Database Develop

[Q] Galaxy S5 vs Iphone 5s thoughts.

Hi,
I have been an IOS user for quite a while, with brief excursions into Android land usually without much success. I am trying hard this time because I actually prefer a lot of things about Android (specifically the S5) ... less restrictive, removable battery, storage etc..
However some of the things I really struggle with and wonder if anybody has any answers before are listed below !
Lock screen preview of mail and txt's , I have downloaded an app called NILS but it seems to be such a hack and is not very seamless, anybody else have a better suggestions?
Bluetooth, when I get in my car , the phone starts playing the last thing i was listening to , that's fine & is similar to the iPhone, however the iPhone knows the difference between a call and music and if I turn the car off and get out , it switches off the music (but does not hang up calls). The S5 just carries on playing whatever i was listening to. I cannot find any way of changing this behaviour (any ideas ?).
Quick access to search, with the iPhone you swipe from the top and type the first couple of letters of an app to run it , sometimes this is really useful. The closest i have found is to go into the pull down notification bar and click sfinder... yeuch , any better ideas?
Memory and CPU usage, the phone gets quite laggy and I cannot find a specific reason ... other than having to installs NILS and the call blocking app (see below). I have installed task killer now , not sure if this is the correct approach.
Do not disturb mode, (blocking) , well its crap on the S5 compared to the Iphone. None of the functionality that i am used to such as letting repeated calls through and setting specific schedules is available. I have downloaded an app called do not disturb which does most of this stuff but i am sure this is also contributing to lag and memory usage. Also annoyingly it does not return the phone to the state it was in before it activated do not disturb. What do i mean by this ? I am the kind of person that has my phone on silent 99% of the time with vibrate, when do not disturb is active i want all vibrations and screen alters disabled (it does this) , but when coming out of do not disturb it switches the phone to full sounds on.
I am trying not to be down, there is a lot to like with this phone and if I could resolve some of the above I would be much happier with it.
Hope to hear some of your suggestions.

Acdisplay for lockscreen. Used it on on RAZR Maxx but not yet on my s5
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app

zero66 said:
Acdisplay for lockscreen. Used it on on RAZR Maxx but not yet on my s5
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I will try that.

Download Apex launcher or any other launchers for lag problem, put in mind that Android uses more ram and cpu processing than IOS, that's why they keep on increasing ram, also turn off as much bloatware (apps came with phone) as possible, another very useful tip is to turn of your phone every day for few mins like your computer this will clear ram.
Welcome to the future

Don't use task killers. They don't help. Android will automatically kill off apps when it needs to. Task killers will kill off apps that will be autostarted again and this becomes a loop leading to lag and battery drain.

Hellscythe said:
Don't use task killers. They don't help. Android will automatically kill off apps when it needs to. Task killers will kill off apps that will be autostarted again and this becomes a loop leading to lag and battery drain.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh thanks for this , I will try that.

Lockscreen preview of text and mails is already in touchwiz you just have to switch it on so it will show you the preview via settings.
For quick access to applications long press on the home button will bring you google now and from there you can open your apps easily.

noideaforusername said:
Lockscreen preview of text and mails is already in touchwiz you just have to switch it on so it will show you the preview via settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes for the messaging app, however I use a third party app for email, (nine), this does not seem to support this. Anyway my use case is that when my phone is lying on the desk and mails / sms etc come in , I would like it to wake up briefly and display a preview so that I can decide to ignore it or continue on with whatever it is that i was doing. NILs does this quite well, but seems like a bit of a hack.
noideaforusername said:
For quick access to applications long press on the home button will bring you google now and from there you can open your apps easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works fairly well.

mah123 said:
Hi,
I have been an IOS user for quite a while, with brief excursions into Android land usually without much success. I am trying hard this time because I actually prefer a lot of things about Android (specifically the S5) ... less restrictive, removable battery, storage etc..
However some of the things I really struggle with and wonder if anybody has any answers before are listed below !
Lock screen preview of mail and txt's , I have downloaded an app called NILS but it seems to be such a hack and is not very seamless, anybody else have a better suggestions?
Bluetooth, when I get in my car , the phone starts playing the last thing i was listening to , that's fine & is similar to the iPhone, however the iPhone knows the difference between a call and music and if I turn the car off and get out , it switches off the music (but does not hang up calls). The S5 just carries on playing whatever i was listening to. I cannot find any way of changing this behaviour (any ideas ?).
Quick access to search, with the iPhone you swipe from the top and type the first couple of letters of an app to run it , sometimes this is really useful. The closest i have found is to go into the pull down notification bar and click sfinder... yeuch , any better ideas?
Memory and CPU usage, the phone gets quite laggy and I cannot find a specific reason ... other than having to installs NILS and the call blocking app (see below). I have installed task killer now , not sure if this is the correct approach.
Do not disturb mode, (blocking) , well its crap on the S5 compared to the Iphone. None of the functionality that i am used to such as letting repeated calls through and setting specific schedules is available. I have downloaded an app called do not disturb which does most of this stuff but i am sure this is also contributing to lag and memory usage. Also annoyingly it does not return the phone to the state it was in before it activated do not disturb. What do i mean by this ? I am the kind of person that has my phone on silent 99% of the time with vibrate, when do not disturb is active i want all vibrations and screen alters disabled (it does this) , but when coming out of do not disturb it switches the phone to full sounds on.
I am trying not to be down, there is a lot to like with this phone and if I could resolve some of the above I would be much happier with it.
Hope to hear some of your suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally if it were me I would try another company. I have a 5s and tried the s5. The s5 is just not a good example of what android is. Hardware to software the s5 is not done very well at all. Good luck with your choice.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

