Google Encouraging Samsung To Kill Bixby and Galaxy App Store: Reports

RejZoR · July 30, 2020

6 hours ago, comander said:

Depending on your definition of degoogled, many can be, if not entirely then in part.

There's part of me that as an exercise wants a bare minimum personal phone. Ddg + VPN + signal and not much else...

With that said I'm basically living off of gdocs now so...

By de-googled I mean like having a custom ROM install where you don't also install Gapps. That kind of DeGoogling. So you can have your phone still fully protected without any root or unlocked bootloader. But can always return back to Googled version so it's not a one way method. I wanted that route with LineageOS, but after banking apps started shitting themselves on a phone that was not even rooted, I basically had no choice. And because Google is so creepy I decided to get rid of it and bought iPhone. Despite always saying I don't like it and how most its users are pretentious and smug idiots who only have an iPhone because it's a status symbol. Well, people are still that, although I did find some good perks with Apple. Device is very solid from hardware perspective and I didn't even buy the top spec one. And its brightest spot is actually iOS despite all Android users mocking it. The whole updating and assurance I'll have long lasting updates is just sublime. And it actually "just works" even if some things are done in very Apple way. When you get used to it it's actually very pleasant to use where Android always felt like it's a fan hobby project like LineageOS (and that isn't meant as negative for the LineageOS guys doing hard work and offering it for free, but from perspective where multibillion corporations don't do that much better).

The fact I've also ditched Google in its entirety elsewhere and I'm using alternatives instead of Google services and apps made transition very easy really. And if some miracle happens on Android side (unlikely, seeing how Google is getting even more cancerous), going back won't be a problem since I'm not really locked into Apple's ecosystem. I'm not really using anything from them either, apart from the device and its OS. The wonders of using alternative services that work just as good as anything from these mega corporations. Search engines, mail services, browser, navigation and maps, cloud storage etc. It's all independent and not tied to any OS provider. For as long as they offer apps and services for whatever platforms are around, I'm good. Which is why I don't like Google invading shit and monopolizing the segment.

linkboy · July 30, 2020

I'm ok with Bixby going back to the depths of hell from whence it came, but killing the Galaxy Store will make it hard to get apps for Samsung's watches since they run Tizen instead of Android Wear.

mr moose · July 30, 2020

9 hours ago, Agatong said:

But how many people who use Samsung phones just attach it to their Gmail account anyways and you still have to accept to Google's TOS when setting up a Samsung phone, so I really do not see it being Google isn't getting enough people's data from Samsung, I believe that Google just wants Samsung to stop using there so so software and just start using Google software like Android was made for, The last Samsung phone I bought was full of unnecessary crap pre installed and took me a few days to get it all setup properly, but it has also been about 6 years since I have owned a Samsung phone.

Likely lots, while gmail is popular it bar far isn't the only email, many people (particularly the older generations) still use hotmail and company domains. Hell I know a few that still have yahoo accounts.