So, what's so great about stock Android?

[apathy_next2]

I've been hearing about how awesome stock android is, can someone tell me how better it is than let's say sense or touchwiz? I've had an S2 for about 2 years now and I just got a new nexus 7 and there seems to be things 'missing' software wise on the 7.
For example, I could not for the life of me figure out how to find files in the download folder and then link them to the home screen.
I'm simply talking from an average user point of view. Have I been too sucked into touchwiz that its hard to like other stuff now? Kind of the like the frog in the warm/hot water analogy?

This is not a rant or anything, but is stock android just meant to have a better experience right out of the box or do you have to download this and that to make it good?

 

[zaydq]

I've wondered the same thing. I run sense 5 on my HTC one and I really enjoy it. I use the modaco.switch ROM and when I tried stock android, I absolutely didn't enjoy it. My nexus 7 feels more accustomed to stock android, but I rarely use it as my son tends to enjoy playing educational games and watching YouTube videos.

I'd like to hear why people enjoy the stock experience... Save "bloat" as a reason, since rooting can help you get rid of those fairly easy on the OEM ROMs.

 

[Crono]

The people who rave about stock are the ones coming from older hardware with pre-Jellybean Android and old UI skins, or just like their UI to be as vanilla as possible.

I, too, love Sense 5 and am running MoDaCo.SWITCH. No speed difference between GPe and Sense. Whether you like one UI over another is a matter of taste, but I prefer Sense 5 and the HTC features like Zoe and Highlights and Blinkfeed to stock. Stock is perfectly fine if you tweak your UI with apps and launchers. Just like vanilla ice cream, you can add sprinkles, cherries, chopped nuts, whip cream, and hot fudge to jazz it up. Nothing wrong with it as a base.

 

[dguy6789]

Stock is significantly less resource intensive(faster) than Sense or Touchwiz. That's the primary reason people like stock. Touchwiz and Sense(I haven't owned a phone with the very latest ones) tend to have some more options and features that stock doesn't have but they both give the impression of being unpolished and inconsistent.

 

[thedosbox]

This is not a rant or anything, but is stock android just meant to have a better experience right out of the box or do you have to download this and that to make it good?

Bolded for the truth.

If you want a barebones experience, and are happy to experiment with lots of apps, stock android is for you. If you want feature overload (to the point of being gimmicky), Touchwiz might be better. If you want something in between, Sense would be the middle ground.

Stock is significantly less resource intensive(faster) than Sense or Touchwiz.

Not always true:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7107/...s-4-google-play-edition-review-nearly-nexus/5

 

[Eug]

TouchWiz is bloated. Dunno about Sense.

However, I do appreciate that Samsung products have a home button.

In any case, I think both TouchWiz and stock Android have their problems. I prefer stock with NO tweaks, but can understand why Samsung went the direction they did. The problem with stock Android is that Google still hasn't mastered OS ergonomics, and Samsung is trying to compensate for it. Unfortunately, I think they've gone overboard.

Either way, this is the biggest beef I have with Android in general. It's just not consistent. Every group of devices is different, so much so that apps that run on one device won't run 100% properly on another, even if they're from the same generation with similar specs. It's just a big headache if you run any third party apps, even from major mainstream developers.

 

[apathy_next2]

Either way, this is the biggest beef I have with Android in general. It's just not consistent. Every group of devices is different, so much so that apps that run on one device won't run 100% properly on another, even if they're from the same generation with similar specs. It's just a big headache if you run any third party apps, even from major mainstream developers.

Yeah, I guess there is where I just got hit as an average user. Going from Sense to stock felt different, where I have to try to 'learn' different way of doing stuff, its not like english to french, but maybe putting a guy from boston together with a guy from Birmingham, Al or something.

bah, its not Big BIG deal, but I can see now how people can get a bit annoyed.

 

[Eug]

I learned the hard way a few weeks ago that Vonage's simple VoIP app doesn't run 100% properly on my 2012 Android flagship phone, when I was on vacation outside North America and needed to use it. Luckily I had installed it on my wife's ancient iPhone 4 as well, and it worked properly on that.

Even Google learned the hard way when they found out their flagship Nexus 4 didn't actually support USB OTG even though they initially claimed it did.

 

[shortylickens]

Stock Ice Cream Sammich is actually damn good. Better than any homebrew gingerbread I ever used.

Of course, I still like my samsung enhanced Jellybean on the Note 2.

 

[kpkp]

If the first thing you do, after you buy a notebook, is to format and install a clean OS then stock android is for you.
If the first thing you do, after you buy a notebook, is to check all the "cool" apps that came with it, then go with a skinned version.

Is as simple as that

 

[mikeymikec]

The most irritating thing about my phone (HTC Desire C, Android 4.0.x, Sense 4.0) is that I have to be careful when terminating a call, though I'm really not sure how I have to be careful in all scenarios:

1 - The one I know what's going on with is where I've initiated the call, then the caller hangs up before I do and because the 'call' and 'hang up' buttons are in the exact same position (when 'hang up' disappears, 'call' replaces it immediately), and I end up calling that person again.

2 - Someone calls me, I hang up using the button on my corded hands-free kit (which is HTC and comes with the phone) - possibly after they have hung up, and it rings them back.

