[izzydata]

Almost all of this guys problems are the result of giving the user options that simply don't exist in iOS. If you really need your OS to tell you how YOU want to do things then I guess you really should go back to the locked down iOS.

Choices are hard. Apparently even choosing what phone was too hard.

[aaronem]

I often see the same argument made in defense of desktop Linux vs. Windows and OS X. It's a little more justifiable there, I suppose, but a phone is an appliance. Its job is to do the things I need it to do, to do those things well without fail. Otherwise, it's worse than useless, because it complicates my life rather than simplifying it.

Sure, as has been pointed out elsewhere, the iOS user interface is far from perfect. Judging by OP's experience, it's still a lot better than can be expected out of the vast majority of Android phones. It'd be one thing if that platform offered the options you so laud in a fashion which doesn't get in the way of satisfying the essential requirements of a pocket phone. Apparently, though, that platform fails to do so.

You can be just as contemptuous as you like of people who find Android unworthy of their time and money as a consequence. (Certainly nothing I say will change your mind! I've had enough arguments with Linux partisans to have realized that long since.) Your contempt for such people doesn't change the fact that Android has a problem.

[izzydata]

A phone is a computer and a user should be able to configure it however they want. If that isn't for you then don't use it, but that doesn't make customization an inherent flaw because someone doesn't personally want to deal with it.

[aaronem]

Customization isn't a flaw. Obsessing over customizability, to the point where you fail to notice glaring flaws in the user interface and the behavior of the device, is a flaw.

[magicalist]

This really is a false dichotomy. Being able to set different default apps isn't a huge thing to ask, doesn't alienate huge numbers of non-techies, and doesn't make an OS that does let you do so for tinkerers only or something. Conversely, asking for better UX for selecting which app to use doesn't imply that it's a bad idea that can only be serviced by a million knobs and buttons and so should be abandoned.

[aaronem]

Thanks for pointing out the lack of precision in my preceding comment; by using the phrase "could offer" I erroneously implied a conviction that no such capability was possible. I've edited that comment, replacing "could offer" with "offered", to correct the problem.

[wcfields]

Is there a vetted list of "good" apps for Android for basic tasks?

Like let's say I'm coming from iOS and now I have a million choices of EVERYTHING that used to be stock, like what SMS App do I go with?

[MBCook]

Giving people a choice isn't always better. The photos app is a perfect example. It's fine that Android lets you have/use multiple photo apps. Many people think that's better than iOS.

But should the phone ship in a configuration that causes users to make a choice they're often unprepared for every time they want to deal with an image?

Part of design is making decisions. Some of these problems seem to exist because the designers (or the OEM who is fiddling with things) can't make a reasonable default decision and is forcing it on the user instead.

[smrtinsert]

Again, you've missed the point. If you want a monolithic experience in the One True Way, that appears to be the iOS main feature. The photos app is NOT the perfect example because there's plenty times I want a full gallery since I'll want to share something else and sometimes when I want just a preview. eReaders are also great examples for when you need choices.

If the user is afraid of clicking one icon vs another when presented with the initial decision, I don't know what to say. It's literally explained as you use it.

[ssmoot]

iOS has choices in Photos believe it or not. The iOS7 "intents"-alike screen is pretty ubiquitous.

The issue here is they were both installed OTB (according to the article). If he'd installed Photos himself he'd presumably understand why he did so and be better informed when presented with the choice. Instead he was given a choice of "toe-may-toe" vs "toe-mah-toe" with no explanation.

[MBCook]

That's the share screen, and it's quite different from intents.

There is simply no way on iOS to choose another app to be your default web browser, mail client, SMS client, central photo repository, etc. Apps can say "You can send photos here" but there is no way for one app to advertise to another "You can ask me for photos".

[ssmoot]

Ah. You're right. I stand corrected. I could see how that could be useful if I were, for example, an Instagram user.

[MBCook]

That's the kind of place where it really bugs people. They use Instagram for everything but still have to deal with Photos.

It's similar for people using Chrome or a 3rd party calendar or mail client. Any link anywhere in the OS, unless specially setup by the app developer, will open the Apple app. There is no way to tap on someone's email address in Address Book and have it open Mailbox or Sparrow.