thegrants82 said:
Personally if it were me I would try another company. I have a 5s and tried the s5. The s5 is just not a good example of what android is. Hardware to software the s5 is not done very well at all. Good luck with your choice.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely disagree. I love my S5 and the HW integration.
But each to their own.

mah123 said:
Yes for the messaging app, however I use a third party app for email, (nine), this does not seem to support this. Anyway my use case is that when my phone is lying on the desk and mails / sms etc come in , I would like it to wake up briefly and display a preview so that I can decide to ignore it or continue on with whatever it is that i was doing. NILs does this quite well, but seems like a bit of a hack.
This works fairly well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install Push Bullet and be amazed. It mirrors any notifications on your phone onto your PC via chrome. That way you don't been to look at the phone. I work at a desk all day and can leave the phone where ever and always know if I have an SMS, call, email or anything else. Don't forget Google now also works with Chrome.

thegrants82 said:
Personally if it were me I would try another company. I have a 5s and tried the s5. The s5 is just not a good example of what android is. Hardware to software the s5 is not done very well at all. Good luck with your choice.
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree a bit with your response. And that's why I am also checking out the Xperia Z1 Compact. Once you go from the Galaxy S5 to the Z1C you will notice a huge difference in speed for opening and closing apps. I am even using Nova launcher, google calendar and avoiding any TouchWiz apps, but still the lag is disappointing.

mah123 said:
Memory and CPU usage, the phone gets quite laggy and I cannot find a specific reason ... other than having to installs NILS and the call blocking app (see below). I have installed task killer now , not sure if this is the correct approach.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For lags, you should try to put off the opening of S voice with the home button, because when you press it, it wait for second press for opening s voice app... or not. My S5 is really smooth now, hope this gonna help you.

HitMile said:
For lags, you should try to put off the opening of S voice with the home button, because when you press it, it wait for second press for opening s voice app... or not. My S5 is really smooth now, hope this gonna help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this , yes I did this , made a difference.

@mah123 First step, do whatever you can to separate yourself from Apple products, for good this time. Just messin, but I'll continue on:
I see that you have a lot of little details you don't like about the S5/Android. Luckily, you're on the Android platform, where you can tweak just about anything you want. For what you're interested in you'll want to have a look at Tasker, the mighty automation app from Play Store. It's $3.49 but if you don't want to pay that just download the apk from Google search. Just make sure to get it from XDA or one of the apk blogs. With Tasker you can fix your bluetooth issue by detecting when bluetooth is detected and then use command pause music. Tasker should help you fix all your other issues as well. For email the easiest fix is to use a special color on your notification LED or specific vibrate pattern to know when you have email. You can also show an overlay using a "scene" (Tasker's definition of a popup or app window) on top of the lockscreen. Handy :thumbup: But if you need help using Tasker you can do a lot of things: there are plenty of guides all over the Internet, you can google search your problem with the word "tasker" at the end, you can PM me (yes, I'm friendly), you can ask a question over at the Tasker Noob thread here on XDA (I also monitor this thread and I will answer your questions there). Welcome to Android and have fun!
--
Say thanks if I was of help!
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Free mobile app

aarongillion63 said:
@mah123 First step, do whatever you can to separate yourself from Apple products, for good this time. Just messin, but I'll continue on:
I see that you have a lot of little details you don't like about the S5/Android. Luckily, you're on the Android platform, where you can tweak just about anything you want. For what you're interested in you'll want to have a look at Tasker, the mighty automation app from Play Store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.
Fantastic thanks !

I own both phones. In the last few years I have owned the latest Samsung and Apple flagships (iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2, iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4, and iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5).
Both platforms are great and they have their cons and pros.
I am an iOS Developer. I have my name in both Cydia tweaks and App Store. To be honest I felt in love with iOS when I used it for the first time. I like Android, but not as much as iOS yet.
I find the quality of iOS blows Android out of the water. Third app quality is much better on iOS than on Android, based on what I have seen. In terms of software in general, I think iOS is much better. It may be restrictive, but nothing that can't be beaten with jailbreak. Android's big plus is freedom and yes, I like customizing my phone.
In terms of hardware Samsung blows Apple out of the water. I love the camera and that it is Water Resistant. Design wise the iPhone looks prettier, but personally I don't care about those aesthetics.
The one thing I absolutely hate about most Android phones are the hardware buttons. When I type in landscape I keep hitting the sensitive buttons accidentally, many times this result in losing a wall of text I just typed (my palm hits the back button accidentally all the time). I wish these could be disabled when typing or that they could be replaced with software buttons.
Sent from my SM-G900H using XDA Free mobile app

