this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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My mom was given an iPhone as a gift years ago, so I remember my reaction to this. When you connect it to a computer, you can only see the photos folder. So you can't even drag-and-drop music there. How is this "more than enough"? Maybe something has changed, I don't know.
You just spoke in favor of not being so strict, lol. But also there are far more common cases where this can impact regular people, such as bank apps being deleted due to sanctions. I personally don't use mobile banking, but that's pretty important for a lot of people, isn't it?
If its code is open to be inspected by anyone - why not?
That's not the only alternative. I personally don't yet use a smartphone properly so haven't tried, but there are options for custom, more private OSs. Also pixels are pretty expensive so not the best comparison for "common" user.
I really can't agree when you say Pixel phones are expensive. Just look at the value proposition for the 7a. It is currently $444 on the Google store with all the features of the 7 except for a slightly smaller screen and just slightly worse water resistant (we're talking literally one step down). The closest competition would probably be the Zenfone 10 in terms of value,
$444 is pretty expensive for me. More than half a price of my LAPTOP. Most people I know cannot really dish out this much cash for a phone. Maybe it's different in the West.
You can transfer music via iTunes and it doesn’t have to be music with DRM from their store. You can rip MP3’s from any source and transfer them via iTunes. You don’t need direct file access and prevents a third party device from potentially transferring malware to it.
On device, the files app gives you access to the “on my iphone” directory (basically the users home directory) as well as app data directories, and extensions for browsing installed cloud storage. You can create directories, move and copy files, rename and change extensions, or whatever else you might need to do to the files on the device. That’s more than enough for managing files on device.
Android is better for certain workloads and use cases. I’m not advocating that anyone replace android. I’ve used both operating systems and I don’t think either are better than the other. As for banking apps, banks block root on android as well, and they ought too. In the US, by regulation, banks have to reimburse customers for fraud losses from any unauthorized transaction. And the CFPB is very liberal in their definition of unauthorized. So even if you download an app called “Definitely Malware, This app will steal your banking info”, you can get your money back when the hacker logs into your account and drains all your funds. So it’s better for banks to block devices that have root or are jailbroken. As for trusting ad blockers, unless you are downloading and building each update yourself. You are still susceptible to a supply chain attack or bad actor even by using open source. Just because it’s on GitHub doesn’t mean it’s secure. If you are putting your trust in a project just because it’s open source without verification you may as well put your trust in Apple or Google.
I’d recommend everyone look into running an open source, degoogled ROM on android. Whether that’s AOSP or GrapheneOS or something else. I’m just trying to make the argument that iPhone isn’t inferior to android and vice versa
What malware lol. ClickForFreeMoney.apk? Even then, the applications are sandboxed pretty well. Even if you install "malware" it won't be able to do much unless you also grant it permissions to access personal data.
Most adblockers (all the good ones) don't require frequent updates. They frequently update filter lists, which don't execute any code and therefore can't do anything malicious. And what you said applies to every application ever. Anyone can have their credentials stolen and used to publish a modified application.
I don't disagree, Androids and iPhones are pretty much at feature and quality parity nowadays. But it sounds like you're starting from a conclusion and working backwards, which is not a good way to think.