5 Stupid Things About Android

**Five Stupid Things About Android: A Deep Dive**

Welcome to the article based on the full transcription of Matthias' video about five stupid things about Android. In this piece, we will explore each point in detail, ensuring that every word from the original transcript is included and expanded upon for clarity and readability.

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### Introduction

Hello, everyone! My name is Matthias, and welcome to this video where I discuss *five stupid things about Android*. Before diving into the content, I wanted to let you know that I’ve started a new channel. If you’re interested in checking out some of my other videos, there’s a link in the description below. You might find a video waiting for you, so feel free to take a look!

Now, before we get started, it’s important to establish some ground rules. In this discussion, I’ll be focusing solely on stock Android, which includes OEM skins. While Android is infinitely modular, we’re going to talk about the version of the OS as it comes straight out of the box—no rooting or modifications. This video is inspired by a similar one I did about iOS, where I shared my thoughts on what I don’t like about each platform.

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### 1. **Not So Open After All**

One of the first things people think about when they hear “Android” is its openness. Google’s Android OS has been widely regarded as an open platform, and while that’s true for developers looking to use the source code to create their own unique products, it doesn’t hold the same meaning for everyday users.

The confusion often arises between Google’s Android OS and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). These two are entirely separate. While AOSP allows developers to modify the OS significantly, Google’s version is much more locked down, especially when it comes to user access. There’s a small switch buried in your phone’s settings that lets you install third-party applications outside of the Google Play Store. However, this doesn’t really define an open OS because those apps still don’t have full access to Android subsystems. To do anything deeper—like changing the scale of the OS—you’d need to root your device, which involves exploiting security bugs in the firmware to gain superuser access.

This lack of true openness is something I find frustrating, especially when compared to the promise of an open platform that Android has always touted.

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### 2. **No Good Incorporated Backup Solution**

Another thing I don’t like about Android is the lack of a reliable backup solution. Unlike iOS, which handles backups more seamlessly through iCloud, Android’s built-in backup system leaves a lot to be desired. While you can download third-party apps from the Google Play Store to handle this feature, it shouldn’t be left up to users to find workarounds.

During my testing, I tried using the current backup system on Android 4.4 (KitKat), and I wasn’t satisfied with the results. The success rate was roughly 20%, meaning only 20% of the apps I had on my phone were backed up properly or reverted to their latest state after a factory reset. This inconsistency is unacceptable, especially in today’s world where most of what we do is stored in the cloud.

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### 3. **Crashes Galore**

Android’s stability leaves a lot to be desired as well. While it makes sense that Android has to support hundreds of devices with varying hardware configurations, the number of crashes and hangs I experience on a daily basis is alarmingly high. On average, I encounter three to four app crashes per day, and at least once, the system itself will crash, requiring me to reboot my phone.

This level of instability pales in comparison to iOS, where I went weeks without needing to restart my device or dealing with notification after notification about apps crashing. Even Google’s own Play Store isn’t immune to this issue, crashing on me at least twice a day despite my heavy app usage.

The lack of consistency here is frustrating and speaks to a deeper problem with Android’s overall stability.

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### 4. **Skins**

Another point that irks me about Android is the prevalence of OEM skins. These are custom interfaces created by companies like Samsung or LG to modify the look, feel, and navigation of stock Android on their devices. While there are some unskinned devices, like the Nexus series, I personally believe stock Android offers the best balance of looks and performance.

That said, we don’t necessarily blame the skins themselves as much as the carriers for bloatware—useless pre-installed apps that can only be disabled, not deleted. For example, when I had a Samsung S5, there were eight AT&T apps that followed me everywhere, and I could only disable them, not remove them entirely.

Another issue with skins is the slow update process. Google released Android 5.0 (Lollipop) on June 25, 2014, but as of March, only 3% of Android devices were running Lollipop. This means that even if your carrier or device manufacturer eventually releases an update for your phone, you might be waiting a long time—or never get it at all.

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### 5. **Where on Earth is the Design Standard?**

Finally, one of the most frustrating aspects of the Android experience is the lack of design consistency across both hardware and software. While hardware differences can be forgiven (since they’re part of what makes each device unique), the same cannot be said for software inconsistencies.

Take the back button, for example: sometimes it takes you to the last app you used, while other times it takes you to the last page in the app you’re currently using. There’s no consistency here, which leads to confusion and a disjointed user experience. Some apps have a back button in the top corner, while others don’t. Some have a swipe-based navigation bar, while others rely on physical buttons.

This lack of a standard makes it difficult for developers to create apps that feel cohesive across devices and operating systems. The more inconsistent the interface is, the more time users waste navigating through it.

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### Conclusion

Thank you for sticking with me through this video! As I mentioned earlier, I’ve started a new tech channel where I discuss everything from unboxings and reviews to first impressions of the latest gadgets. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out its counterpart: *Five Awesome Things About Android*.

If you have any thoughts on what makes Android “stupid” or what needs changing, feel free to leave your comments below. I’d love to hear your opinions and discuss further!