There are many things that iOS does 'better' than android, or at least, its a mix of what people of become accustomed too and some are just better. So, when people do make the switch to android, or indeed WP etc, it can be an uphill struggle as those things that are 'better' are maybe less intuitive over on the android side.
However, you have to look at the bigger picture. Android is far far more customisable, even as stock. With the addition of TouchWiz and Sense etc, they bring a lot of features that in themselves are 'better' than iOS.
There are many people that go the other way (Android to iOS) and struggle with some of its inability to control and customise.
What I'm saying is.... give it time, and do not judge android on its lacking in one or two areas, try and look at it from a bigger perspective.
**When I say 'better'... I mean its what each individual sees as better, I'm not saying that it is**

aarongillion63 said:
For what you're interested in you'll want to have a look at Tasker, the mighty automation app from Play Store. It's $3.49 but if you don't want to pay that just download the apk from Google search. [ / QUOTE ]
Tasker is an excellent program. It should be paid for and not stolen.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

This is a very good discussion. I find that generally programmers favor Android because of it's similar OS structure to a PC (I'm talking about the coding behind it all and C/Java), and common consumers and Apple computer owners favor iOS. This is a generalization and personal opinion. I know there is the outlier of Apple programmers, I've tried to get into it myself, but my problem I've ran into is that Objective C is overly complicated, just to accomplish simple things. Anyway, even if you don't develop apps, you may favor Android as a coder thanks to Tasker. I've found myself addicted to Tasker as far as tweaking/programming goes, without the need to use Android SDK. Then, you can still export Tasker projects to apks if you want. Tasker can make a good visual-sdk app creation tool.
iresq said:
Tasker is an excellent program. It should be paid for and not stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. :thumbup:
Sent from my HTCONE using XDA Free mobile app

[Q] OK pebble now!

I'm not an experienced programmer. Or in that way inclined but would I'd like to develop or would want helping. An app that would activate the google now voice search from a pebble application.
1. Activate pebble and access the OK pebble now app.
2. Would activate the google now voice search on your phone.
2.5 speak your request through your headset (if wearing a headset) (hands free).
3. Speak your request through the microphone through your phone.
4. Does the request in your pocket. Shows task complete on the pebble.
5. Show message sent to recipient.
Thanks in advance. if an experienced pebble developer decided to take on the project. i'm willing to pay them £10 through paypal once the job is finished. all i want to see is the project complete.
Vibrate on task complete.
I tried my hand at the application and couldn't do it.
UI is very simplistic.

I've just found an application that has functionality like what I'm asking for. Its called tasker and it works in conjunction with pebble tasker. So commands and apps can be open from the watch and to be opened up on the phone itself without even touching your phone. But its so long winded.
There's so many more options that you can do with the tasker/pebbletasker but I just want a google now voice search launcher.
No with the pebble receiving an update that allows you to have shortcuts to the apps that you assign them buttons too. This is a perfect opportunity to have a google now voice search launcher or a siri launcher so it covers both platforms.
Don't forget, I am willing to pay someone that will develop this idea. I will be creating images that I would like the UI to be.
Sent from my LG-D802 using XDA Free mobile app

Update With Proposed UI design
Here's pictures that i've designed that i would like for some to develop this app.
as you can see it's very minimalistic and it's very simple.
Somebody make me an offer and i will pay them to develop this app, it will be benefical for those working at an office and those working in retail that would like to reply back to family/friends whilst working.

$12 USD really isn't worth the time for any real development. We need people interested in this and create a bounty.

Kickstarter URL
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/417577635/ok-pebble-now?
Here's the link for the kick starter project, I've set up for this particular application.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/417577635/ok-pebble-now?

Did you ever get any traction on this? I just got my first pebble and this is the first thing I went looking for. I downloaded tasker and bought pebble tasker but I seem to lack the patience to figure out how to make that work. I agree that a shortcut would be perfect so I could operate google now in my pocket. All I use it for is to set reminders and save voice to text notes in evernote but it's a pain in the rear to get myphone out every time. I tried an app that listens for okgoogle even while the screen is off, but it triggered intermittently for no reason and other times would refuse to work at all. This would be the ideal solution. Count me in for $20.

kfreels said:
Did you ever get any traction on this? I just got my first pebble and this is the first thing I went looking for. I downloaded tasker and bought pebble tasker but I seem to lack the patience to figure out how to make that work. I agree that a shortcut would be perfect so I could operate google now in my pocket. All I use it for is to set reminders and save voice to text notes in evernote but it's a pain in the rear to get myphone out every time. I tried an app that listens for okgoogle even while the screen is off, but it triggered intermittently for no reason and other times would refuse to work at all. This would be the ideal solution. Count me in for $20.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly i didn't get anywhere with this application. I would have easily loved something like this and like yourself i couldn't be bothered to go through the tasker app and setting it up. Just a install an install and go app i wanted.
If you know any developers out there that are willing to give this a shot.
When you say 'Count me in for $20', do you mean you are a developer that will be willing to develop this application?

techguy276 said:
Sadly i didn't get anywhere with this application. I would have easily loved something like this and like yourself i couldn't be bothered to go through the tasker app and setting it up. Just a install an install and go app i wanted.
If you know any developers out there that are willing to give this a shot.
When you say 'Count me in for $20', do you mean you are a developer that will be willing to develop this application?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly, no. I can't develop anything but film. But I'll put $20 in for the developer who puts it together.
There is someone who created a nice dashboard app that lets me find my phone if lost, control wifi, lock the screen, and a number of other things. I think I'll email that developer and see if they can just add that. I really want this and I want it to work. And with the new Pebble coming out soon I think I'll be picking one of those up as well so I'm committed to the platform. This is the one thing I feel I'm missing.

