Android Reviews Lacking

[mattgilmore]

I have read some of your Android reviews and have to wonder why they do not address the significant flaw in Android phone and tablet hardware. The latest Galaxy S8 comes with a stock 64GB which in reality is where the Galaxy should have been with the S5. None of your reviews address the comparable memory deficiencies between the Iphone and Android hardware platforms. When one considers how much mandatory bloatware Google shoves on you phone and tablet that you cannot remove, even disabling does not free the limited system memory of its burden. Considering all Google apps must run in system memory and cannot be installed to external memory this severely limits available memory for other apps or functions. For tabletes those who want to download Netflix or Amazon videos for offline viewing on tablets say for road trips for your children you are lucky to get 2 of either due to bloatware regardless of external memory installed. Some models of Samsung tablets are completely useless due to this poor hardware to OS design. When you pay over $700 for a Galaxy phone you would expect performance similar to a laptop. Seems odd no one is confronting Samsung headon regarding its tablet offerings and the limited memory available after stock OS is loaded and its impact on usability with standard apps installed as well. You have to choose often between functional apps like banking etc.. or entertainment such as Netflix or Amazon as when both are loaded there is often not enough system memory left to download more than one movie at a time for offline viewing even if you have 120 GB of external memory free since a portion occupies system memory for each download. As the software gets bigger and more bloated the memory additions with each new phone/tablet seem to just keep up. By today's standards I would expect the top of the line Galaxy phone to come with no less than 128 GB of ram and their tablets to include no less than 64 GB to render them useful for a few years. Until these memory points are standard I have given up on Samsung and Android having been an avid Android user since the original motorola Droid and frankly the hardware has sucked ever since.
And don't get me started on app updates that are too stupid to install to the memory location of choice, IE If you have forced your apps to external memory, every update puts them back into system memory requiring you to move them all over again. Android is too stupid to check app location before it updates to put in the same location so what happens, the updates fail as you run out of system memory because it shoved all its apps into system memory instead of external memory where you had banished it to. Sad part many developers only build their android apps to run in system memory there is no option to move to external memory so having more system memory as a standard build becomes absolutely essential if you hope to get relative use of your devices to the price point you paid. I am confident I am not the only user with these complaints yet I don't see anyone addressing them from their bully pulpit A comparison of these limitations for Android vs IOS Apple would be of value to those considering where to go for a functional device and minimum memory recommendations from the experts where that hardware exists or not in case the MFGs are listening.
The solution is for Tom's to do a in depth analysis of tablets offered in the last 2 years there stock memories and what is left for usability and real world use and how external memory does not help based on current app design and bloatware and use that as a rating system for all reviews. Then move on to phones. If you must compare Android to Apple maybe you will shame someone to action.

 

[Saga Lout]

Personally speaking only, I'm fairly sure we don't often compare a £100 Android device to a £1,000 Apple phone either.

That said, I will flag your comments up to the paid staff who supervise or write the reviews to ensure they see your comments.