2a - Same as point 2 but it starts playing music inexplicably from the standard Android Music app instead despite the fact that I possibly haven't used the app in days.

I think if I could avoid any or all of the above, I'd consider changing the UI, though it would have to be as responsive or better than Sense 4.0.

 

[WelshBloke]

AOSP is great on older/unsupported phones. I have an HTC Desire which is perfectly usable as a backup/bike GPS device as long as I run something like an Oxygen ROM on it.

Nexus devices are also nice if you want the latest OS updates as quickly as possible, although I'd say that thats not as important now as it was as Google seems intent on updating as much as possible independently from the OS.

Apart from those two points its more about aesthetics or form over function as far as I can see. Personally I prefer the functionality that manufacturers add (as long as they make it non compulsory) over a particular set of stock icons.

 

[thedosbox]

If the first thing you do, after you buy a notebook, is to format and install a clean OS then stock android is for you.
If the first thing you do, after you buy a notebook, is to check all the "cool" apps that came with it, then go with a skinned version.

Is as simple as that

Nope MSC support. Smart dialer (before 4.3). Wired-synch with Outlook contacts. On/off-peak synch schedules for email. Those are sample features you won't find in any stock android device. I use all of them.

Point being, you might be able to find an app to replicate that functionality, but it'll take time and money. Not everyone considers a phone a toy to be tinkered with.

 

[Raduque]

I've yet to figure it out, and I started with Google-stock Android.

 

[Bateluer]

TouchWiz is bloated. Dunno about Sense.

Sense 5 is the most bloated of all the Android skins today. I say that as someone with an HTC One and a Note 8 and a Nexus 7 for comparison. Sense 5 is so bad, that ALL its default apps need to be replaced with Play Store apps. Easily the single greatest flaw in an otherwise great phone. Blinkfeed and HTC Gallery rightly earn most of my wrath for being utterly unusable garbage with no redeeming qualities, incredibly slow load times, and being the anti-thesis of usability.

However, I do appreciate that Samsung products have a home button.

All Android devices have a Home button, whether physical or on screen. Samsung takes a lot of flak for their crappy physical home buttons though, especially years after on screen buttons made their debut and showed everyone how to do it properly. :/

 

[foghorn67]

TouchWiz is the ugliest interface since people made themes for Windows XP.
It's a convoluted, way to busy and cluttered piece of garbage.

 

[WelshBloke]

...All Android devices have a Home button, whether physical or on screen. Samsung takes a lot of flak for their crappy physical home buttons though, especially years after on screen buttons made their debut and showed everyone how to do it properly. :/

Theres a reason all the best selling smartphones have a physical home button...

 

[thedosbox]

Sense 5 is the most bloated of all the Android skins today

TouchWiz is the ugliest interface since people made themes for Windows XP.
It's a convoluted, way to busy and cluttered piece of garbage.

And this is why any opinion on stock vs skins should be taken with a pinch of salt and a reminder that YMMV.

 

[mikeymikec]

nvm

 

[zaydq]

Sense 5 is the most bloated of all the Android skins today. I say that as someone with an HTC One and a Note 8 and a Nexus 7 for comparison. Sense 5 is so bad, that ALL its default apps need to be replaced with Play Store apps. Easily the single greatest flaw in an otherwise great phone. Blinkfeed and HTC Gallery rightly earn most of my wrath for being utterly unusable garbage with no redeeming qualities, incredibly slow load times, and being the anti-thesis of usability.



All Android devices have a Home button, whether physical or on screen. Samsung takes a lot of flak for their crappy physical home buttons though, especially years after on screen buttons made their debut and showed everyone how to do it properly. :/

I don't understand how blinkfeed and gallery is unusable. I use them just fine
..could you elaborate?

 

[podspi]

Having used stock Android from Froyo ~ JB, as well as a few versions of Sense and Touchwiz, I have to say there really isn't anything that great about stock UI-wise.

In terms of how nice it is using the UI, I'd put Sense>Stock>Touchwiz. The biggest thing I've found is that stock android tends to feel a lot snappier than most skins. Touchwiz looks absolutely terrible (imho), but what bothered me the most about it is that it just felt slow.

Currently I'm using PA w/ HALO, so I don't even think that could be considered stock, though it is pretty close.

 

[MagickMan]

No adware.

 

[foghorn67]

And this is why any opinion on stock vs skins should be taken with a pinch of salt and a reminder that YMMV.

No it isn't. Touchwiz is the ugliest thing since the Pontiac Aztec.

 

[ImDonly1]

Touchwiz is awful and looks outdated.
One example, the phone app... if you are in the dialer or the recent tab it is one app. If you press the contacts tab it opens a whole new app for contacts and switches windows. Who does that? It should be all one app just like in stock android.

The clock on the homescreen has a blue background and is not transparent. Looks fine with the default samsung wallpaper, but switch wallpapers and it doesn't match.

I prefer the look and snappiness of stock android. It looks clean.

Haven't really used a modern HTC phone so I can't comment on sense ui. Last phone I used with sense ui was during the WM6 days. Don't really do social media, so I don't care for blinkfeed which I hear can be disabled though.

 

[openwheel]

stock UI is fast and simple. I always half the animation speed for a snappier experience. Best imho. I absolutely can't stand TouchWiz. I like the new Sense 5 but I have no chance to use it since Verizon still doesn't carry the One.