Not really what you are after, but I very easily set up a Tasker task to wake up my phone (but keep it locked) so I could give it "OK Google" commands. This way I can send texts or navigate home without taking my phone out. Pebble Tasker makes it only a click away.

imaginaryenemy said:
Not really what you are after, but I very easily set up a Tasker task to wake up my phone (but keep it locked) so I could give it "OK Google" commands. This way I can send texts or navigate home without taking my phone out. Pebble Tasker makes it only a click away.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this as well, but now, every time I launch PebbleTasker on my phone, Voice Search begins opening repeatedly and I can't even get to it to try to add additional tasks. Have you run into this? Did I do something wrong? Al I did was create a profile, then a task to launch the VoiceSearch App. It came up on my pebble fine and works flawlessly. It wasn't until I went to add somethign else to the PebbleTasker that I ran into this. Since then I've deleted the task from PebbleTasker and it still does it. Very odd. Any ideas?

I didn't do mine this way because your phone needs to be awake for the Voice Search app to open. However, I just set it up to see if I had the same issue as you, and I didn't. Everything worried as it should. I don't know why it isn't working for you.
My task is just to wake up my phone, then I give my "OK Google" voice command.

imaginaryenemy said:
I didn't do mine this way because your phone needs to be awake for the Voice Search app to open. However, I just set it up to see if I had the same issue as you, and I didn't. Everything worried as it should. I don't know why it isn't working for you.
My task is just to wake up my phone, then I give my "OK Google" voice command.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. I'm setup a little different. I installed the Xposed mod which lets me do this without a task to wake the phone. I simply set a task to launch VoiceSearch, and when I press the button on pebble tasker, the app launches without even lighting up the screen.
Here's the link to it. forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/mod-secure-google-search-t2606688
I think there's something else going on here though. It was working fine Sunday. I'm having general issues with Google now it seems. Reminders aren't getting set to notes and instead are getting sent to alarms. Even if I say "remind me to get cheese the next time I'm at walmart", it tries to set an alarm then it stops because it's waiting for me to set a time. I installed Keep thinking that might fix it...no joy. I cleared the cache and all data, uninstalled google app and the launcher, restarted to clear the cache partition, rebooted in safe mode, went back to regular mode and still get the same problems. Kind of stumped right now. I can't delete older cards and if I go directly into reminders and try to push the plus sign button to add a reminder, it correctly identifies my words and they go on the screen and it just stops there. it's not locked up or anything. It just won't go any further. So something is really wrong with google. just dont' have a clue what it could be at the moment.

Yeah, it sounds like like the Pebble task is the least of your worries. I read here that someone else was having a similar reminders issue. I have no idea if he is rooted or not, so I don't know if it is Xposed related. Good luck.

imaginaryenemy said:
Yeah, it sounds like like the Pebble task is the least of your worries. I read here that someone else was having a similar reminders issue. I have no idea if he is rooted or not, so I don't know if it is Xposed related. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The plot thickens. I have a Nexus 7 mounted on my refrigerator basically for Google now and the way I can just say "make a note" and it will save a note in evernote for me. It's stock and with the latest auto update is running 4.4.4. A power cord is connected perpetually. I haven't touched the thing physically in MONTHS. But apparently in the last 3-4 days it has developed the same problem with reminders not working. It gets stuck just like my phone does when I'm manually trying to make a reminder. It's like the entire reminder function was removed and my phone just grabbed onto alarms as a last resort rather than not do anything at all. I've googled it and haven't found anyone else with the issue (or they haven't noticed yet). but to have it on two different devices at the same time - one of which I haven't even touched indicates that there's a conflict with an update and probably a common app between the two devices.......now to figure out what it might be.......

kfreels said:
The plot thickens. I have a Nexus 7 mounted on my refrigerator basically for Google now and the way I can just say "make a note" and it will save a note in evernote for me. It's stock and with the latest auto update is running 4.4.4. A power cord is connected perpetually. I haven't touched the thing physically in MONTHS. But apparently in the last 3-4 days it has developed the same problem with reminders not working. It gets stuck just like my phone does when I'm manually trying to make a reminder. It's like the entire reminder function was removed and my phone just grabbed onto alarms as a last resort rather than not do anything at all. I've googled it and haven't found anyone else with the issue (or they haven't noticed yet). but to have it on two different devices at the same time - one of which I haven't even touched indicates that there's a conflict with an update and probably a common app between the two devices.......now to figure out what it might be.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, a lot of voice-initiated command will become available with Pebble-core's connection to Alexa
Currently, the pebble is also capable of doing such with 'snowy' commands. See mydogsnowy.com
I have no stake in that product whatsoever, and in fact I struggling a bit with its voice-recognition ... I'm dutch, so perhaps my english is not adequate for the recognition. So... your mileage may vary, but from what I've tested and seen described it's really promising