That’s all for now! High five!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHow is it going guys I am Matthias andwelcome to five stupid things about Android.*Psst* hey *Psst* I made a new channel by theway link in the description belowthere might be a video there waiting foryou by the way so you may want to checkit out. Now before we go any further weneed to establish some ground rules here.We are only going to be talking aboutstock android which includes OEM scans.Now I know android is infinitely modularbut today we're gonna be talking aboutstraight out of the boxes as in no rooting,just like we did on the five stupidthings about iphone. So these are mythoughts on what I don't like aboutandroid. Like this video if you agree and ifyou disagree i'd love to know yourthoughts down in the comments below.So number one not so open after all.Google's android OS has been widelyknown as an open platform and it is inthe extent that your developer lookingto use the source code to create yourown unique product but if your handsetuser not so much a lot of people areconfused between the difference betweengoogle android and Android Open SourceProject these two things are entirelyseparate you see google android OS is aproject that google shares to attend setpartners many things are locked downdeeper within the system including useraccess sure there's a little switchburied in the settings of your androidphone that allows you to installthird-party applications not from thegoogle play store but that's not reallywhat defines an open OS because eventhose applications don't have fullaccess into android subsystem to doanything deeper than have applicationstalk to each other and theme the deviceyou're going to need to go muchdeeper as in root the devicemeaning exploiting security bugs withinthe firmware to grant yourself superuseraccess because one of the first thingsthat I wanted to do when I got thisdevice was to actually change the scaleof the OS and I couldn't do that withoutrooting and that's kind of stupidnumber two there is no good incorporatedbackup solution on the countless androiddevices that I've used I could not finda worthwhile backup solution within thesystem to use we are in the day and agewhen most of what we do right now is inthe cloud so backing up isn't a hugeissue anymore but it still is neededsure you can download backupapplications from the google play storefor the feature this fundamental shouldbe incorporated within the system Itried the current backup system on fourpoint four point four and I wasn't toosatisfied had like a twenty percentsuccess rate meaningeighty percent of the apps that i had onthe phone before I wipe the deviceeither didn't back up or didn't revertto their latest state and that'sreally stupid number three crashescrashes galoreI don't think anyone can argue here thatandroid OS isn't quite as stable as iOSI mean it makes sense android has to becompatible with hundreds of devices withhundreds of different hardwarecombinations but the amount of crashesand hangs I get on a day-to-day basis isalarmingly high i would say i roughly getaround three to four app crashes a dayand at least once the system will crashand I have to reboot the entire phonewhen I was on iOS I remember theirperiods for like two weeks where Ididn't have to restart the device andrarely did I ever get a notificationthat an application has stoppedrespondingI mean google's own play store crashes onme at least twice a day I mean I dodownload a lot of apps but still I finda lot of inconsistencies with thestability of the system sometimes theApple launched sometimes it wontsometimes you'll get a notification fromthe app sometimes you won't sometimesthe screen lock and sometimes it won'tand that's stupidly stupid number fourskinsI personally am not a fan of OEM skinthe skin is when a company like Samsungor LG will modify the look feel andnavigation of stock Android to suittheir devicenow you can find devices that are notskimmed such as the nexus series but alot of them aren't the quality of thenexus in my opinion stock android is thebest-looking and performing version ofandroid now we don't necessarily blamethe skins for this as much as thecarriers but almost every skin phonethat I've ever had has had tons and tonsof bloatware just riddled with it when Ito samsung s5 there were like eightatnt apps that i couldn't deleteonly disabled i could only disable themeight? If you can't do it in one app quitanother thing about skins is that OMGare embarrassingly slow at updatingtheir devices Google came out withAndroid 5.0 lollipop jun 25th 2014as in nine months ago as of March fitthe saturation of lollipop is only threepercent of the android devices out thereodds are you're eligible for a new phonerunning while we pop before you'reactually going to get an update to thatexisting phone that's perfectly goodthat you have right now if it even evergets the update and that's<operand> twenty </operand> or number 5where on earth is the design standardone of the things that I find mostfrustrating about the Android experienceis the lack of design standard acrossthe software and the hardwareif you take a quick look around at thedifferent android devices you're goingto know one thing really quickthey are all different now this can be agood thing but it can also be a badthingno I can forgive hardware andconsistency is like button placementbecause you're only going to typicallyhave one phone at a time and once youhave it you'll get used to it but Ican't really forgive softwareinconsistencies such as what does theback button actually do sometimes thatback button will take you to the lastapp you use sometimes that back buttonwill take you to the last page in theapp you are using there is no constantwith that back button because there isno constant with how the app should worksome apps have a back button in the topcorner and some apps don't some appshave that top back button and only partof their ass leaving the user to move inconsistently throughout the interfaceI find that a lot of applicationsnavigate with a swipe inside bar andsome navigate with the top bar somenavigate with the physical buttons theissue here is that there's a lack of astandard that developers can follow sothat the user can more efficiently movethroughout the system and throughouttheir appsthe more you can fluidly move throughthe system means the less time wastednavigate and that's the stupidest thankyou for watching guys and as i saidearlier i started a new tech channelfact if you go check it out right nowthere's a counterpart to this videofive awesome things about android readyfor you to watch right now if you liketech consider subscribing to mtech withJ Fred and I doing unboxings reviewsfirst impressionspretty much anything tech based so gocheck it out I love to know yourthoughts on Android and what you thinkmakes it stupid and what you think needschanging down in the comments below andI will see you next time high five\n"