Why doesn't Google just add the best features of all these ROMs into native Android? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Why doesn't Google just add the best features of all these ROMs into native Android?
It's so stupid that people have to root their phones in order to get these features. I understand that maybe Google doesn't want Android to seem overly complex, but have a Customization area all in a submenu that you can unlock buy sliding Customizations to ON.
Things like this (in order of necessary > bloat):
Global volume rocker as cursor movement keys (hope this baby is patented so Apple doesn't steal it!)
% battery icon
Brightness slider toggle + AOKP toggles!!!!
Screenshot on Power Menu
Volume panel
Custom targets on lockscreen ring
Custom notification LED colors >> this would really make the hardware unique from Apple and it's really handy, esp when you're in meetings / theaters / church / or any quiet time; the different color assignments are really useful! Even vibrate is now disruptive in meetings.
Weather on lockscreen
Show notification count
Custom colors for Nav Bar
I don't think that's so much that it would overwhelm the average user. Whenever a family member or friend sees our phones, they want me to root theirs and make it the same.
Maybe someone at Google can get this message and we can see this in 4.2? They could release it as a "Android Power Toys" add-on type marketing the way Microsoft did with Windows?

I'm sure there are a number of reasons. First many of these things can be done with third party apps. Google mainly keeps to things that have to be built into the os, or related to Google services.
They have incorporated some features like additional lock screen targets, some toggles on tablets, resizable widgets, ect. It sounds like themes may be coming in 4.2 too.
Another thing I've noticed is while these features are great, they do slow things down a bit, so they may not be beneficial to everyone.
I'm fine with getting these features from other sources of they can put out things like project butter and Google now.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

A lot of what you listed up there I would term bloat, lots of unnecessary options for features I don't want.
Toggles are the exception, I'd love to see a really nice AOSP toggle implementation. I think most normal users would like that too.

Copywrite violations.

I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and themers in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2

I wonder if they are not included for the sake of simplifying the OS for the average user. It's a lot easier to get someone to just add a widget to add functionality than to explain to them how to enable weather on the lock screen or how to pick which pull-down toggles they want. A lot of those options are redundant because you can access them with widgets on the launcher.

redwingfaninnc said:
I wonder if they are not included for the sake of simplifying the OS for the average user. It's a lot easier to get someone to just add a widget to add functionality than to explain to them how to enable weather on the lock screen or how to pick which pull-down toggles they want. A lot of those options are redundant because you can access them with widgets on the launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sense, but honestly, how many Nexus owners do you know that fit into the "average user" category? I know 35 people who own a Nexus device, and only 3 of them aren't rooted. In general Android terms, you're probably 100% correct though...most "average users" would not know what to do with some of those changes, and many would consider them bloat. Geez, Google's even removed Maps from Gapps, because people thought it was bloatware, so they are sensitive to that issue.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2

Remoteconcern said:
A lot of what you listed up there I would term bloat, lots of unnecessary options for features I don't want.
Toggles are the exception, I'd love to see a really nice AOSP toggle implementation. I think most normal users would like that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, what prompted this post was the AOKP toggles, that's what people like the most when they see mine and my gf's phones.
Also, I agree that it's bloat. But, that's why they can release it in the Play Store as a "Power Toys for Android" add-on. It makes it easy for average users to get access to these features and they don't have to root and they don't have to play the milestone game waiting for a stable daily driver.

jjhiza said:
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and Turner's in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The launcher is a great idea too. I forgot to mention that. However, Nova launcher is easy for the average user to install. You don't even need to be rooted.

Neo3D said:
The launcher is a great idea too. I forgot to mention that. However, Nova launcher is easy for the average user to install. You don't even need to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true, but most normal Android users simply run the out-of-the-box setup from day one, until the day they upgrade. If Google took the time to build a slightly better launcher, those of us who want extra customization (grid size, icon editing, etc) can have it, while those who run stock from day one, won't even notice the changes, because they'll never use them.

Looks like Google might be one step ahead of us.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/1...oject-roadrunner-updated-google-play-and-now/
"Customization Center"?
That would be sweet if it were true and included some of these awesome ideas that custom ROM devs have come up with.

That's generally how it works, Google borrows from developers and OEMs' UIs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app

jordanishere said:
Copywrite violations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What copyright? If i remembered correctly all custom ROMs are open sourced, which means copyright doesn't apply.
Do correct me if i'm wrong.

jimmyco2008 said:
That's generally how it works, Google borrows from developers and OEMs' UIs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is it right here. Let the devs do the muscle and brain work and Google cherry picks what they think should be the next evolution of android.
The great thing about open source is that sharing is what it is all about. If you don't like sharing, then there are two other clubs to join. Both of which could be more awesome if they didn't take the mine all mine approach.
...

@rbiter said:
This is it right here. Let the devs do the muscle and brain work and Google cherry picks what they think should be the next evolution of android.
The great thing about open source is that sharing is what it is all about. If you don't like sharing, then there are two other clubs to join. Both of which could be more awesome if they didn't take the mine all mine approach.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, all about the cherry picks.
Perfect example is SMS quick reply, I'd say that's a dead cert as the immediate reaction to JB notifications was fantastic but let me do even mooaaar!!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

They can't just slap every option in the world in. You'd have a bloated mess. (That's part of why skins are so bad... feature overload).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Most of those things can be do e from an app, maybe Google let's the door open to the free market and get devs to earn money making these addons.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Besides, if Google took all the best features from our ROMs, nothing would hardly ever need updating in future versions.

I Am Marino said:
Besides, if Google took all the best features from our ROMs, nothing would hardly ever need updating in future versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I think its important to note that even if Google wanted to implement some of these features commonly found on custom ROMs that it'd take more than just one version of Android to bring them in.

jjhiza said:
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and Turner's in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh jjhiza. Havent seen one of your essays since the droid3 days aha
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Related

Do you guys even know why you want ics?

