Will I like the Nexus 5/pure android

[durtNdubs]

I'm relatively new to Android. Previously drinking the Apple juice for a few years but have seen the light! I started with an S3, then a Note 2 and now an LG G2. I've enjoyed each one better than the last except for all the brand gimmicks. I'm wondering if I'd like a pure android experience. Thought? What do you all like most about it? I really like the G2 and thinking, being they have similar specs, I may love the N5.

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[VDub2174]

If you get the N5 from Google then you won't have to worry about any bloatware on there. So if you'd rather have a phone without all that extra stuff then I would go for it when it gets released

 

[xRodo]

You should try it out. I prefer AOSP-based ROMs because I can typically mimic the features from Touch Wiz, Sense, etc. that I want without having all of the bloat and unnecessary OEM junk. AOSP is lacking in some areas, but in my opinion, it's simpler and more intuitive than OEM skins. Most development is centered around AOSP, so it's nice having a phone based around AOSP (on-screen navigation, etc.) when running these custom ROMs. Plus the Nexus phones/AOSP always receives the updates months before any other phone/skin.

 

[durtNdubs]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I probably will like it but I guess there's only one way to know for sure....

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[dkhmwilliams]

I don't see anything particulary wrong with stock Android other than there are a few features missing that you will have to get from apps you will find in the Play Store.

Sent from the baddest device on the planet, it's for real.

 

[blitz118]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I probably will like it but I guess there's only one way to know for sure....

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You won’t know if you like it until you have tried a skinned Android phone like the Note 3, LG2 or HTC One. Those phones are all fast with no lag. I prefer the newer skinned Android phones over the stock vanilla Android phones. There a lot of videos on YouTube to view the Note 3, LG2 or HTC One's many features. A vanilla stock Android phone will have none of those features those phones have. The Note 3 has a very good stylus feature , which no other Android phone can duplicate.

 

[NoYankees44]

There will be nothing you don't want, but there may be some things you miss. Before 4.2,there were lots of flat out missing features in Stock. It has slowly caught up to the skins and it lacks nothing I miss now. The big attraction is of course the development though. If it is missing something, just flash a Ron that has it. Simple as that.

 

[alexlam24]

If it is missing something, just flash a Ron that has it. Simple as that.

I guess I'll just flash a Ron Weasley onto my phone...

Sent from Samsung Z1 GPE on T-Mobile

 

[clevin]

You should try it out. I prefer AOSP-based ROMs because I can typically mimic the features from Touch Wiz, Sense, etc. that I want without having all of the bloat and unnecessary OEM junk.

Its not like Nexus 5 will be 100% AOSP. Its just Google's Extra vs Samsung/HTC/LG's Extra.

I don't see why google's closed source apps are called "good", and everybody else's would be "bloatwares".

For OP, "pure" android is not necessarily "convenient" as vendors do make a good effort/job in adding some neat stuff. Only advantage I see with going google brand is the super fast upgrade to the new OS when they come out. Anything else is not that important of a concern.

 

[durtNdubs]

Its not like Nexus 5 will be 100% AOSP. Its just Google's Extra vs Samsung/HTC/LG's Extra.

I don't see why google's closed source apps are called "good", and everybody else's would be "bloatwares".

For OP, "pure" android is not necessarily "convenient" as vendors do make a good effort/job in adding some neat stuff. Only advantage I see with going google brand is the super fast upgrade to the new OS when they come out. Anything else is not that important of a concern.

Thanks for that. That's kinda what I was looking for. So what I'm getting is the main advantage is really just the faster you updates. As for bloatware I just disable all of it and think nothing of it. I really enjoy my G2 but I guess I'll just have to try the N5 out to really be sure.
One last question, does a custom skin like touchwiz etc. slow down the phone? With the specs of the N5 being the same as the G2 I'd really be interested if it were even faster than the G2.

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[clevin]

I didn't feel any slow down on my note 3 with touch wiz, compare to the Nexus 4 I had. everything is very snappy.

@T-Mobile GN3

 

[xRodo]

Its not like Nexus 5 will be 100% AOSP. Its just Google's Extra vs Samsung/HTC/LG's Extra.

I don't see why google's closed source apps are called "good", and everybody else's would be "bloatwares".

