxman", "date": "2026-03-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The fact that I can sideload whatever I need and stay out of Google's ecosystem is the whole reason I use Android.", "excerpt": "Well, this sucks. The fact that I can sideload whatever I need and stay out of Google's ecosystem is the whole reason I use Android. Given the miserable choice between two fully locked-down platforms, why would I pick theirs?", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Android: Balancing Openness and Choice with Safety"}, {"id": 752263984, "item_id": 47016499, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47016499", "by": "qnleigh", "date": "2026-02-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there's just aren't any usability bugs that I deal with on Android anymore.", "excerpt": "It's so strange, when I switched to Android, it felt like iPhones had more polish and fewer glitches like these. But there's just aren't any usability bugs that I deal with on Android anymore. I think the blog explains why people put up with such a buggy OS: > I randomly tried Android again for a few months last spring. Using a functioning keyboard was revelatory. But I came crawling back to iOS because I'm weak and ", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Apple, fix my keyboard before the timer ends or I'm leaving iPhone"}, {"id": 748113488, "item_id": 46757093, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46757093", "by": "asadm", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Android does not suck anymore.", "excerpt": "iOS has fallen behind, I am struggling to use apps and even type on new liquid glass. My 2TB photo library is useless with the current photos app. I am trying out Pixel 10 on the side and I HIGHLY recommend it! Android does not suck anymore. I am in process of migrating stuff over slowly.", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "iOS", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}, {"id": 748055680, "item_id": 46753480, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46753480", "by": "middayc", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I was never an iOS user, or developer - exactly because Android was more \"open\"", "excerpt": "I was never an iOS user, or developer - exactly because Android was more \"open\", exerted less control over a user of the device. The same reason I use Linux for 25 years (not ideological, but it just makes most sense by far). In time where this view (win11 vs. Linux) is starting to make sense to more and more people, few rare config nuances are getting easier to solve due to LLM-s, going into the opposite direction w", "context": "developer, Linux user for 25 years", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}, {"id": 748035264, "item_id": 46752204, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46752204", "by": "BatteryMountain", "date": "2026-01-25", "stance": "warn", "quote": "If the make sideloading high-friction, either via account-bound or apk upload or permissions from MNO/ISP, I will leave android.", "excerpt": "If the make sideloading high-friction, either via account-bound or apk upload or permissions from MNO/ISP, I will leave android. I have a bunch of my own apps that only I use, not released to the public, if I cannot use them, I have zero reason to stay on android. I think one of the reasons they want to lockdown the system is to prevent guys like me from locking THEM out of my home/ecosystems, as and example, I build", "context": "builds own apps and launchers", "use_case": "mobile OS and custom launchers", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android"}, {"id": 747684560, "item_id": 46730285, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46730285", "by": "shantnutiwari", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "until I used an Android, and it just worked", "excerpt": "The autocorrect is a real pain, especially when you are using a correct and grammatical word, but Apple decides, F&ck you, you will use this other word instead. And the text select has been broken for years, as the site points out. I thought it was a mobile thing until I used an Android, and it just worked. These are minor irritations, but they are adding up so much so I'm thinking about Android...", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bugs Apple Loves"}, {"id": 745566977, "item_id": 46597936, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46597936", "by": "usr1106", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Android without Google account 2024 - now", "excerpt": "I run my personal PauseOS since the early 2000s. 1. My phones are always data offline, except when I use the internet browser to read news or retrieve information. If someone wants to contact me they can send SMS or call. 2. There is no email client configured on my phone. 3. GPS is always off (not so much for pausing reasons, but to maintain orienteering skills and resist surveillance capitalism I used SymbianOS 200", "context": "", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "PauseOS: Distraction-Free Phone OS"}, {"id": 745493792, "item_id": 46593362, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46593362", "by": "hashta", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I stayed with Android because I think Google will win here.", "excerpt": "I\u2019m a long time Android user and almost switched to iPhone last year. Mostly because I use macOS and wanted better integration and also wanted to try it. Another big factor was the AI assistant. I stayed with Android because I think Google will win here. Apple will probably avoid losing users to their biggest competitor by reaching rough parity using the same models", "context": "long time Android user", "use_case": "phone OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple picks Google's Gemini to power Siri"}, {"id": 740326289, "item_id": 46270393, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46270393", "by": "l1feh4ck", "date": "2025-12-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "In android it is as easy as clicking on the letter \u201cb\u201d and backspace then correct it to \u201cd\u201d", "excerpt": "I switched to iPhone from android three years ago and it still frustrates me when I have to edit a word. Say I accidentally typed ebit instead of edit. In android it is as easy as clicking on the letter \u201cb\u201d and backspace then correct it to \u201cd\u201d In ios, I have to long press the space key to move around and or do some circus to edit it. I don\u2019t understand why Apple does this.", "context": "", "use_case": "text editing on keyboard", "switched_from": "", "story": "iPhone Typos? It's Not Just You \u2013 The iOS Keyboard Is Broken [video]"}, {"id": 738686321, "item_id": 46167895, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46167895", "by": "Aerbil313", "date": "2025-12-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Still miles better than Android though, in which the OS is still an active warzone", "excerpt": "My turn to complain about bugs. I used to balk at people when they complained about bugs on MacOS/iOS. My iPhone 7 which I used for 7 years straight, was more bug-free than my current iPhone 15 Pro. There\u2019s no shortage of visual bugs with iOS 26, but that\u2019s not my point. Recently I had to restart my phone (literally unheard of in Apple land) because I put it in Guided Access and it wasn\u2019t possible to get it out witho", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple\u2019s head of user interface design, Alan Dye, will join Meta"}, {"id": 737062849, "item_id": 46066428, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46066428", "by": "fsflover", "date": "2025-11-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Android's sandboxes are weaker and AFAIK rely on closed, non-auditable hardware", "excerpt": "Qubes is a much more secure alternative to Android without its main downside, which is that Google owns it and steers its development toward enshittification and control [0]. The latter even affects security directly [1]. Android's sandboxes are weaker and AFAIK rely on closed, non-auditable hardware (which is owned by Google in, e.g., GrapheneOS). Qubes protects you more reliably and doesn't require to abandon root ", "context": "", "use_case": "mobile OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google's new 'Aluminium OS' project brings Android to PC"}]}