KPH tech blog

You’ll remember that I’ve already analysed the main Android skins, but this time around I thought I’d take a look at some of the newer companies.

While HMD’s Nokia phones are part of the Android One program, and so come with stock Android, I wanted to write a newer blog post to observe developments since my last blog post on this topic.

Pixel Launcher & Android One

The stock appearance of Android on the Pixel/XL, Pixel 2/XL and 3/XL is clean and simple, and so is that of phones part of Android One – e.g. HMD’s Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8, etc.

But (and this is just my opinion), I think it’s a little too stock. Yes, it’s a clean UI, and with little to no preloaded bloatware, but I’m looking for a phone that offers an experience, not one that just says “here’s Android – have at it!” Unfortunately, these phones don’t offer that ‘experience.’

I’ve noticed, in the Google Now Launcher which you can download from the Play Store, that I can’t rearrange apps into folders on the app drawer. I thought it was just the app itself, as it doesn’t seem to have received any recent updates in years – the only date listed is it’s release date, 26 Feb 2014.

Nova Launcher is supposed to be as close to it as possible (of course, with added customisation if you want it), and between this and a quick Google search, it does appear that folder arrangement is indeed missing from the Pixel experience.

That is an issue. In fact, is stupid. I have over 50 apps installed on my S7 (not including the preloaded apps, which take the total to about 94 apps), and scrolling through a drab, endless A-Z list of apps is uninspiring and takes way too much time.

While I could just download Nova on a new phone, when I’m paying £500+ for a phone, the least I expect from it is a bit of customisation in the organisation of apps and the UI.

Google’s stock Android experience doesn’t offer this functionality, and for me, it fails the initial test – ‘is it customisable?’ To me, the stock Pixel UI is iOS with an app drawer. That’s not what Android is about for me, so I’m not sure about the Pixel lineup, and although I’m impressed with HMD Nokia’s phones (in particular, the Nokia 7 Plus), I might have to give these a miss as well.

TouchWiz, Samsung Experience 9

Users have been critical of OEM customisation, due to bloatware and performance slowdowns. Samsung’s TouchWiz was often highlighted as a prime example of a buggy, slow UI. But, renamed Samsung Experience 9, it’s now pretty good. People still don’t like it, but it’s fine for me, it works, and I’m fine with it.

The Samsung ‘Experience’ is a good one. My S7 offers up a selection of Google and Samsung apps, and some of Samsung’s offerings are better than the stock Google ones – especially as Google is cutting back app features for sleeker iOS-like ‘Material’ UI’s.

It’s not the case for every app, of course, but these are the exceptions that, at least for me, work and do a great job:

• Samsung Health, which uses data from the heart-rate sensor on the rear of the phone
• Smart Things (for connecting to my TV)
• Sound Assistant, which allows quick access to the Sound and EQ menus, via a chat head that appears when I turn the volume up/down
• Samsung Music, which plays my music on my Micro SD card without requiring a paid subscription (I’m looking at you, Google Play Music)
• Gallery – although I’ve started to use Google Photos on my tablet, it offers nowhere near the same functionality as the Samsung Gallery app. I can ‘star’ favourite images, which is great for quick reference when wanting to post images to social media (Google Photos was supposed to offer this in a recent update, but I’m still unable to do it).

Others

LG’s UI continues to be bright and colourful, with an almost paler appearance to Samsung’s UI. From my initial tests, it seems to offer the same kind of experience I’m looking for.

Unfortunately, availability of LG phones isn’t great at the moment, with almost no UK network offering them on contract. If I can’t get the G7 ThinQ on contract, while it’s a brilliant phone and one I’d really like, I might have to give it a miss.

Huawei’s EMUI is a bold mix of iOS aesthetics on top of Android. For me, it works, although I’m aware a lot of users hate it. They’ve introduced the app drawer now, so for me, it’s a UI that offers up a great appearance and a similar experience to Samsung’s and LG’s offerings.

Personally, I’ve been a fan of Huawei since they released the P9, but poor video-capture results put me off the P9, and the later P10. The P20 line, however, as well as the Mate 20 series, seem to have corrected these issues, and I’m now convinced that I’d be pleased with a Huawei phone. Especially given the price of them at the moment – half of what Samsung, Google and Apple are charging, for similar specs.

OnePlus: OxygenOS

I’ve heard a lot of good things about OnePlus and their Oxygen OS. Tech reviewer Michael Fisher, aka MrMobile, has often praised the OS for being as customisable as Android can be… and then some.

That sounds perfect for me, and from what I’ve seen, would be more than functional for my needs. The OnePlus OS brings functions that are often missing from stock, default Android, such as customising the appearance of menus.

However, I’ve never been able to hold a OnePlus device before to try it out, and I’d rather do this before parting with my cash.

Sorry, readers, but I’m old-fashioned on this one – reviews mean nothing until I can hold or see a device in the flesh, and judge for myself whether those reviews and opinions are justified.

Also, as I mentioned in my recent blog about Micro SD cards, OnePlus phones lack Micro SD card support – and it’s been a real job to try to get a hold of a OnePlus phone in the UK, with almost no major networks offering them on contract.

It’s wonderful that the OnePlus 6T will be their most widely available phone in the UK, on all the major networks (EE, Vodafone, o2, Virgin, etc), but for me, there’s no 3.5mm headphone port and no Micro SD card support. Which means my next phone probably won’t be a OnePlus.

It’s a shame, but that’s the way the Android Pie crumbles I guess…

There are many other UI’s from other OEMs that I haven’t mentioned, such as MIUI from Xiaomi (and their Pocofone line), Oppo, Vivo etc., but since most of those devices aren’t as available as others, there’s no point to me analysing them and getting my hopes up, only to find I can’t buy their devices at all in this country.

I know that tech reviewers have still been able to get hold of them, but they’re often international models and ship with incorrect plugs and chargers for the UK Grid. I’m sorry if you feel very differently to me, but I can’t justify spending £500+ on a device that will ship with incorrect accessories for my home country.

That sounds like a bit of a sour note to end it on, but I am, after all, reviewing Android UI’s, and offering my opinions on the companies, and phones, that offer them.

-Chris J.K.