Besides it being new what are you really gaining. Tons of apps don't work on it. Besides folders and multitasking I don't even know what I'm really gaining. And if I have to lose one feature my phone has now ill pass. Phone works too good right now and ics theme will hold me over for a long time.
I understand everybody wants what is new but think about everything your really gaining. To me its like IOS 4.3 to 5. I upgraded my Ipad 2 lost jailbreak for what I see as a minor upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
You can stay on gingerbread then, it wont bother me really
I think you need to read up on what actually ICS changes besides icons and themes....
raqball said:
I think you need to read up on what actually ICS changes besides icons and themes....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the leaks, we are not getting the new ui because of twiz
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
kingsway8605 said:
From the leaks, we are not getting the new ui because of twiz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it starts hitting custom roms, I'm sure we will be getting all sorts of interesting things.
Fataldesain said:
Besides it being new what are you really gaining. Tons of apps don't work on it. Besides folders and multitasking I don't even know what I'm really gaining. And if I have to lose one feature my phone has now ill pass. Phone works too good right now and ics theme will hold me over for a long time.
I understand everybody wants what is new but think about everything your really gaining. To me its like IOS 4.3 to 5. I upgraded my Ipad 2 lost jailbreak for what I see as a minor upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound like a old man in his old ways lol jk. I can't speak for everyone else but I bought my phone because it was at the time of purchase ahead of every curve (with the exception of nfc) so now that something is out that can make the phone better why the would I not want it. I'm patient in waiting but would love to have it yesterday
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
How about true dual core support? or gpu acceleration through the whole phone?
List goes on.
Gingerbread has "true dual core support"
I'm not greedy. Because it's the New thing is the best answer I got. Newer is better right? J/k
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
...bad joke.
Fataldesain said:
Besides it being new what are you really gaining. Tons of apps don't work on it. Besides folders and multitasking I don't even know what I'm really gaining. And if I have to lose one feature my phone has now ill pass. Phone works too good right now and ics theme will hold me over for a long time.
I understand everybody wants what is new but think about everything your really gaining. To me its like IOS 4.3 to 5. I upgraded my Ipad 2 lost jailbreak for what I see as a minor upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks to the informative Android blogs and tons of videos, most people know why they want ICS besides having a new look. As for your Ipad and losing jailbreak, you probably should have read in advance to see what features iOS 5 had before taking the plunge. I remember reading multiple times that people with jailbreak should hold up on iOS 5 until an untethered jailbreak is done. But hey, this is about Android
What I'm really waiting for is a nice AOSP ICS with everything working. I am less enthusiastic about TW ICS.
One of the videos showed better app controlled , limit or block apps from background data
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Hmm... OP you should consider the fact that ICS source was only recently released and I think the Nexus Prime launched just today. Of course not all apps are going to work you have to give app developers time to update the apps to be compatible. It's not all going to happen overnight that's why these things take time for the transition. Although I'm a little disappointed that TW covers up some features, I am looking forward to:
*Scrollable widgets
*The swipe gesture to remove notifications
*New notification bar Info slots (i.e. when you get a text you see the contact pic)
*Face Unlock (even though it can be bypassed it's cool nonetheless)
*Camera Speed
*New widget placement UI
*New Cool Blue Look
*The drag and drop feature to make folders
*How the app market stays in the app drawer on the top right
*The minimalist layout of all the Google Apps
*A few other things I'm sure everybody knows by now...
Not to say that you have poor judgment, I do advise reading up a little more on the updates before you jump in and discredit them for changing anything. I think Google is actually just trying to make Android more accessible to more than just Devs, if anything at least give them credit for that.
If you want an entire list of things that are new and how they work, read this review (Personally I think it's the best review that covers everything) it's 7 Pages!
LINK
Guys all I'm saying is it seems like alot of people want ics just because and are foaming at the mouth for it. Isn't alot of your apps not working kinda a big deal. People should just calm down enjoy gingerbread for a few more months.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Improved multitasking is enough for me....a better looking OS.....speed.....better hardware acceleration...more efficient......data monitoring.......ability to block certain apps from accessing data and last but not least.............camera app (that thing needed updating)
ICS is what Android needs to be to fully compete with IOS the only real threat(since Isheep see differently). I am not too anxious to see TW and Sense on ICS
I remember when iphone first came out my buddies back in college were saying look at what I can do.....I pulled out my cingular blue razr v3 and said check this out....made a call lol
Just gotta wait till the apps are updated thats all
I have to agree with OP,to a certain extent. A lot of the new features are incremental, and I think you can duplicate most of them with already available apps/mods. Not to say I'm not going to flash ICS as soon as a good rom comes out, but I am pretty satisfied with how my phone runs now. ICS is the first step to integrate the Android phone /tablet os, like ios ,and will be much better as it evolves.
Sent from my Samsung Epic Touch using tapatalk
Only if your hiding something?
Sure, you may be able to replicate some of those features with other apps, but thats the point... it brings these features to stock android.
newalker91 said:
*Scrollable widgets - Already offered in custom launchers
*The swipe gesture to remove notifications - Just extra glamour
*New notification bar Info slots (i.e. when you get a text you see the contact pic) - More extra glamour
*Face Unlock (even though it can be bypassed it's cool nonetheless) - There are apps that already offer this
*Camera Speed - Is a hardware feature of Galaxy Nexus, not ICS
*New widget placement UI - Very similar to TouchWiz
*New Cool Blue Look - Already have themes for this
*The drag and drop feature to make folders - Already offered in custom launchers
*How the app market stays in the app drawer on the top right - Already offered in custom launchers
*The minimalist layout of all the Google Apps - Will be available based on app, not Android version
*A few other things I'm sure everybody knows by now...
Many of the things that you've listed can already be achieved or are part of the Galaxy Nexus and not ICS. Just kind of goes to reinforce the idea that most people really don't know why they want ICS. I personally find ICS to be a bit too intrusive into my privacy, especially seeing as in the recently used app overlay it shows you the last picture you took. Definitely not appealing to people in relationships.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I do see your point, the OP asks why I want ICS. I'm entitled to my opinion right? and I noticed the majority of the things you quoted and responded to have to do with modding the system in some way. How about having it all in one package and not having to download a bunch of apps to imitate what should come stock in the OS.
And what's wrong with a little "extra glamour" ?
I just want stock Gingerbread with better battery life and no CarrierIQ. I don't know how much faster people need these little computers to be but the E4GT is fast enough.

