Android is struggling to keep its market share in the United States, as Apple continues to take over in the market. But, despite Android as a whole losing ground, Google Pixel phones are becoming a bigger slice of the US market.

Counterpoint Research reports that, in Q2 2023, US smartphone shipments dropped by 24% year-over-year. That includes both iPhones and Android phones, and virtually every brand saw a drop in shipments. Samsung saw US shipments drop by 37% while Motorola saw a 17% drop. TCL saw the biggest decline at just shy of 70% year-over-year, and even Apple saw a 6% drop.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 4 points 3 years ago (5 children)

I use a pixel and I have a hard time justifying a different phone.

Maybe things have changed but the last Samsung I had was an S7 and I didn't like it. It suffered from bloat and didn't last all that long. Battery issues and the screen started to lose sensitivity.

I've used iphones and they aren't bad, but I really dislike apple's app store and effort to control everything on my phone. Also everytime a new phone came out my old phone became next to unusable for a month.

I got a pixel 3 and loved it, now I have a pixel 6 and don't see changing my phone any time soon or going to a non-pixel phone. They last a long time, they work well with everything and the camera is excellent.

  • source
  • hideshow 10 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    The maddening thing is how much effort Samsung wastes duplicating basic gapps. Their contacts manager, calendar, etc has no real advantages over the Google ones. Just focus on the hardware and overall experience? Stop wasting time reinventing the wheel. Same with their app store. I've had an S20 for the last 4 years. Used Samsung since the S2 which I still have. And am looking at a pixel to replace it since my security updates are running out.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    The maddening thing is how much effort Samsung wastes duplicating basic gapps. Their contacts manager, calendar, etc has no real advantages over the Google ones.

    They do have advantages over the google ones though. One big advantage is that "they're not google ones".

    Stop wasting time reinventing the wheel. Same with their app store.

    A google monopoly should be the last thing anyone wants. You should be wishing more developers would put their apps on the Samsung Store along with any other stores.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    I've used https://shop.fairphone.com/ for a while now, a bit less slick and more expensive, but I'm very satisfied. I already degoogled completely, can't have a Google phone now :D

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Can you explain what you mean by bloat with the s7? I have that and like my phone, just wondering why others don't.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    I remember having an S6 and it come with so many apps preinstalled that you can't uninstall. There's the default Google/android apps which is fine because those are the basics. Then Samsung puts a bunch of their own apps on there that basically duplicates a bunch of these and can't be uninstalled, and then there's other bloat apps like Facebook, maybe candy crush or some shit, maybe Netflix, that all can't be uninstalled. The worst offender is Facebook because it was on almost any other phone not running stock android but supposedly had deeper privileges as a "system" app

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    There’s the default Google/android apps which is fine because those are the basics.

    And this is the problem, and it's absurd that google haven't been stopped from doing this by any anti-competition regulators. Samsung don't want google apps on their phones, they have to have them. Samsung make their own, and they're often better than googles and are far more integrated into the OS.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    They don't have to have them. Mine doesn't.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    They have to from the factory.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 0 points 3 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    What Samsung phones come without google apps and google play services installed?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 3 years ago (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    So you’re just contradicting yourself then, and admitting it…….

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 0 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    ...nope

    You're conflating having them with "have to have" them.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    No I’m not. They have to have them because google forces them on all phones that have google play services.

    You seem confused. Do you even understand what’s being discussed here?

    Samsung do not sell a single phone that doesn’t have all the google bloat apps on it. You can’t remove them. You disagreed, then agreed, then disagreed within 3 posts.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -1 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    They have to have them because google forces them on all phones that have google play services.

    No they don't.

    You seem confused. Do you even understand what’s being discussed here?

    Samsung do not sell a single phone that doesn’t have all the google bloat apps on it.

    You're the one who is confused. I've been saying the same thing the whole time: that "Google bloat" is not required. I know because I don't have it and have removed it from several devices.

    You keep reiterating that none of them don't have this Google software, as if it contradicts the previous statement, but it does not.

    Once again, having this software doesn't mean that they have to have this software.

    This is the last time I'll be repeating myself.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago)

    No they don’t.

    They literally do. It's part of the licensing for using Google Play Services.

    https://www.androidauthority.com/google-oem-licensing-345806/

    In other words, if you really want just Google Play on your handset, too bad. In order to get the Play Store, an OEM has to agree to install all the other ‘required’ Google apps including Google Voice Search, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk (now Hangouts), Google Maps and so on.

    I’ve been saying the same thing the whole time: that “Google bloat” is not required. I know because I don’t have it and have removed it from several devices.

    If that's what you've been saying then again, you're 100% demonstrably wrong. Removing it is not the same as it not being there in the first place. Rooting a device or using ADB to remove something doesn't mean it's "not removable" in the way that people talk about it.

    You are 100% wrong and making a fool of yourself. If Samsung want to release a phone with Google Play Services, which is needed to run most android apps, they have to include 20+ Google apps and make them non-removable. If you think this is wrong, you are wrong.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    I don't know what OP is talking about, by the time the S7 came around the bloat was already heavily reduced, I'm on an S10E still and think it's one of the best phones ever, apart from the lackluster battery maybe. But current day Samsung Android I don't consider bloated.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (4 children)

    I have a hard time justifying a different phone

    A pixel doesn't have SD card slot or 3.5 mm jack. My Xperia 1V has both. There. Justified.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    I mean most consumers don't care about those 🤷‍♀️

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] -5 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    most consumers have shit taste 🤷‍♀️

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Or those features just aren't that useful in modern phones...

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    If I'm paying flagship money then I want all features that's even slightly useful

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    You know I used to be with you on the SD card slot thing because phones used to have barely any internal storage. But now we're seeing phones with hundreds of GB of onboard storage and having an SD card expansion on top of that feels wholly unnecessary.

    I'm with you on the 3.5mm jack tho.

  • source
  • parent