Android Pie: Everything you need to know about Android 9

Android Central ^ | July 22, 2019 | Android Central

[fireman15]

The time of a new Android operating system is now upon us, with the venerable Android 8 (aka Oreo) setting in the west and the sparkling, new Android 9 (aka Pie) rising in the east. This latest iteration of the world's most popular mobile operating system tackles screen addiction and reimagines how we interact with Android with new gestures. It also refreshes the look and feel of Android to be more Google-like. Android 9.0 is an Editors' Choice, along with Apple's iOS 12.

[fireman15]

My parents, who are in their 80s were complaining about the Samsung Galaxy S3 phones I got them used a couple of years ago. It's not like they are power users, but they have a bunch of Apps installed from grocery stores, Medicare supplemental insurance, etc. along with liking to use Google Maps. My mom loves to play these fake slot machine games; she has something like $40 million dollars in fake winnings on one of them. So their S3 phones were starting to get bogged down. I could probably have done some tweaking on them to get them working better, but they also felt like their phones weren't as good as their friend's phones and their grandkids' phones. Sometimes it feels like they are turning into elderly teens.

My wife has a bunch of elderly friends who swear by their iPhones so that is the direction I was planning to go with them. But iPhones are fairly pricey even for older ones on eBay with limited memory and specs. So a couple weeks ago on "Prime Day" I bought them and my wife new unlocked Moto G6 32GB phones which took the Android 9 update when we got them. They were $110 a piece along with some $5 name brand 32GB micro SD cards. they actually will work with all domestic carriers. I tried my wife's first on a T-Mobile GSM network MVNO (discount carrier) that I had a SIM card for and it had much better reception than the phone I had been using the SIM in. So then I got some Sprint SIMs and switched everyone over to a Sprint group plan which is CDMA. Normally CDMA and GSM network phones are not compatible, but these MOTO G6 phones work on both.

So the phones look good, my only complaint is that the max call volume is not quite loud enough for me. But my parents and wife like them. There are a few growing pains switching from phones that were originally released 9 years ago to more my more recent phones but it is probably less traumatic for them than a switch to a completely different OS and at a fraction of the cost of an iPhone with comparable specs.

[fireman15]

Sorry, I screwed up the post, the excerpt is from a different article. I was cutting and pasting on a tablet.

[fireman15]

The author of the linked article is Joe Maring and the date was April 19, 2019.

[Moonman62]

My mom loves to play these fake slot machine games; she has something like $40 million dollars in fake winnings on one of them.

...

That amuses me.

[Red Badger]

Android π..............

[freds6girlies]

bookmark

[TomGuy]

The main problem I have with android/smartphones is the bloatware.

I initially had a MOTO E and upgraded to an LG Rebel 3. Both have so much junk that they quit being able to upgrade because there was no room to intall app upgrades. Android would not allow me to delete most pre-installed apps. I could only return to the their initial installation status.

So far with my LG Rebel 4 I have not had the problem of running out of space.

I could delete 3/4 of the pre-installed stuff as I find most of it useless or unnecessary.

[King_Corey]

I really want a GOOGLE free version of Android. Something where I remove their ability to track me back to google but it still works like a smart phone.
I use BRAVE for a browser, I don’t have Amazon or Facebook installed nor any of it’s subsidiaries, but to get the Google out of the phone I’d have to go to iPhone, and I’m not willing to go over to Apple. A dumbphone is starting to look like the best option to stop being tracked by the evil empire of Alphabet the communist loving corporation.

[McGruff]

“It also refreshes the look and feel of Android to be more Google-like”

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.

[CatOwner]

We purchased a couple of Samsung S5 Actives two years ago as our first smartphones. Unfortunately, the chipset in these are limited to Android 6, so this yet another OS we can't "upgrade" to.

OTOH, we use these phones almost exclusively for texting and phone calls. Occasionally, I will use mine to look up a map or for a quick Internet search. No email. No added apps other than the one I added for music (JetAudio). No logging into financial accounts. No depositing checks through phone images. No waving the phone over wireless payment devices at retail stores. No social accounts to post to.

Too many people, especially the younger generations, are tying up their lives on smartphones. Good luck when the SHTF.

[cyberstoic]

“The main problem I have with android/smartphones is the bloatware”

The main problem I have with android smart phones is google. For amusement, I put a VPN on my android and monitored google web traffic and access. With the phone on, idle and with no one using it, the android contacted google’s servers over 3000 times in a day. Info like What apps are being used, your location, what websites you visit, and on and on. It should be noted that I don’t use Gmail, google maps or any other Google services. 3000 times a day. When I bought the phone I didn’t understand that even if I use no Google services that they get to surveil me to that extent. Too creepy. And since Google hates conservative and real Americans, I see little reason to let them profit from the details of me life and use that info to try to manipulate and control me.