Google Fighting Back Against Custom UIs

Looks like Google is getting sick of carriers and manufacturers messing with their hard work.
http://androidcommunity.com/google-...theme-requirement-for-market-access-20120103/
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
I hope this sticks. Im sick of Touchwiz
Fantastic.
At first I thought this might chap the asses of Motorola, LG, Samsung and (especially) HTC...but it doesn't seem to be saying "NO CUSTOM UI FOR YOU"...which is probably smart. Since there are many app markets now--an especially notable contender being Amazon--handset makers may not give a ****...though to volley it back again perhaps that would lose them any lawsuit insulation Google may (or may not) have been giving them.
daneurysm said:
Fantastic.
At first I thought this might chap the asses of Motorola, LG, Samsung and (especially) HTC...but it doesn't seem to be saying "NO CUSTOM UI FOR YOU"...which is probably smart. Since there are many app markets now--an especially notable contender being Amazon--handset makers may not give a ****...though to volley it back again perhaps that would lose them any lawsuit insulation Google may (or may not) have been giving them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Verizon tried that with the fascinate and an LG phone, and it didn't work out too well for them. , it seems like the future ui's will be limited to just a launcher and apps, which can easily be replaced with stock.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
I hope they stick to it. This would be great.
kingsway8605 said:
Verizon tried that with the fascinate and an LG phone, and it didn't work out too well for them. , it seems like the future ui's will be limited to just a launcher and apps, which can easily be replaced with stock.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...so no mucking with the framework beyond what something in an apk and/or widget could provide?
I will pray that this is the case.
I'm not so hopeful.
Either way, if they got pissed enough at google it wouldn't be the same as the Bingification of a couple phones by the carrier--though that is always a (remote) possibility. They could use Google for default search (I'm sure Google would still prefer it), they just couldn't use GAPPS or put a Google logo on the thing. I'm sure you know all of this already...But, alternate apps are available and alternate markets exist....big ones, notable ones with big names behind them (ahem, Amazon and a handful of much smaller fish)....I think the only thing Google might bring to the table for their compliance is implied or actual protection in the WW3 of lawsuits crisscrossing the industry.
But, whatever about that tech-navel-gazing... I hope what you suggest is true. I read the article and got nothing more than "key aspects" of the UI should stay mostly stock, if thats cool....unless Google is planning on putting the screws down, which I pray they do.
Its about God damn time. Scratch touchwiz, sense, and MAP.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
This doesn't prevent companies from using a custom UI. It only assures developers that stock UI assets are there.
^^^THIS^^^
What about device themes?
We have no desire to restrict manufacturers from building their own themed experience across their devices. In fact we’ve gone further to make this even easier. In Android 4.0’s API (level 14) we’ve added a new public theme family to complement the Holo family introduced in Android 3.0: DeviceDefault. DeviceDefault themes are aliases for the device’s native look and feel. The DeviceDefault theme family and widget style family offer ways for developers to target the device’s native theme with all customizations intact.
Formally separating these theme families will also make future merges easier for manufacturers updating to a new platform version, helping more devices update more quickly. Google’s Nexus devices alias DeviceDefault to the unmodified Holo themes.
source
so what this say is we will have touchwiz, and htc will have sense. but developers can call on the holo theme for their apps and the framework will be there.
Good, I'd love for it to stay vanilla.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Maybe I don't understand what the article is saying. Are they saying that places like settings will stay where as the dialer and contacts will be different?
ddrt said:
Maybe I don't understand what the article is saying. Are they saying that places like settings will stay where as the dialer and contacts will be different?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash a theme in the xda theme section to get an idea of what a theme changes. Google has their official ics theme called Holo. They are saying this theme has to be used if the manufacturers want to have gapps.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
daneurysm said:
Fantastic.
At first I thought this might chap the asses of Motorola, LG, Samsung and (especially) HTC...but it doesn't seem to be saying "NO CUSTOM UI FOR YOU"...which is probably smart. Since there are many app markets now--an especially notable contender being Amazon--handset makers may not give a ****...though to volley it back again perhaps that would lose them any lawsuit insulation Google may (or may not) have been giving them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just have to go on record by asking...
Daneurysm, did i not forsee this (Google market and app restrictions) as being the strategy to enforce less manufacturer meddling in our conversation a week or two ago?
And that it would be subtle, and in baby steps?
I called it
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
kingsway8605 said:
Flash a theme in the xda theme section to get an idea of what a theme changes. Google has their official ics theme called Holo. They are saying this theme has to be used if the manufacturers want to have gapps.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not "used" its saying the theme must be left in framework for apps devs to call upon it for their apps. read the whole article, lol.
We have no desire to restrict manufacturers from building their own themed experience across their devices. In fact we’ve gone further to make this even easier. In Android 4.0’s API (level 14) we’ve added a new public theme family to complement the Holo family introduced in Android 3.0: DeviceDefault. DeviceDefault themes are aliases for the device’s native look and feel. The DeviceDefault theme family and widget style family offer ways for developers to target the device’s native theme with all customizations intact.
cordell12 said:
not "used" its saying the theme must be left in framework for apps devs to call upon it for their apps. read the whole article, lol.
We have no desire to restrict manufacturers from building their own themed experience across their devices. In fact we’ve gone further to make this even easier. In Android 4.0’s API (level 14) we’ve added a new public theme family to complement the Holo family introduced in Android 3.0: DeviceDefault. DeviceDefault themes are aliases for the device’s native look and feel. The DeviceDefault theme family and widget style family offer ways for developers to target the device’s native theme with all customizations intact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, so they're saying "you can have your themes but leave ours there". That's a great standard of practice. I wonder why it wasn't always this way?
squshy 7 said:
I just have to go on record by asking...
Daneurysm, did i not forsee this (Google market and app restrictions) as being the strategy to enforce less manufacturer meddling in our conversation a week or two ago?
And that it would be subtle, and in baby steps?
I called it
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you called this weeks ago. We had 4 pages of me and you pontificating back-n-forth on the ramifications Google enforced stock ICS, etc, et al, ad nauseam....and this was in fact your premise.
I just hope you were right about the rest of the progression...baby steps indeed.
ddrt said:
Ah, so they're saying "you can have your themes but leave ours there". That's a great standard of practice. I wonder why it wasn't always this way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thoughts on this is to stop the Fragmentation, and make it easy for app devs to have one app for all devices.
read the whole article... http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2012/01/holo-everywhere.html
cordell12 said:
not "used" its saying the theme must be left in framework for apps devs to call upon it for their apps. read the whole article, lol.
We have no desire to restrict manufacturers from building their own themed experience across their devices. In fact we’ve gone further to make this even easier. In Android 4.0’s API (level 14) we’ve added a new public theme family to complement the Holo family introduced in Android 3.0: DeviceDefault. DeviceDefault themes are aliases for the device’s native look and feel. The DeviceDefault theme family and widget style family offer ways for developers to target the device’s native theme with all customizations intact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're so smart, thanks for clarification. The OP made it sound much different than it actually is.
.: sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch :.
I personally am a fan of touchwiz 4+... what I would like to see is users given the option when they set up the device (IE when you enter google acct, etc) on whether to use the TW interface, or stock Android. I think that would be the perfect medium to satisfy all.
daneurysm said:
Yes, you called this weeks ago. We had 4 pages of me and you pontificating back-n-forth on the ramifications Google enforced stock ICS, etc, et al, ad nauseam....and this was in fact your premise.
I just hope you were right about the rest of the progression...baby steps indeed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am hopeful as well...just play your cards right Google.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Chameleon Home Screen APP