kfreels said:
I did this as well, but now, every time I launch PebbleTasker on my phone, Voice Search begins opening repeatedly and I can't even get to it to try to add additional tasks. Have you run into this? Did I do something wrong? Al I did was create a profile, then a task to launch the VoiceSearch App. It came up on my pebble fine and works flawlessly. It wasn't until I went to add somethign else to the PebbleTasker that I ran into this. Since then I've deleted the task from PebbleTasker and it still does it. Very odd. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where to buy such a gadget

Switched over from Iphone. Got some Questions!

Hey there guys!
So I switched over from iphone after 4 years of owning an iphone since I had .. NO FREEDOM haha so im loving the phone so far! but I do miss some things from my iphone and wondering if there is a solution?
1. Imessage - I know its gone, but is there any apps that let me reply from my computer or tablet if I get a text on my phone?
2. wifi-phone - on the iphone I can answer calls on my computer from my iphone and talk, I know there is side sync but it wont install on windows 10. I was wondering if anyone knew of a dialer app or something that can help me? I am using true dialer simply due to the fact no call goes un-masked
3. photos/Gallery- This kinda bugs me but im sure someone here knows. I go on a lot of business trips and take photos while im out. I like to put them in albums and then just hide them away so I dont have to scroll through them all to get to a photo I took before I left. is there a way to have certain photos not show up in google photos? also, a way to hide my downloaded videos from my photo viewer? I dont wanna see all my batman animated series videos meshed in with family photos and such.
4. A good assistant: coming from siri I may be a tad spoiled, but google doesnt have the assistant activate by holding the home key, instead I have to hit the home key, say "okay google" and then it lets me search. can I jump straight to the "listening mic mode" ? or any 3rd party assistants you recommend?
5. passbook. I use it for flights and such. I would store all my boarding passes and loyalty cards in passbook. Is there an alternate android version of this?
Thanks to anyone who takes the time. I really hope some of these are solvable !

1) I use Google Voice (for years) as my primary. So when I change phones or carriers or numbers it doesn't matter and I can text from browser (Chrome w/Google Voice plugin).
3) Build folder tree and put a blank file (txt etc) named ".nomedia". Check out Quickpic app as well, nice alternative to gallery.
4) You have to turn on google detection on all screens, its not so deep in the Google Now settings, to late to type it up you'll find it or can find it online. Also disable S Voice (as well as other carrier sammy bloatware) in apps mgmt (ie: Uncheck notifications, Force stop, then Disable/Uninstall). Your battery will thank you.
5) Not sure if Google Wallet would cover it for flights etc but I have my AMC and some other loyalty cards in Wallet.
Welcome to the free world.

HeroofTime92 said:
Hey there guys!
So I switched over from iphone after 4 years of owning an iphone since I had .. NO FREEDOM haha so im loving the phone so far! but I do miss some things from my iphone and wondering if there is a solution?
1. Imessage - I know its gone, but is there any apps that let me reply from my computer or tablet if I get a text on my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Pushbullet. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pushbullet.android&hl=en

4. A good assistant: coming from siri I may be a tad spoiled, but google doesnt have the assistant activate by holding the home key, instead I have to hit the home key, say "okay google" and then it lets me search. can I jump straight to the "listening mic mode" ? or any 3rd party assistants you recommend?
5. passbook. I use it for flights and such. I would store all my boarding passes and loyalty cards in passbook. Is there an alternate android version of this?
Thanks to anyone who takes the time. I really hope some of these are solvable ![/QUOTE]
Alternative to Siri, try Cortana
Instead of Pass book, use Stocard or beep n go

1. http://www.vysor.io/

2) SideSync installs just fine and works well on Windows 10.

Race2Speed said:
2) SideSync installs just fine and works well on Windows 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for all the awesome replies!
I am currently using Mightytext which seems to work well. only issue is when I get a pic message it can take a minute or two to send it over to me.
As for cortana, she doesnt recognize any of my contacts, do I have to upload them to my hotmail account? I mean if I say "bob smith" its fine but If I say "shmitty jensensburger" it just gets lost and cant send or call. Sugesstions?
As for google voice, is there an alternative to the GV app? maybe something nicer/cleaner interface?
Also for passbook I use pass2u which uses apples passbook files and imports them so dont need to even miss passbook at all D

HeroofTime92 said:
Thanks so much for all the awesome replies!
I am currently using Mightytext which seems to work well. only issue is when I get a pic message it can take a minute or two to send it over to me.
As for cortana, she doesnt recognize any of my contacts, do I have to upload them to my hotmail account? I mean if I say "bob smith" its fine but If I say "shmitty jensensburger" it just gets lost and cant send or call. Sugesstions?
As for google voice, is there an alternative to the GV app? maybe something nicer/cleaner interface?
Also for passbook I use pass2u which uses apples passbook files and imports them so dont need to even miss passbook at all D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GROOVEIP works well with Google Voice