For OP, "pure" android is not necessarily "convenient" as vendors do make a good effort/job in adding some neat stuff. Only advantage I see with going google brand is the super fast upgrade to the new OS when they come out. Anything else is not that important of a concern.

The reason I consider it bloatware is because the apps are redundant but can't be deleted. I use Google Music, so an OEM music player is redundant. I use Google voice control, so things like S-Voice are redundant. I use Google Voice for visual vm, so any carrier-included vm app is redundant. I use Root Browser, so an OEM file manager is redundant. It's like this for most apps. Part of the reason I do this is because I like consistency across my devices, and I have a Nexus 7 and 10 (well, I am in between 10's right now waiting on the new one). So, you're right in a sense; some things I consider to be bloatware, others use as their defaults, especially people like my parents who use the Samsung apps on their GS3s. The only reason my girlfriend uses Google apps instead of Samsung apps on her GS4 is because I showed them to her.

Thanks for that. That's kinda what I was looking for. So what I'm getting is the main advantage is really just the faster you updates. As for bloatware I just disable all of it and think nothing of it. I really enjoy my G2 but I guess I'll just have to try the N5 out to really be sure.
One last question, does a custom skin like touchwiz etc. slow down the phone? With the specs of the N5 being the same as the G2 I'd really be interested if it were even faster than the G2.

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I think at one time, maybe in a pre-GS3 world, skins did add so much bloat they slowed down the phone. While I obviously haven't tried every phone, I haven't noticed this being the case on any phone I've tried since the GS3 came out. My Moto X lags more than any phone I've used since the Droid Charge, and it runs the closest thing to AOSP you can have with using a Nexus or GPe device.

 

[clevin]

The reason I consider it bloatware is because the apps are redundant but can't be deleted. I use Google Music, so an OEM music player is redundant. I use Google voice control, so things like S-Voice are redundant. I use Google Voice for visual vm, so any carrier-included vm app is redundant. I use Root Browser, so an OEM file manager is redundant. It's like this for most apps.

Here is a great read Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary | Ars Technica , tells why vendors like Samsung place their own apps on the phone with duplicate functions. Its all because they want to have a back up plan when Google adding more and more proprietary apps into the android ecosystem.

And yes, I do use those apps as much as I can, and stay away from google's all-encompassing world.

 

[mavrrick]

I have a note 3 and it flies. It is very quick. Touchwize doesn't hurt performance much if at all on it. The key is as many have mentioned the OEM's really do try to add features beyond stock and sometimes they do a really great job. From my experience Samsung's ability to interface with dlna network systems has been awesome. I still haven't found anything that comes close to it.

The problem is sometimes they go overboard with the extra features. Many would say Touchwize has.

Vinalla android will miss some features. Most are easily fixed with a few purchases in the play store.

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[Gekko]

will you like it? does a bear sh*t in the woods???

close thread.

 

[ollie299792458]

I hope that this helps some people!

Android Keyboard Shortcuts for Gmail | Android Central

With googles so called 'bloat ware' you can disable it, i.e. delete all updates and make it disappear form your app drawer.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk now Free

 

[Ethan Grimes]

Its not like Nexus 5 will be 100% AOSP. Its just Google's Extra vs Samsung/HTC/LG's Extra.

I don't see why google's closed source apps are called "good", and everybody else's would be "bloatwares".

For OP, "pure" android is not necessarily "convenient" as vendors do make a good effort/job in adding some neat stuff. Only advantage I see with going google brand is the super fast upgrade to the new OS when they come out. Anything else is not that important of a concern.

The apps are considered bloatware not necessarily because of quality but because you're taking a base (stock Android in this case), reskinning and adding extra apps and features that were not present before (or in some cases were but were replaced by an equivalent functioning one) and pushing it out. Anything that adds extra anything can be considered bloat. Is it bad? That's an entirely different story. Alot of stock enthusiasts will try to convince people that bloatware is bad, but who are they to say what someone will and will not like? I personally love the stock Android experience, having used Touchwiz, motoblur, sense, etc. I find the extra features tedious and not necessarily what I need. However my mother-in-law and wife are very different, many of the bloatware apps they use are handy for them. Bloatware just is what it is, it isn't good or bad. As for google's closed source apps being considered "good", again, think it really boils down to personal preference.