http://chameleon.teknision.com/
Anyone hear about this app? I read on another forum it works with Nexus7 now. What are your thoughts?
It hasn't been released yet. It looks good i would def but it ones is out.
I'm thinking about preordering it. It looks too boss!
If the pre-order would give me an apk after my payment I'm in.
Preorder gives out early access to the app, which is n august. It will officially launch at play store n sept
Thanks guys...yeah looks like I'll think about it when it does come out. Got too many other things to worry about when my Nexus 7 arrives tomorrow!
I'm definitely going to be looking at this when it comes out. I'm looking to use my $25 play store money on tablet apps and might have to save some for when this gets released
Yeah same...don't see any other must have apps that can't be downloaded.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Chameleon is useless
phoneaddict13 said:
http://chameleon.teknision.com/
Anyone hear about this app? I read on another forum it works with Nexus7 now. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you ask yes I have used it I have been trying it for two days now. Chameleon is not worth your time or money and despite the intention of the creators is NOTE deeply customizable. What it is is a series of widgets on a a couple of nice looking backgrounds. That's it in it's entirety. You have very little control over where you place the widgets (there is a strict grid pattern to use) or how much you can resize them (according to this grid pattern) and when you resize them smaller these widget they lose a lot of info (ie what they display). Only widgets desgined by Chameleon can be used and right now there are only 5 (twitter, gmail, facebook, instagram, and news...with very limited sources), so forget about using any widgets from your favorite apps unless chameleon deigns to create one in the future. These widgets also have limited functionality and you have no control over that limited functionality. Say you want to manually set your location on a weather app, or set your facebook app to update manually or perhaps every two hours instead of one. You are out of luck, it's chameleons way or the highway. Want an app (not a widget) on your desktop, well you can but only along the bottom edge of the screen and only five. Have multiple gmail accounts and would like notifications for each one better be prepared to have multiple large widgets taking up screen real estate or your out of luck. As for the supposed context wonderfeature, it's been tried before. Do you really want to have to jump through extra hoops to do something because it is a certain time of day or you are logged on to a certain network, if you like those extra steps then this is for you, if you like everything ready to go at your finger tips when and where you want it then this is best left alone. For crying out loud hitting the home button at the bottom of your screen doesn't even take you to your homescreen. This home screen replacement has limited functionality, so unless twitter, facebook, and instagram updates are your entire world (and even then there are better widgets included with other apps) this app will not be worth even 15 minutes (the refund window) of your time. If you have broader interests, and need something that you can set up exactly how you want it, to be useful for work and play AVOID THIS HOMESCREEN.
Druter said:
Before you ask yes I have used it I have been trying it for two days now. Chameleon is not worth your time or money and despite the intention of the creators is NOTE deeply customizable. What it is is a series of widgets on a a couple of nice looking backgrounds. That's it in it's entirety. You have very little control over where you place the widgets (there is a strict grid pattern to use) or how much you can resize them (according to this grid pattern) and when you resize them smaller these widget they lose a lot of info (ie what they display). Only widgets desgined by Chameleon can be used and right now there are only 5 (twitter, gmail, facebook, instagram, and news...with very limited sources), so forget about using any widgets from your favorite apps unless chameleon deigns to create one in the future. These widgets also have limited functionality and you have no control over that limited functionality. Say you want to manually set your location on a weather app, or set your facebook app to update manually or perhaps every two hours instead of one. You are out of luck, it's chameleons way or the highway. Want an app (not a widget) on your desktop, well you can but only along the bottom edge of the screen and only five. Have multiple gmail accounts and would like notifications for each one better be prepared to have multiple large widgets taking up screen real estate or your out of luck. As for the supposed context wonderfeature, it's been tried before. Do you really want to have to jump through extra hoops to do something because it is a certain time of day or you are logged on to a certain network, if you like those extra steps then this is for you, if you like everything ready to go at your finger tips when and where you want it then this is best left alone. For crying out loud hitting the home button at the bottom of your screen doesn't even take you to your homescreen. This home screen replacement has limited functionality, so unless twitter, facebook, and instagram updates are your entire world (and even then there are better widgets included with other apps) this app will not be worth even 15 minutes (the refund window) of your time. If you have broader interests, and need something that you can set up exactly how you want it, to be useful for work and play AVOID THIS HOMESCREEN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are however going to (have already?) release an SDK that allows developers to develop their own widgets so hopefully you won't be stuck with just the ones they provide. Whether this actually takes off is another matter. I might well buy it myself to try it out but at $10, and, currently, a limited widget selection, can't see it really flying off the shelves myself.
Yeah. I can't believe anyone funded this. What a joke.
Easily done with minimal effort on existing, free software.
I searched for a Chameleon thread in all the Nexus 7 forums and didn't see one, or I wouldn't have created a new thread. However I made a video for anyone interested to see it working.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUI2oPNqBW4&hd=1
But as everyone else is saying, its very limited, and after using it for over a day I am getting bugs and the out of the 5 widgets I have 3 broke and I had to recreate it to make it work again.
They had a concept video that looked very promising and one of the reasons why I wanted to support. Wireless Media streaming while still being able to use your tablet for other things, separate user profiles, and a stylish looking UI that can evolve to what you need. You can see that here: http://youtu.be/eWZ7guxro2g
So many flaws with your statements I have quoted.
Druter said:
You have very little control over where you place the widgets (there is a strict grid pattern to use) or how much you can resize them (according to this grid pattern)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Apex, Nova, GoLauncher, LauncherPro, etc. all force you to use a "grid" for your widgets. This isn't a flaw with Chameleon, it's called Android. YOu can have a widget take up th whole screen or just one single square. f course, most the widgets will be useless taking up just one square, but that's the case for most widgets unless the app maker made a 1x1 specific idget. Great thing with Chameleon though is that the widgets adapt to what size you make them. THe overwhelming majority of widgets you use on Apex or any other launcher don't unless the appmaker designed multiple size widgets.