Things I don't like so far

In order from most annoying:
Cannot whitelist k9 mail (and other things) from power saving (this is a deal breaker, I'm taking it back)
Long press to select text instead of double click (vanilla android allows both) (almost a deal breaker)
Media volume cannot be increased without acknowledging warning when BT connected
Can’t disable bixby button without samsung account
No root (needed to run webserver on 80 and change iptables)
Fingerprint sensor hard to find, hard to touch (compared to nexus 6p)
Default phone app sucks and can’t be changed
-Notifications for blocked numbers calling
-Hard to block numbers
-Hard to add recent calls to contacts (uses wrong account or something)
Volume buttons hard to find, on wrong side of phone
Samsung sms app is ugly and horrible (replaceable)
Samsung calendar app does not allow multiple default reminders (replaceable)
Lock screen time is on multiple lines with no way to change it

Thats nice. Enjoy.

swooperstar said:
bleh bleh bleh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is the question? Wrong forum, maybe you should tell someone who cares?

Um, what phone is this, half the things you complain about can be done by the note 8, so must be another phone. Maybe he got the wrong forum...
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs

Incorrect, but whatever. Pixel2 XL coming next week to replace this samsuck. This site used to be more help less fanboy.

...more help less fan boy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not about fanboys, you didn't ask for any help, just listed complaints. No one cares about personal complaints.

lol once again the user is the problem not the device... you can do all of those things either with an app from the play store or with root. maybe stick to something more simple? try iOS.
Not sure how moving to another Android device will help you. :laugh:

Being that the OP has a total of 9, count them 9 posts and is a junior member, I'm guessing he's referring to the old days on the site when we were more help and less fanbois

Mr.Ash.Man said:
lol once again the user is the problem not the device... you can do all of those things either with an app from the play store or with root. maybe stick to something more simple? try iOS.
Not sure how moving to another Android device will help you. :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He is already using IOS!
Ryland

Now we know from authoritative source that volume button is on the wrong side all those years, imagine that.

There are ways to adjust pretty much all of these points. Some are android specific - assume you are new to Android??
Did you even review the phone/play with it before spending on something you have chosen to dislike? To be fair you've come to a forum where 99.9999% of people are note enthusiasts so you will be whacked with a great big stick with a post like this :silly:

Ok how do you whitelist from power saving in a way that actually works? The settings interface for that is much different than stock android and doesn't actually let stuff run all the time like it does on my 6p. k9 always says syncing disabled (and works fine on 6p with stock nougat or oreo).
How do you get double-tap to select a word in text? Works by default in stock android.
After asking twice before to confirm increase volume while BT connected, it didn't ask this last time I increased it. I guess it is magically ok now.
How do you disable bixby button without creating a samsung account? There is an app that used to work using accessibility but no longer works in latest update.
How do you get root? The rooting page itself says "2.Enable OEM Unlock from developer option (Currently no workaround for those who doesn't have this option)" and I don't have this option.
How do you change the phone app? I tried downloading and installing one from apkmirror and got an error when installing.
How do you prevent notifications when blocked callers call?
How do you get normal time on the lock screen? Not the always on screen.

swooperstar said:
Ok how do you whitelist from power saving in a way that actually works? The settings interface for that is much different than stock android and doesn't actually let stuff run all the time like it does on my 6p. k9 always says syncing disabled (and works fine on 6p with stock nougat or oreo).
How do you get double-tap to select a word in text? Works by default in stock android.
After asking twice before to confirm increase volume while BT connected, it didn't ask this last time I increased it. I guess it is magically ok now.
How do you disable bixby button without creating a samsung account? There is an app that used to work using accessibility but no longer works in latest update.
How do you get root? The rooting page itself says "2.Enable OEM Unlock from developer option (Currently no workaround for those who doesn't have this option)" and I don't have this option.
How do you change the phone app? I tried downloading and installing one from apkmirror and got an error when installing.
How do you prevent notifications when blocked callers call?
How do you get normal time on the lock screen? Not the always on screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A respectful suggestion if I may.
Your first post was..... confrontational? Not the way to have your teething problems answered or supported.
Many of us, in all forum's, experience teething problems. I suggest you ask questions preferably one at a time so a peer can offer you some advice.
I have yet to ask for help here and not receive it. You will find there are some amazingly smart guys and gals here who will help IF you ask a palatable question. I am afraid what you have done is cause bad feeling and that's not the way to get help with your problems. Just food for thought. :good:
Ryland

I agree with the fingerprint sensor placement, for me being left handed, I have ot align it perfectly for it to work. Luckily the iris scanner is fast.
One issue I am coming across is my phone would random reboot and some settings would be changed to stock. For example, the font size would be change to default instead of everything tiny. My quick shortcuts layouts are stock and I have to re-login into some apps.
It happened about 3 times since i got the phone the first week of September. Hopefully I'm not alone. Sucks if I am though...lol

There is no help for those issues. That is why there is no response, and why the phone is going back. I am surprised anyone can stand the samsung interface and that is why it might sound confrontational. The apps that samsung replaces default apps with are really awful.

