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by animatethrow 354 days ago
At least with Windows one can 100% disable start menu ads using either gpedit or regedit. A major reason I switched from iOS to Android are the much more powerful adblocking options for browsers (Brave, Firefox, etc.). On Android I can use F-Droid and Aurora Store and install a bunch of Google Play Store apps without a Google account. I can use a proper terminal with a real filesystem and git.
2 comments
seec 353 days ago
Yep, those are the things (among others) I wish I could have on my iPhone. I'll eventually switch but I need to choose a replacement for the Apple Watch and find a way to migrate/convert all the health data.

It feels so bad to have to leave, there are still some nice apps that I really like on iOS and have no true equivalent on Android.

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cadamsdotcom 354 days ago
I’m getting close to switching after over 16 years as a happy iPhone user.. what downsides have you faced in the switch?
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animatethrow 354 days ago
Only downside is no blue bubbles texting family, ha ha. Seriously, the switch was easy. My Samsung phone included a migration app that transferred over all photos and other important stuff from my old iPhone. I love the Samsung S-Pen, something you can't get on iPhone.
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latexr 354 days ago
Samsung is doing considerably worse than showing ads in notifications.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44358999

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animatethrow 353 days ago
One can choose to have neither a Samsung Account nor a Google Account on a Samsung phone, as I have done, and use F-Droid and Aurora Store as I mentioned in a parent comment. The linked video shows that all the settings needed to disable the bad behavior are already included on the device with a nice UI. Meanwhile with an iPhone one is stuck with the App Store and Apple can and has remotely deleted apps. Apple has deleted data tethering apps. Apple has deleted the VPN apps of Chinese users. Apple also is trying to memory hole that time it was going to scan one's private photos on one's own phone. It's very clear iPhone users do not have the final say over who ultimately controls their devices.
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latexr 353 days ago
Your response didn’t make a lot of sense to me, so I rechecked and realised I provided the wrong link above. I haven’t watched that video, I miscopied when searching HN. I meant to share another post.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44334167

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