Only widgets desgined by Chameleon can be used and right now there are only 5 (twitter, gmail, facebook, instagram, and news...with very limited sources), so forget about using any widgets from your favorite apps unless chameleon deigns to create one in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2) Right NOW the only widgets that are available are from Chameleon. It's a BETA. It's goin to ave limited functionality. They haven't released the API yet. Once they do that, which they will, anyone that can code HTML5 can create a widget for Chameleon. One will not have to know how to code for Android. Saying that the only widgets you'll ever get are from Chameleon is a 100% lie unless not another single sole on the face of the earth decides to make a widget.
These widgets also have limited functionality and you have no control over that limited functionality. Say you want to manually set your location on a weather app, or set your facebook app to update manually or perhaps every two hours instead of one. You are out of luck, it's chameleons way or the highway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3) It's a beta. The app and the widgets are not finalized. Just because you can't edit it now doesn't mean you will never be able to. They have a very long list of things they still want to do with it. That's why it's called BETA.
Want an app (not a widget) on your desktop, well you can but only along the bottom edge of the screen and only five.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Partially false. You can have a lot more than five. THe bottom dock scrolls, you can put as many apps as you want in the dock.
Seriously, if you are going to come on here and criticize an app, at least learn a thing or two about it instead of spouting out a bunch of false and/or misleading statements.
scottharris4 said:
So many flaws with your statements I have quoted.
1) Apex, Nova, GoLauncher, LauncherPro, etc. all force you to use a "grid" for your widgets. This isn't a flaw with Chameleon, it's called Android. YOu can have a widget take up th whole screen or just one single square. f course, most the widgets will be useless taking up just one square, but that's the case for most widgets unless the app maker made a 1x1 specific idget. Great thing with Chameleon though is that the widgets adapt to what size you make them. THe overwhelming majority of widgets you use on Apex or any other launcher don't unless the appmaker designed multiple size widgets.
2) Right NOW the only widgets that are available are from Chameleon. It's a BETA. It's goin to ave limited functionality. They haven't released the API yet. Once they do that, which they will, anyone that can code HTML5 can create a widget for Chameleon. One will not have to know how to code for Android. Saying that the only widgets you'll ever get are from Chameleon is a 100% lie unless not another single sole on the face of the earth decides to make a widget.
3) It's a beta. The app and the widgets are not finalized. Just because you can't edit it now doesn't mean you will never be able to. They have a very long list of things they still want to do with it. That's why it's called BETA.
Partially false. You can have a lot more than five. THe bottom dock scrolls, you can put as many apps as you want in the dock.
Seriously, if you are going to come on here and criticize an app, at least learn a thing or two about it instead of spouting out a bunch of false and/or misleading statements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is though that if I run Apex, Nova...etc. the majority of widgets in the play store work with these but wont with Chameleon? ..because they are written for Android and not html5? Now forgive as I dont know much about how it all works but are you saying that from now on anyone making an app and a widget for that app must build their widget to work with all standard launchers and then re-build it again to work with Chameleon seperately? How many app Devs are actually going to go through this much trouble? I'm starting to feel like I have been suckered out of 10 bucks for an app I will most likely never use now. I should have read the fine print because all I saw was a really cool looking launcher that I assumed ran all the current widgets like any other launcher.
look very nice
its not worth it tried it out myself big dissapointment. grab a couple nifty backgrounds and use the widgets out in andriod market and you can basically have same thing. what a joke this was.
emmabellachristian said:
its not worth it tried it out myself big dissapointment. grab a couple nifty backgrounds and use the widgets out in andriod market and you can basically have same thing. what a joke this was.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Do you know of an app that changes the theme/home screen your Nexus 7 based on the time of the day, or based on your location, etc.?
Update.
I received my registration and was able to install and test the Chameleon beta launcher. I have tested plenty of beta and even alpha ROMs and apps over the last few years and this is a first. Most betas of anything I have ever tested were buggy at times but you still got the feel and general idea for what the ROM or app was about. In fact a beta of anything generally has the look and functionality of the finished product with maybe still needing some bug fixes and tweaks here and there.
So how is this a first? Its the first time I have seen any Android developer take an idea and spend an hour to code into something that will at least boot or load and call it a beta. The crap I just tested isn't even an alpha!!! Honestly I don't even know what it was??? The only thing I can compare it to would be to take your home computer, uninstall windows 7 and then install one of the earliest version of windows from like 1992. Sadly I'm not even exaggerating a little bit. I'm confused!! This has to be some kind of joke or at least a scam. I still can't wrap my mind around what I saw other then I added 3 of the 5 or so silly widgets to the 3 ridiculous screens and didn't get much farther then that before the app crashed. The wallpaper has the resolution of a flip phone and was apparently made in windows paint using the paint brush tool. You do however have the option of changing the wallpaper to something exactly like it in a different color.
This has to be a scam. I'm worried because they make you authenticate using your Google credentials, password and all through their app. If you haven't spent the 5 or 10 on this yet then nows your chance to run from this as fast as you can. I'm not so worried about the 10 bucks I lost as much as I'm about what it was I really installed, what was running in the background that I don't know about and is my identity at risk. Yes folks it was that atrocious.
Pretty much you guys have posted my disappointments with the launcher. I am going to uninstall and keep up to date as to how it improves over time. I had been stock jb and was satisfied but will give nova or apex a try now.
So far, like many others, I am unimpressed with the launcher and sort of expected a bit more from it even if it is only in BETA but I don't mind. I am interested to see in what comes of it... so far, stock Android launcher suits me just fine and has done so since flashing Oxygen ROM for my HTC Desire way back when.

