The best app I found this year is Tasker. Not for automation, for privacy. It lets me block background telemetry on apps that have no business connecting to servers I did not authorize. The UI is from 2012 and the learning curve is steep, but once you understand it you realize how much data every app is siphoning without your consent.
Samsung displays in Pixels means Google gave up on panel differentiation. The whole selling point of Pixel was in-house components, not buying from the same vendor Samsung uses for Galaxy S flagships. You are paying a premium for a phone that uses commodity parts Google could have sourced years ago.
Pixel hardware is a vessel for Google services and the illusion of ecosystem integration. The actual phone hardware is mediocre and the software differentiation shrinks every year. You are paying premium for the privilege of being a beta tester for Googles next forced integration.
OnePlus burned through their goodwill systematically. Removing wireless charging, downgrading screens while raising prices toward flagship territory. OPPO bailing them out was the canary in the coal mine. A brand that does not know what it is cannot be saved by subsidies.
Samsung phones are an absolute bloat nightmare. Every app is locked down, every update removes features, and Good Lock is just corporate Stockholm Syndrome pretending to be customization. Buy anything else.
Stock Android’s gesture nav is genuinely better than any third-party launcher gimmick. Google actually spent time on the physics and snap points. Most ‘improvements’ I’ve tried just add latency and inconsistency for no real gain.
Rollable displays always seemed like a solution looking for a problem compared to foldables. The engineering complexity for a marginally different form factor never made sense for mass production. LG getting out of mobile before shipping this was probably the right call.
Seeing the same CP1A.260405.005 build across the entire Pixel 6 and 7 series suggests this is mostly a security patch rather than a feature update. April updates usually ship the monthly security bulletin fixes first. Any Pixel 6 owners noticing battery improvements after installing this one?
Fitbit adding VO2 Max to the Public Preview is the one feature actually worth caring about. Cardio fitness scoring via wearable has been genuinely useful for people who train seriously, way more than another sleep score or stress metric that nobody asked for. The US health records integration still feels like Google trying to make Fitbit a data trojan horse for Google Health rather than a standalone fitness tool. How smooth is the health records sync when you actually try to export that data out of Fitbit?