That Ars Technica article was interesting, but felt a bit skewered. Google is definitely making some closed-source moves, but that's what you do with a successful product, you start to lock it down before someone takes it from you. Amazon has found some good success with their forked version of Android, Samsung tried and failed with Bada, so it looks like despite closing some parts of the source Android at its core will still live on as open source for people and companies to make use of. Now that aside, Google definitely has some benevolent things it has done, but like anyone else, they're in it ultimately for the money. Like iOS users, as you get ingrained into a particular ecosystem, it makes sense to adopt more of it as it makes your life easier. You apparently enjoy the Samsung ecosystem, that works for you. Personally I am all about Google and all their products, that's just me. My brother loves iOS and is all about that, it all makes sense to embrace the ecosystem you're comfortable with.

To address the Op's question though, I think you should flash an AOSP ROM on one of your devices and see what you think, the only way you'll know if you like it is to try it out yourself. Anyway, that's just my .02 cents.

 

[alexlam24]

The apps are considered bloatware not necessarily because of quality but because you're taking a base (stock Android in this case), reskinning and adding extra apps and features that were not present before (or in some cases were but were replaced by an equivalent functioning one) and pushing it out. Anything that adds extra anything can be considered bloat. Is it bad? That's an entirely different story. Alot of stock enthusiasts will try to convince people that bloatware is bad, but who are they to say what someone will and will not like? I personally love the stock Android experience, having used Touchwiz, motoblur, sense, etc. I find the extra features tedious and not necessarily what I need. However my mother-in-law and wife are very different, many of the bloatware apps they use are handy for them. Bloatware just is what it is, it isn't good or bad. As for google's closed source apps being considered "good", again, think it really boils down to personal preference.

That Ars Technica article was interesting, but felt a bit skewered. Google is definitely making some closed-source moves, but that's what you do with a successful product, you start to lock it down before someone takes it from you. Amazon has found some good success with their forked version of Android, Samsung tried and failed with Bada, so it looks like despite closing some parts of the source Android at its core will still live on as open source for people and companies to make use of. Now that aside, Google definitely has some benevolent things it has done, but like anyone else, they're in it ultimately for the money. Like iOS users, as you get ingrained into a particular ecosystem, it makes sense to adopt more of it as it makes your life easier. You apparently enjoy the Samsung ecosystem, that works for you. Personally I am all about Google and all their products, that's just me. My brother loves iOS and is all about that, it all makes sense to embrace the ecosystem you're comfortable with.

To address the Op's question though, I think you should flash an AOSP ROM on one of your devices and see what you think, the only way you'll know if you like it is to try it out yourself. Anyway, that's just my .02 cents.

Tl; Dr

Sent from Samsung Z1 GPE on T-Mobile

 

[ManInTheBox10]

Here is a great read Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary | Ars Technica , tells why vendors like Samsung place their own apps on the phone with duplicate functions. Its all because they want to have a back up plan when Google adding more and more proprietary apps into the android ecosystem.

And yes, I do use those apps as much as I can, and stay away from google's all-encompassing world.

What makes this article more interesting is the fact that Google is now abandoning the AOSP launcher in favour of the closed source Google Experience Launcher.

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[clevin]

Bloatware just is what it is, it isn't good or bad. As for google's closed source apps being considered "good", again, think it really boils down to personal preference.

That Ars Technica article was interesting, but felt a bit skewered. Google is definitely making some closed-source moves, but that's what you do with a successful product, you start to lock it down before someone takes it from you.

I am not sure if your statement is entirely true. The word "Bloatware" carries strong negative connotation. You can claim it doesn't mean good or bad for you, but it means bad for most people who use the word.

Yes, Google is in it for money, there is nothing wrong with that, there is also nothing wrong with people pointing that out and voice their objection to this head-first diving in to everything google without careful examination, much like the cult of apple. Did you see that Google Nexus Poem in another thread?

The trend of development at Google as a company is to lock users into their rapid expanding services, and now begin to sell users' information for profit. I do not think its ever a good thing to let one company monopolize my life, and I am grateful there are quality alternatives out there.