[REQUEST] Multiwindows???

it will be possible a porting of samsung multiwindows for the nexus 4?
Possibly, though I'm pretty sure that MultiWindow requires hooks in Touchwiz, so you would need a Touchwiz based ROM on 4.2 for it to work.
I'd love this on the N4 aswell. But it might need as said before a touchwiz rom or maybe CM11?
a rom with touchwiz wil be ok for me
There probably won't be a fully functioning Touchwiz ROM for our phone.. There are plenty of "floating" apps that offer similar functionality.
Sent from my Full Android on Grouper using Tapatalk 2
Doesn't paranoid android have this feature? And I remember a rom for the hp touch pad had this thing called cornerstone which allowed for multiple apps to be displayed at once
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
neer2005 said:
Doesn't paranoid android have this feature? And I remember a rom for the hp touch pad had this thing called cornerstone which allowed for multiple apps to be displayed at once
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google basically asked cornerstone to stop development of that app I think. I read that somewhere. Not sure where though.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
See post below.
kcls said:
Google basically asked cornerstone to stop development of that app I think. I read that somewhere. Not sure where though.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is some helpful info
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/cornerstone-dev
Basically what it looks like was Cyanogenmod was going to include Onskreen Cornerstone in their CM10 builds but Google are trying to stop it in a somewhat threatening maner.
See this post for more information
CM10 said:
Steve Kondik
Join group to reply
More message actions
Feb 15
We (the CM team) have been experimenting with Cornerstone on our
tablet builds. There are a few things to iron out, but for the most
part it's working pretty well. What is causing me some concern, is a
response to a re-share on Google+ by Dianne Hackborn, an engineer at
Google working on the Android platform. She raises some pretty valid
concerns (probably threatening to ban us from the Market if we include
it was a bit far over the line, though). I was wondering if someone
from Onskreen would care to comment?
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100275307499530023476/posts/ViCME1bb8F6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google said:
Dianne Hackborn
15 Feb 2012
+56
Okay, let me please please beg you not to do this. I can guarantee you this introduces all kinds of application compatibility issues. We work really hard to give our developers a consistent environment where their apps will operate correctly across all the devices Market runs on, not being impacted by negative reviews from bad devices that they should not have to deal specially with.
If you start making your own distributions of Android behaving in such fundamentally different ways, I suspect we are going to need to start doing things to prevent you from impacting our app ecosystem. I'm not sure what, but I could imagine things such as restricting how users can interact with Market apps on these devices (not allowing reviews or such).
We have let a lot of things in this area slide -- for example to be allowed to include Market on your device you are supposed to fully pass CTS. However, if you start really diverging from the core Android platform (I would argue this takes you well into the realm of a fork rather than a customization) then some deep issues are going to come up about how we handle these custom builds.
We have been putting a lot of thought and work for a number of years into how to let Android applications run on increasingly diverse and dynamic screens. Doing this correctly, without impacting our app developers in a negative way, is a really challenging problem. I also think it is something that needs to be done at the mainline platform level, not as a customization, because doing it right is going to require new well defined interfaces with applications for them to interact with it, possibly starting with just a facility they need to use to opt in to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cornerstone dev said:
onhsnm
Feb 15
Steve,
Thanks for reaching out. We have heard variations on this theme for
some time, so it appears that it is time for us to respond.
We very much appreciate the amount of work that the Android team has
done to address the complexity of supporting applications on the
variety of screen sizes that "real" Android runs on. The Onskreen team
has spent an immense amount of time to continue that effort while
creating the Cornerstone experience.
As far as responding to Diane's comments directly, it’s a bit
difficult because there are no specific concerns mentioned. Her
contention appears to be that changes were made to the Android
Framework at all, not with anything specific with Cornerstone. We'd be
happy to have a conversation with them about anything specifically
they feel negatively impacts apps. We have more work to do on the
product so there are definitely items on our todo list to continue to
improve, but the first release clearly stays within the realm of an
Android optimization (most definitely not a fork) and outside of bugs,
does not break Android apps.
One of our goals was to support Android applications unchanged without
introducing Cornerstone specific APIs or modifications that
applications must conform to. As Diane said, there are some great
things we could have done by introducing multi-tasking specific
interfaces and manifest declarations, but we did not so Cornerstone
did not fragment from Android as it exists today. After all that is
what the app developers have targeted for their apps. Throughout the
code, you will find a number of architectural decisions to ensure apps
run without fragmentation (Ex: setting correct Configurations, not
running multiple instances, etc...); as well as feature decisions to
ensure the same (Ex: ability to turn Cornerstone off, removing the
ability to swap so that apps weren't forced to deal with changing
screen size, etc...)
Threats to rescind Market access are a bit much, we prefer to stick to
specifics and open a dialogue. We are happy to discuss specific
concerns and we expect that once the Google team has had a chance to
dig into the code, we will hear some. We also expect that dialogue to
make Cornerstone better for everyone, one of the reasons we open
sourced the code to start with.
hansmeet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Can the LG G3 have stock/vanilla Android installed on it?