swooperstar said:
There is no help for those issues. That is why there is no response, and why the phone is going back. I am surprised anyone can stand the samsung interface and that is why it might sound confrontational. The apps that samsung replaces default apps with are really awful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only issue or possibly even an advantage is Samsung is edging it's own ecosystem in more and more. , basically it encourages one to buy another Sammy device and stay on board with them.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

UberPishy said:
Where is the question? Wrong forum, maybe you should tell someone who cares?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I care. Thanks to the original poster for critical analysis.
Anybody can fan-boy and circlejerk, that takes no skill.
It takes skill to spot issues and courage to speak out on them.
Every phones has its issues, these do not make Note 8 useless, but buyers can more easily decide if it is for them, when they know its particular failings.

vasra said:
I care. Thanks to the original poster for critical analysis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So which of the OP's claims do you really care about, because most are false, many are non issues for the majority and a few are valid. But the point remains that they were posted in the wrong forum.

vasra said:
I care. Thanks to the original poster for critical analysis.
Anybody can fan-boy and circlejerk, that takes no skill.
It takes skill to spot issues and courage to speak out on them.
Every phones has its issues, these do not make Note 8 useless, but buyers can more easily decide if it is for them, when they know its particular failings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a critical assessment...it's a misleading one.

A few observations.
The volume button on the left side is the more ergonomic position and also makes it less likely you will drop the phone while changing volume making it an objectively better placement. The fingerprint scanner? Yeah, it's poor ergonomics at best and your complaint there is well justified.
Root is something you knew going in you wouldn't have, if it mattered you should have bought something else. I do agree in general that the trend toward taking root access from us is one I hate. That's why I bought an international version and rooted it.
The Samsung calendar app is less well featured than the stock app but it uses no resources when not used and you can always use the google app or one of the several better than stock google calendar apps on the play store. You don't get to complain about not having an app you can put on you phone in seconds which isn't even close to the best app of its kind anyways. I BTW didn't use the stock app on my 6P, didn't meet my needs.Samsung's stock SMS app is awful, IMO someone should be fired there because it falls below even a minimum level of functionality. But then while Googles does manage to get to at least a minimally functional feature set it isn't much better and both are a long way from what can be had in seconds for free that work better than either on the market. You don't get to complain about this one either though, the stock google app is a few clicks away and a few seconds will give that stock google experience if that is your preference.
Same number of clicks with Samsung to add a recent callers to contacts. Hard to do so is dismissed.
Hard to copy because you have to long press instead of double tap? Seriously? lol That's a fairly lame complaint without even taking into consideration the S-pen which opens up a whole world of options that you don't have on the 6P, one of which is using the S-Pen in the first place.
I like the default dialer and it has features which Google's does not. Regardless it can be changed as well as which dialer is the default, where did you get the idea you couldn't change dialers?
I don't have the media volume warning with my phone unless I'm on headphones, not sure why you do?
The Bixby button can be disabled, it can be disabled without signing into Samsung. Just an FYI, it can also be slaved to another function. All without root.
You can white list any app from power saver, just takes a few clicks, assuming of course you know which clicks. You have in an oblique way a real gripe here, Samsung's menus are getting better but they are still too bloated. The search menu function is your friend in pursing hard to find settings.
Who uses lock screens in this day an age? You've get bio-metrics and AOD, leaving the lock screen as an artifact of what was once the best we could do but isn't anymore. Think of it this way, I'm a pathetic old man and I've been able to understand that lockscreens are now just an extra step. Your complaint in this regard reminds me of my friends who cant handle new tech and are still trying to hang on to their flip phone.
At this point you probably think I'm busting your balls a little bit and you're right. On the other hand your complaints are largely groundless. The only real objective gripe you have is the fingerprint sensor location. Your assessment of the volume button location is subjective, not objective, and objectively is incorrect. Your complaints about the stock apps can be applied to google apps in the same way and most of which I changed on my 6P just as I have here. The impression I get is that the main problem you have is you need to learn how to shop better. There is no reason to buy a phone that does not have root if you know you want root. There is no reason to buy a phone well known for it's rather overbearing GUI and menu bloat if you know you are going to hate it. Why do that to yourself?

Does anybody actually use Bixby?

I recently Upgraded from a iPhone 7 to a Galaxy Note 9 and I've been wondering.. How many people unironically use Bixby. I've noticed in my 4 month's of owning my phone I've never really used Bixby and she's seemed like more of a nuisance rather than any help. And I find the concept of talking to any kind of virtual assistant kinda cringe. Thoughts?
Also if anybody could recommend a good Non Root Bixby button remapper I would greatly appreciate it!

last1youlove said:
I recently Upgraded from a iPhone 7 to a Galaxy Note 9 and I've been wondering.. How many people unironically use Bixby. I've noticed in my 4 month's of owning my phone I've never really used Bixby and she's seemed like more of a nuisance rather than any help. And I find the concept of talking to any kind of virtual assistant kinda cringe. Thoughts?
Also if anybody could recommend a good Non Root Bixby button remapper I would greatly appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just realized I created this thread in the wrong place. Apologies!

