Android 16 is here

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

AI, AOSP, and Google’s Direction

  • Some notice AI “Key Takeaways” on Google’s pages and see it as pointless fluff on already-short docs.
  • Others raise fears that Google is “choking” AOSP or moving Android more closed, linking to prior discussions about private development and GrapheneOS chats.

Notifications, UX Tweaks, and UI Fatigue

  • Many consider Android notifications superior to iOS, and welcome features like “force grouping” and live activities, though some frame these as Android belatedly matching iOS.
  • Several users complain about learning new UI patterns every release, wishing for “LTS interfaces” or decade-stable designs; others argue change is often minor and mostly in plumbing.
  • Gesture complexity and discoverability on both platforms (especially iOS swipes) are frequent pain points.

Ecosystem Lock‑in, Competition, and Hardware

  • Strong sentiment that mobile is effectively a Google/Apple duopoly; calls for antitrust on defaults, web installs, and browser engines.
  • Debate over whether breaking up Google (or Apple) would meaningfully improve competition.
  • Pixel is praised for clean software but criticized for hardware reliability (battery, overheating, GPS). Other OEMs offer good hardware but often ship bloat or poor support.

Performance, Bloat, and Low‑End Devices

  • Older Android phones with tiny RAM are remembered as “fast,” while many modern low-end devices are described as laggy or unusable, especially with heavy Google apps.
  • Some argue this is inevitable feature bloat; others note capable midrange devices exist if you pick carefully.

Material Expressive vs Apple’s Liquid Glass

  • After Apple’s new glossy, translucent design, many see Material 3 Expressive as comparatively restrained, legible, and “out of the way,” despite complaints about oversized padding and low information density.
  • Others find Material bland and “corporate,” and are drawn to Apple’s more dramatic visuals despite legibility concerns.
  • Nostalgia is strong for earlier Android/iOS UIs with clearer affordances and higher density.

Desktop Mode, Linux VMs, and Convergence

  • There’s excitement that official desktop windowing could generalize what DeX/Ready For have done; some already see a near‑future “phone as PC” once Linux VMs and better Chrome/desktop apps mature.
  • Skeptics doubt app developers or Google will invest enough to avoid yet another abandoned mode.

Security, Play Integrity, and Openness

  • New security features are welcomed by some, but others see Play Integrity and Advanced Protection as tightening lock‑in: harder rooting, weaker support for custom ROMs (e.g., GrapheneOS), and pressure against sideloading/alt stores.
  • Concern that this benefits banks and large vendors more than users, while eroding the ability to truly own and modify one’s device.

Updates, Fragmentation, and Accessibility

  • Many devices are stuck on older Android versions; users complain that significant visual changes target only newer hardware.
  • Hearing‑aid users are cautiously optimistic about new call‑routing controls but note that Bluetooth handling on mobile has lagged what’s long been possible on desktop Linux/other OSes.