I don't like phones that have anything on top of android, like Touchwiz for Samsung phones or HTC Sense on HTC phones. I noticed the LG G3 also has something on top of Android, so can that be removed and/or have regular Android installed on it?
U need a nexus
When we get aosp for it ya. As of right now, no.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app
The G3 UI is barely different than the Nexus UI.
There may be a possibility AOSP will be ported in because the bootloader is unlocked.
Remember though, aosp doesn't have anything built in to utilize the IR blaster or knock on/off and the like. So, unless you can find 3rd party apps that take care of that, you'll lose out on built in features of the G3.
partylikeaninjastar said:
The G3 UI is barely different than the Nexus UI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you blind?
gotzaDroid said:
Remember though, aosp doesn't have anything built in to utilize the IR blaster or knock on/off and the like. So, unless you can find 3rd party apps that take care of that, you'll lose out on built in features of the G3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Knock on can be added at the kernel level. IR Blaster support is native in KitKat.
partylikeaninjastar said:
The G3 UI is barely different than the Nexus UI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh? LG Home Launcher is completely different than stock Android.
Installing Google Now Launcher is the easiest way to run stockish setup. I'm sure there are tons of vanilla themes for all the popular launchers as well if aesthetics are what you're going for
joshnichols189 said:
Knock on can be added at the kernel level. IR Blaster support is native in KitKat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you noticed that kernel support for knock-on always drained battery on other devices? The same will apply to the G3. Use of the low-power cores that the G3 uses for knockon is closed source and the source is only released to OEMs. Technically, all snap 800+ devices have the low power cores, but it's up to the OEM to enable them.
Kernel hacks to enable knockon keep the real cores awake while the phone is off, which is what causes the battery drain.
Not to mention, any third-party IR tool will never be nearly as good as the stock LG one.
joshnichols189 said:
Are you blind?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you?
xlxcrossing said:
Huh? LG Home Launcher is completely different than stock Android.
Installing Google Now Launcher is the easiest way to run stockish setup. I'm sure there are tons of vanilla themes for all the popular launchers as well if aesthetics are what you're going for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are the differences between a stock ROM vs skinned:
Launcher - most people run alternative launchers anyway so this is a moot point. And the Google Now Launcher is overrated anyway.
Native Dialer/Contacts app - not a huge deal.
Settings menu - besides the color, the only thing really different about LG settings is that it defaults to tabbed view which works a lot better at getting you to the settings you want quickly without having to scroll through a long list. If you like having to scroll through every single setting you don't need at the moment, however, you can switch to list view.
Keyboard - personal preference. I've been using SwiftKey since Gingerbread and it's my opinion that it's leagues better than the Google keyboard. I also think the LG keyboard is a step above Google's.
Native email and SMS apps - I've only ever used Gmail so I can't comment on LG's email vs Google's. We for the a messaging app, I'm pretty sure that Hangouts finally replaced it as the default (which I've been using since my Nexus 4).
Lock screen - I prefer LG's with or without knock code. Native shortcuts on the lock screen beats Google's plain lockscreen with only a camera shortcut.
Native camera/gallery - Google camera is available in the Play Store and I'm pretty sure Google got rid of the gallery app in favor of Google+ Photos. I don't see anything that makes the Google Camera better unless you take a lot of photo spheres.
Quick settings - first of all, stock Google quick settings are nearly useless since they're shortcuts, not toggles, and you can't change them. Quick settings is one of the biggest reasons to have a custom ROM on a Nexus phone. I like the style of LG quick settings because it's similar to CM's.
Did I miss anything?
Yeah, so I like I said, LG isn't that far from stock. It adds a ton of useful features over the bare bones that is stock while not differing too much in appearance. Besides, most of your time spent on your phone is in various apps that are all identical regardless of which device you're on.
The fact that you could write such a long post on the subject of them being so alike sorta disproves the idea that there's little to no difference between them. Of course Android features remain unchanged across different builds. Technically you could say any OEM skin over Android is "just like" stock based on this argument. It is in the sense that that they all add to the aesthetic of Android, but in essence there's basically stock android, vanilla, GPE, what have you and, well.....everything else.
xlxcrossing said:
The fact that you could write such a long post on the subject of them being so alike sorta disproves the idea that there's little to no difference between them. Of course Android features remain unchanged across different builds. Technically you could say any OEM skin over Android is "just like" stock based on this argument. It is in the sense that that they all add to the aesthetic of Android, but in essence there's basically stock android, vanilla, GPE, what have you and, well.....everything else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Supporting my stance with examples doesn't disapprove anything.
partylikeaninjastar said:
Supporting my stance with examples doesn't disapprove anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Support your point you did not. Do a write up on your favorite apps and features you did. I'm glad you like your LG software, not the issue at hand though. The OP was asking about vanilla android and you essentially told them "why there's no difference". They are in search for something specific not to be swayed into liking what they currently have.
xlxcrossing said:
Support your point you did not. Do a write up on your favorite apps and features you did. I'm glad you like your LG software, not the issue at hand though. The OP was asking about vanilla android and you essentially told them "why there's no difference". They are in search for something specific not to be swayed into liking what they currently have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't do a write up of my favorite feature. I compared what little differences there are stock vs LG, backing up my claim that "LG isn't that far off from stock." I never claimed there was no difference — I said there is very little. And, what little differences there are, are minor since more time is spent in apps and system apps that define stock vs non are often replaced. I could switch to my Nexus 5 or 7 right now, continue this discussion or go back to what I was doing and the experience would be nearly identical (the not identical part being my screen's appearance when I press my recent apps button after I hit reply here).
So I'll continue to say, the LG UI isn't all that different from stock. Unless all you do is make calls and change settings. In which case, it's completely different.
KiNG OMaR said:
Have you noticed that kernel support for knock-on always drained battery on other devices? The same will apply to the G3. Use of the low-power cores that the G3 uses for knockon is closed source and the source is only released to OEMs. Technically, all snap 800+ devices have the low power cores, but it's up to the OEM to enable them.
Kernel hacks to enable knockon keep the real cores awake while the phone is off, which is what causes the battery drain.
Not to mention, any third-party IR tool will never be nearly as good as the stock LG one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, no it does not. Kernel enabled wakeup only has a noticeable effect on battery on the Nexus 5 for the reasons you state, because the cores do not sleep. On every other phone the cores can sleep and battery drain is negligible. Smart IR is 100x better than Quick Remote, Quick Remote sucks to be honest.
partylikeaninjastar said:
Are you?
Here are the differences between a stock ROM vs skinned:
Launcher - most people run alternative launchers anyway so this is a moot point. And the Google Now Launcher is overrated anyway.
Native Dialer/Contacts app - not a huge deal.
Settings menu - besides the color, the only thing really different about LG settings is that it defaults to tabbed view which works a lot better at getting you to the settings you want quickly without having to scroll through a long list. If you like having to scroll through every single setting you don't need at the moment, however, you can switch to list view.
Keyboard - personal preference. I've been using SwiftKey since Gingerbread and it's my opinion that it's leagues better than the Google keyboard. I also think the LG keyboard is a step above Google's.
Native email and SMS apps - I've only ever used Gmail so I can't comment on LG's email vs Google's. We for the a messaging app, I'm pretty sure that Hangouts finally replaced it as the default (which I've been using since my Nexus 4).
Lock screen - I prefer LG's with or without knock code. Native shortcuts on the lock screen beats Google's plain lockscreen with only a camera shortcut.
Native camera/gallery - Google camera is available in the Play Store and I'm pretty sure Google got rid of the gallery app in favor of Google+ Photos. I don't see anything that makes the Google Camera better unless you take a lot of photo spheres.
Quick settings - first of all, stock Google quick settings are nearly useless since they're shortcuts, not toggles, and you can't change them. Quick settings is one of the biggest reasons to have a custom ROM on a Nexus phone. I like the style of LG quick settings because it's similar to CM's.