You know you can actually remap the button now to command any app you want now?
Didn't use it before but now its my go to to check my camera at home.

Yep, mine is remapped to launching Pandora music app...

last1youlove said:
I recently Upgraded from a iPhone 7 to a Galaxy Note 9 and I've been wondering.. How many people unironically use Bixby. I've noticed in my 4 month's of owning my phone I've never really used Bixby and she's seemed like more of a nuisance rather than any help. And I find the concept of talking to any kind of virtual assistant kinda cringe. Thoughts?
Also if anybody could recommend a good Non Root Bixby button remapper I would greatly appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Bixby everyday. In the morning I have a command where I simply say good morning and she runs preset tasks for me, including giving me weather alerts(rocky mountains) and read top headlines for the day. Also got one for when I arrive to work, and ones depending on what type of work I'll be doing that day.
Example, when I'm building print server queues, I like to keep my screen Timeout higher, bluetooth with some music, do not disturb on, and some other settings. Instead of me going through and doing all that, I just tell her "Print Queues," and she changes everything.
I do have the one button click remap to a command for Google Assistant but that's for searching for anything weirdly internet related.
I used to hate the idea of Bixby because I was so used to Google, but when I realized all the things I can use her for if I just took the time to learn it, I've been hooked ever since. ??
Sidebar: I even got one for my kid for Netflix whenever she wants to watch Little Einsteins!!! ?

Hi...
I'm using Bixby on daily basis and to be honest from the beginning I was almost hating that"button" but later I start using more and more... Home, in work places...

I don't since it shows me some panels for apps that I don't have them installed that I can't get rid of.

NO! I do not use it all, I have remapped it.

last1youlove said:
I recently Upgraded from a iPhone 7 to a Galaxy Note 9 and I've been wondering.. How many people unironically use Bixby. I've noticed in my 4 month's of owning my phone I've never really used Bixby and she's seemed like more of a nuisance rather than any help. And I find the concept of talking to any kind of virtual assistant kinda cringe. Thoughts?
Also if anybody could recommend a good Non Root Bixby button remapper I would greatly appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, they even removed 2/3 of the features/commands with bixby 2.0 that were presented in bixby 1.0 and the funny part is that they are still listed in the manual. Useful things like "split screen" command/etc. All the phone control is removed and this was the only real useful part of bixby. Removing the deep integration is leaving the assistant with nothing over google one, just a 1/10 features copy that will fail to understand you 2/3rds of the time.

high_voltage said:
Nope, they even removed 2/3 of the features/commands with bixby 2.0 that were presented in bixby 1.0 and the funny part is that they are still listed in the manual. Useful things like "split screen" command/etc. All the phone control is removed and this was the only real useful part of bixby. Removing the deep integration is leaving the assistant with nothing over google one, just a 1/10 features copy that will fail to understand you 2/3rds of the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's because of the changes to Android? I don't really see them bringing those features back though. I got mad when I first saw that they removed a lot of the device control features.
Conspiracy me thinks, they removed them from Bixby because of the permission changes to Android Pie, and they want people to keep buying their devices, they nuked Bixby as a whole instead of having the Pie folks having less stuff than Oreo? Don't know....conspiracy.?

Jammol said:
It's because of the changes to Android? I don't really see them bringing those features back though. I got mad when I first saw that they removed a lot of the device control features.
Conspiracy me thinks, they removed them from Bixby because of the permission changes to Android Pie, and they want people to keep buying their devices, they nuked Bixby as a whole instead of having the Pie folks having less stuff than Oreo? Don't know....conspiracy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dunno why, but the fact is that 2.0 can't do a lot that 1.0 can... instead of improving and integrate it even deeper into the system, they stripped it. Android is open source project... there are some restrictions, but I am pretty sure non effects bixby functionality or atleast samsung can be transparent on why. On some of them bixby says "I don't support that yet, but I am learning constantly new things", so there is that - it recognise the old commands, but refuse to execute them.

It was killing me that it couldn't recognize the spelling of my old lady's name and on my note 8 it had a bad habit of not immediately recognizing my voice but getting triggered by random audio from my TV.
Since then I moved away from bixby and I alternate between Samsung and something else so GA has always been my go to since it's not OEM specific.

Nope my alexa is my main ***** and google is my doorbell chime. Bixby is awful and needs dropping.

I use bixby to make phone calls.... I really don't know what to say to Bixby to take it usable.... the only thing I need is send WhatsApp messages but seems that doesn't work with it.

Bixby is alright. She's definitely smarter than siri, but waaaaay slower.

I don't use Bixby. Might start using it when I get my Bsc in how to use Bixby.
Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

I used it for a couple of weeks when I first got my Note 9. I was impressed with the complex phone tasks I could trigger with just a few words that I programed for them. Something GA cannot come near to doing. But for other areas where GA shines, that's where Bixby falls short.
After those short weeks I started using bxActions because I found that having extra abilities through remapping of the Bixby and volume buttons was more valuable than using Bixby for me.

bixi command can set an alarm past 24 hours. google assistant cant.. still not stopping me from using bxactions pro and reassigning to assistant and google now.

No issues with bixby here.