I read today on FR that Google is apparently colluding with the Chinese in developing AI technology. I am done with all things google.

After using android since the G1 in 2009, I ended up buying a mint condition iPhone 6S+ for 200 on swappa. I don’t really like it but doing the same test, the iPhone idle only contacts apple’s servers 10 times in a day and if I understand the data sent, it is for quality and stability purposes.

[Paladin2]

"t also refreshes the look and feel of Android to be more Google-like"

This is a GOOD thing?

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

As I have posted else where, IMHO Google is the 3rd most evil entity on the planet. Got to give North Korea and Iran their due. I’ve had this Galaxy 3 Lite for 3 or 4 years. Play solitaire, Sudoku and read FR, nothing else. To this day the device hangs for off and on for 5 to 10 seconds while Android is communicating with itself all over the planet once it sees an internet connection.

I did software from the 60s to ‘07 and this type of activity behind the users back is inexcusable. Use to have a smart phone and got rid of it. It was definitely too smart for me. I want consistency and predictability. I see none of that in todays software.

Again, Google is evil, period.

[fireman15]

The main problem I have with android/smartphones is the bloatware.

These Moto G6 phones came preloaded with a few Amazon Apps, but not much other bloatware. I normally root and get rid of all the hairy BS crap apps. Samsung phones also have a big enough following that you can easily find a stripped downed custom ROM and install that if you don't feel like removing the goofball apps your self. These are my first non Samsung phones since I switched over from HTC EVOs a long time ago. But I have not bothered on these new phones because it wasn't really necessary. Android 9, Pie has some additional features that let you control the behavior of Apps more completely and more easily without rooting as compared with earlier versions of Android.

Weirdly enough they didn't even put the Amazon App Store on these “Alexa approved” phones. I usually install it on all of our Android devices because Amazon used to give away one pay app per day, and often had specials on other Apps for significant savings as compared to the Google App Store. So I have quite a collection of Apps from the Amazon App Store. To me the Amazon App Store doesn't seem quite as intrusive as the Google Store.

[fireman15]

The main problem I have with android smart phones is google. For amusement, I put a VPN on my android and monitored google web traffic and access. With the phone on, idle and with no one using it, the android contacted google’s servers over 3000 times in a day.

I hear what you are saying and agree with you, but Android is easy to root in almost all cases and you can take control back, especially if you install a custom ROM. The situation is similar to Microsoft vs Apple. Android now had around 80% of the market for the last several years. It has grown to over 85% in the past couple of years.

Apple is actually starting to falter. "Apple’s phone market share took a double-digit hit, Samsung and Huawei gained."

https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-market-share-2019-q2-1015107/

But just like devices made to run Windows Android devices are fairly easy to modify if you have the inclination to do so for whatever reason that you have.

[Windflier]

Android is easy to root in almost all cases and you can take control back, especially if you install a custom ROM.

Please define "root" and "ROM". I'd like to know what those terms mean, so that I can get an initial grasp on what it is I have to do to improve my old Android phone. It's about five years old.

[ShadowAce]

I really want a GOOGLE free version of Android.

Purism Librem 5

[fireman15]

Rooting an Android phone is when you defeat the protection that keeps the user from having access to all parts of the phone’s operating system. If you do a search for your phone’s model number and root, you will most likely find several different methods to choose from and usually someone has posted step by step directions.

Once you have rooted your phone you can install apps that you can use to delete or disable any built in app just like if you tried one from the Google Play store and decided that you didn’t like it. The most popular app for doing this with a rooted phone is called Titanium Backup... as you might guess from the name it allows you to backup all of your apps, your operating system and has a multitude of other functions.

A custom ROM is an operating system that someone other than the manufacturer, or carrier has prepared for your phone. Depending on the type of phone that you have there could be many custom ROMs available. People prepare custom ROMs for a variety of purposes, most often for increased performance, but also for persons with concerns about their privacy especially with older phones.

[Windflier]

Thanks for the explanation. Very helpful data.

[cyberstoic]

I have rooted androids in the past and run google free. The problem is not all phones can be rooted, have their bootloaders unlocked, etc. The /e/ project has a device ready to go with google free android but they are in Europe and the phone does not appear to have T-Mobile frequency. Same with the Librem 5 just launching. Secure and google free but lacking the late bands I need.