Did I miss anything?
Yeah, so I like I said, LG isn't that far from stock. It adds a ton of useful features over the bare bones that is stock while not differing too much in appearance. Besides, most of your time spent on your phone is in various apps that are all identical regardless of which device you're on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you delusional? Look at the two side by side and tell me they look similar.
---------- Post added at 06:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:10 AM ----------
partylikeaninjastar said:
I didn't do a write up of my favorite feature. I compared what little differences there are stock vs LG, backing up my claim that "LG isn't that far off from stock." I never claimed there was no difference — I said there is very little. And, what little differences there are, are minor since more time is spent in apps and system apps that define stock vs non are often replaced. I could switch to my Nexus 5 or 7 right now, continue this discussion or go back to what I was doing and the experience would be nearly identical (the not identical part being my screen's appearance when I press my recent apps button after I hit reply here).
So I'll continue to say, the LG UI isn't all that different from stock. Unless all you do is make calls and change settings. In which case, it's completely different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey that's weird, the messaging app looks nothing like the AOSP app. You know what else looks different? Gallery, Browser, everything about the settings, the status bar does NOT conform to having a quick settings panel separate from notifications, the dialer has tabs but looks completely different, the keyboard is different, the stock email app is different, hell the lock screen is different. Even the recent panel is nothing like stock, or the initial button layout. These are all things that OEMs change and it is 100% false to call Optmius UI close to stock android with so much of the system UI changed. Like someone said, every OEM skin is close to stock android according to your logic.
joshnichols189 said:
Are you delusional? Look at the two side by side and tell me they look similar.
---------- Post added at 06:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:10 AM ----------
Hey that's weird, the messaging app looks nothing like the AOSP app. You know what else looks different? Gallery, Browser, everything about the settings, the status bar does NOT conform to having a quick settings panel separate from notifications, the dialer has tabs but looks completely different, the keyboard is different, the stock email app is different, hell the lock screen is different. Even the recent panel is nothing like stock, or the initial button layout. These are all things that OEMs change and it is 100% false to call Optmius UI close to stock android with so much of the system UI changed. Like someone said, every OEM skin is close to stock android according to your logic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I put my Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and G3 side by side, and press home, they would all look exactly the same. If I start using all three exactly how I normally use them, they'll still look exactly the same. Because I use the same apps on all of them. Through regular use, the only differences are the lock screen when I turn my screen on, the quick settings when I pull down the notification tray, and how recent apps are presented when pressing the recent app button. In normal use, there are hardly any differences. I use my phone. I use apps.
And did you even bother to read anything of what I posted? I mentioned the messaging app. I also mentioned how Google is moving away from it in their Nexus devices (everyone's obsession) and having Hangouts as the default. I couldn't even begin to tell you what the stock SMS app looks like on the G3 since I only use Hangouts.
I also mentioned the Gallery app and how that's another thing Google is moving away from in their Nexus devices in favor of Photos integration in Google+.
Browser, admittedly, I did neglect to mention. I only use Chrome so it didn't occur to me. I did ask if I missed anything, though, so don't get your panties in a bunch.
I also compared and contrasted the Settings (seriously, go back up and actually READ my post), as well as Quick Settings, Dialer, email app, keyboard, lock screen, and the recent panel. Look, if you're going to sit here and try to have an argument with me, at least look at what I posted. You're the kind of person who reads a news headline and instantly jumps to conclusions.
Let me repeat my original statement: the LG UI isn't that different from stock Android.
I know reading comprehension isn't your strong point, but that simple lone acknowledges that there are differences between the two. It's not claiming they are equal. It's simply stating that they are not vastly different. Yes, they are different. I'm very aware of that, coming from three Nexus devices. I'm saying they are not that different and that the differences are even less when you're using your phone.
partylikeaninjastar said:
If I put my Nexus 5, Nexus 7, and G3 side by side, and press home, they would all look exactly the same. If I start using all three exactly how I normally use them, they'll still look exactly the same. Because I use the same apps on all of them. Through regular use, the only differences are the lock screen when I turn my screen on, the quick settings when I pull down the notification tray, and how recent apps are presented when pressing the recent app button. In normal use, there are hardly any differences. I use my phone. I use apps.
And did you even bother to read anything of what I posted? I mentioned the messaging app. I also mentioned how Google is moving away from it in their Nexus devices (everyone's obsession) and having Hangouts as the default. I couldn't even begin to tell you what the stock SMS app looks like on the G3 since I only use Hangouts.
I also mentioned the Gallery app and how that's another thing Google is moving away from in their Nexus devices in favor of Photos integration in Google+.
Browser, admittedly, I did neglect to mention. I only use Chrome so it didn't occur to me. I did ask if I missed anything, though, so don't get your panties in a bunch.
I also compared and contrasted the Settings (seriously, go back up and actually READ my post), as well as Quick Settings, Dialer, email app, keyboard, lock screen, and the recent panel. Look, if you're going to sit here and try to have an argument with me, at least look at what I posted. You're the kind of person who reads a news headline and instantly jumps to conclusions.
Let me repeat my original statement: the LG UI isn't that different from stock Android.
I know reading comprehension isn't your strong point, but that simple lone acknowledges that there are differences between the two. It's not claiming they are equal. It's simply stating that they are not vastly different. Yes, they are different. I'm very aware of that, coming from three Nexus devices. I'm saying they are not that different and that the differences are even less when you're using your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's nice how you immediately jump to assumptions and insults, shows how big of a person you are. No I did not bother to read your full post because your argument is fundamentally flawed. You just admitted in your post that you use the same apps on both phones and don't even know what the G3 messaging app looks like. Take a look at Optimus UI and its versions of the AOSP counterparts and tell me they are not that different. It is obvious even looking at the default home launchers they are vastly different. It's also obvious if you are using the same replacement apps on both they will look the same, that's not the point. If you use the same replacement apps on an HTC with Sense or a Samsung with Touchwiz of course you will have the same experience.
joshnichols189 said:
It's nice how you immediately jump to assumptions and insults, shows how big of a person you are. No I did not bother to read your full post because your argument is fundamentally flawed. You just admitted in your post that you use the same apps on both phones and don't even know what the G3 messaging app looks like. Take a look at Optimus UI and its versions of the AOSP counterparts and tell me they are not that different. It is obvious even looking at the default home launchers they are vastly different. It's also obvious if you are using the same replacement apps on both they will look the same, that's not the point. If you use the same replacement apps on an HTC with Sense or a Samsung with Touchwiz of course you will have the same experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm jumping to assumptions because your replies only demonstrate that you saw that you had a disagreement with me and didn't bother read past that. Which you confirm. We're done. If you can't bother to even read what I have to say before, then I can't be bothered to continue to have this one sided discussion. Go about your day.
partylikeaninjastar said:
I'm jumping to assumptions because your replies only demonstrate that you saw that you had a disagreement with me and didn't bother read past that. Which you confirm. We're done. If you can't bother to even read what I have to say before, then I can't be bothered to continue to have this one sided discussion. Go about your day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent copout.
johnael7 said:
I don't like phones that have anything on top of android, like Touchwiz for Samsung phones or HTC Sense on HTC phones. I noticed the LG G3 also has something on top of Android, so can that be removed and/or have regular Android installed on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eventually we'll have aosp, and alot of LG features wont work, some people will get working but most will not.
And to be honest the UI isnt ugly in anyway its nice and i can live with it along with all the features it presents, should try to like it since we wont have AOSP for whileeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Categories

Resources