What's the difference?

[bananagrams]

I have a serious question which I'm looking to get some input on.
It's about the difference between different android devices. I see all this talk, news, reviews of devices that run Android and apart from the specs, battery life, camera, etc type of comparisons are all Androids created equal (software)?

I see and hear the differences in manufacturers for the interface like TouchWiz, Sense, Nexus..... After having used them all, I don't see a difference in any of them. They all look and do exactly the same thing. Am I wrong because I haven't used them long enough? Please explain to me if there is an appreciable difference between the different makes and what they are... The only thing that I see right now as device selection factors are physical in basis (i.e. looks, battery size, screen size, etc.)

 

[Golfdriver97]

Software acting wise, they do the same thing. However, how well they do something is another question. Take TouchWiz (TW) for example. TW is so resource heavy that many users remark about lag and stutters when using devices. TW is a skinned version of Android, so when it comes time for an upgrade, it may be several months after Google releases it that a TW device will see it. Roughly the same things apply to Sense. The skinned versions of android can take up a fair amount of room as well. The current S5 has about 5 GB of space for the OS alone. On a device that has 16 GB, that may not be very appealing.

A Nexus device is about as pure as you can get. Updates usually arrive within a few days to a week. I have a Moto X and a Nexus 5, both Vanilla Android, and I love how lean each are.

 

[bananagrams]

^^^
I see.. Thanks a lot for the explanation. I keep on thinking that I've been missing something on the differentiation that each manufacturer markets.
I've had experiences with SII, SIII, Notes 2 and 3, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, HTC One and I couldn't find any differences in them.

Given your explanation, if the "non pure" androids have so much bloatware, why would anyone choose it? (I know this is a loaded question because different people have different opinons) Is it as I said above, all the physical attributes rather than the software?

I just bought a Nexus 7 and am trying to see if I missed out on anything.

 

[LeoRex]

Given your explanation, if the "non pure" androids have so much bloatware, why would anyone choose it? (I know this is a loaded question because different people have different opinons) Is it as I said above, all the physical attributes rather than the software?

Well, I don't think that the general public puts a lot of stock into what is running on the actual phone. "Can it run my Google Play apps?" is probably the only thing they are concerned with. If you walked up to 10 random people on the street that had a Samsung phone and asked, "Do you like Touchwhiz?", they will probably look at you funny (or spray you in the face with mace).

Fact is that on the current generation of phones, even heavily reworked versions of Android are fast and responsive. A lot of people think TW is way too crammed with bloatware, but that doesn't seem to affect their sales. Samsung is just trying to differentiate their products.... and since performance is plateauing, they figure they have pack their phones with features and doo-dads.... 'value added software'

 

[Golfdriver97]

^^^
I see.. Thanks a lot for the explanation. I keep on thinking that I've been missing something on the differentiation that each manufacturer markets.
I've had experiences with SII, SIII, Notes 2 and 3, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, HTC One and I couldn't find any differences in them.

Given your explanation, if the "non pure" androids have so much bloatware, why would anyone choose it? (I know this is a loaded question because different people have different opinons) Is it as I said above, all the physical attributes rather than the software?

I just bought a Nexus 7 and am trying to see if I missed out on anything.

Part of the issue is marketing. You don't see much advertising for the Nexus.
Another is carriers tend to push name brands. As for bloatware, many people probably don't know that Nexus devices have next to none.

Some parts of your question are more affected by things that go on behind the scenes. All the extra processes that Sammy has can cause the lag that people comment about. My opinion (and I may be wrong here) is that Samsung NEEDS to put high end hardware in BECAUSE of the demands of TW.

From a Liquid Nexus 5

 

[B. Diddy]

Remember that the extra features that the various manufacturers throw in with their Android skins aren't necessarily useless bloat. For example, Samsung has some nice productivity features, HTC has its special Zoes, Motorola has its twist to open camera, LG has Slide Aside. All of these features are specific to those manufacturers, and they can act as selling points. Of course, not everyone will care about a particular added feature, but that's why it's great to have so much variety of Android devices out there.

 

[kunzui]

Thanks for all deeply explanations.