Google's Nexii stand tall among Android's insecure swill Nexus devices are, unsurprisingly, the most secure Androids, says security outfit Duo. The devices are regarded as Google's flagship Android device on account of its operating system running the stock Android open source project (AOSP). Android phones from other manufacturers nearly always add custom modifications and are …
>it's a shitfest, all of it
I have found Android to be perfect for a secondary back up phone(primary phone an iPhone works pays for and got just so I would be jacking with roms on it, need it to just work). I got an old Galaxy Nexus for near nothing and can still get Cyanogenmod 13 updated roms off XDA for it. Encrypt it slap F-Droid on it with no user accounts and you got yourself a good bathroom/bathtub phone. Still the only Android phones I would ever buy both in or out of warranty are the Nexus line because they are the ones you will be able to get the aftermarket roms for the longest.
Yeah, but like many phones it's an assembly of bits from Qualcomm, Sony and Samsung (SoC, camera, screen). Who has actually glued them together matters less (in this context) than the understanding you have with the vendor, Google.
Huaweii don't sell a phone under their own name that resembles the Nexus 6P, as was the case with some earlier Nexii and LG, and also they are fond of putting their own skin on Android.
"Users often keep their mobile phones for multiple years, so making the right security choice when buying sets you up to be protected against new threats for years to come." Which is why after 7 years of android I joined the fruity crowd. Customise whatever you like on android, but for me security trumps any cosmetic benefits.
And still some stuff you can't customise on Android, or at least there are little niggles that can't be cured, any more than you can 'customise' an iPhone to use the FM radio functionality built into its Qualcomm modem.
When listening to Google Play or Spotify on Android, adjusting the volume from the handset results in some unpleasant 'plop' noises, even if playing through a Chromecast Audio device. Why would anyone want their music interrupted by this loud beeping? Strangely, this irritating behaviour doesn't occur in the BBC iPlayer Radio app. It just seems strange that Google have pushed Google Play music, developed and sold Chromecast hardware - yet haven't removed this rough edge, something that would be trivial for them to do yet impossible for a user to fix.
"When listening to Google Play or Spotify on Android, adjusting the volume from the handset results in some unpleasant 'plop' noises"
Really? I live on spotify, earbuds on the train/plane or bluetoothed to my car. Never heard a pop from from changing the volume on either my phone (Nexus 6) or tablet (Nexus 7 2013).
Both work perfectly with my original Chromecast too.
Sounds like a driver/hardware issue with whatever device you have... Name and shame?
Sounds like a driver/hardware issue with whatever device you have... Name and shame?
Same here. Never had an issue with the audio quality on any of my Nexus devices (Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 5, and Nexus 6P). My only niggle with bluetooth has been fixed for a long time, as Google used to run a very outdated stack that wouldn't pass track info.
Agreed iPhone for many is kind of the way to go but don't think Apple will hesitate to pull support to get you to reup your pricey membership in the cool kids club. After all they ended up only supporting the original iPad for only a shade over two years. What can be annoying also about Apple's support is they can be rather ambiguous up front on how long they will support a product. That said from what I have seen you will get updates at least as long as Google promises on the Nexus.
My first-gen Nexus 7 is very secure. That's because the latest Android updates are so big and massive that it runs like a dog and is pretty well useless. Even reading an e-book sometimes takes seconds for the page to turn.
To be honest I'm have preferred an Android version that was a little less secure but could actually cope with the hardware. Shame on you Google!
Yep.
Because I don't have banking apps, Amazon accounts etc on my Android phone, I rate performance over security. I therefore don't install updates as soon as they arrive, but instead wait a month and see how other users have reported adverse effects of the update, such as greater power draw or slower performance. That was before I broke the screen on my flagship Sony, tho.
Now I'm using a 'good enough' (i.e not irritating) Huaweii that I bought half price for £45... and should I drop it or loose it in six month's time, there will be no tears. In two years time, £50 should get me a very capable phone, or £100 a very good one. Therefore it doesn't make sense to me spending £400 on a flagship spec phone just so that it be 'future proof'.
Please, don't use 'Nexii' as the plural of 'Nexus'!
It's a long time since I studied Latin but this construction makes me cringe. Go with 'Nexi' if you must, but 'Nexii' is like Romanised Gollum-speak.
Nexus is to Nexii as Tablet is to Tabletses.
And don't get me started on 'virii' or 'fungii'...
</rant>
Having switch to using a Nexus last year I am fairly happy with the update situation these days.
However I had an unlocked Samsung S4 and was getting almost monthly updates which cheered me up.
However those who are locked to carriers are pretty much doomed because carriers obstruct updates to keep their bloatware in place (don't tell me it's for network compatibility)
Samsung are not blameless for not so good updates but carriers should also be held to account
Ah yes, updates blocked for network compatibility... Yet in the last 6 months, my unlocked, and constantly updated Nexus has been on O2 in the UK, T-Mobile in Italy, Vodafone in the Netherlands and I have no idea what it was in Poland (£3, 4G and 4gig of data IIRC - Don't ask me, Polish friends just said "What size sim do you need", and nipped across the road to the supermarket!).
Networks need to learn to be dumb pipes. They add no value, just hurdles.
At least not when they are purchased and still running the "stock" OS they are not.
From the AOSP website: "After building an Android compatible device, consider licensing Google Mobile Services (GMS), Google’s proprietary suite of apps (Google Play, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, and more ) that run on top of Android. GMS is not part of the Android Open Source Project and is available only through a license with Google."
Applications like Hangouts do not run on a stock AOSP system. You need GMS. When you buy a Nexus device from Google directly, or from any "usual" provider, it comes not only with what is included in AOSP, but GMS and its components as well as any binaries needed to run important bits and bobs like Wi-Fi or GPS.
Sorry for the pedantic rant, but the fact that Google contributes very little of what your average user considers to be integral Android functionality back to AOSP gets my goat. Even if it is it their right.
>but the fact that Google contributes very little of what your average user considers to be integral Android functionality back to AOSP gets my goat.
Yeah Google and Silicon Valley subverting the spirit of the GPL by keeping the largely open source software services internal are what prompted Stallman to push v3.
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