I’m planning to get a Pixel 8 this month after using only iPhones since my first iPhone in ~2010. I used to be a big Apple fan, so I have a good understanding of iOS, good iOS apps, etc, from years of Apple blogs, podcasts, etc. I have nowhere near the same level of understanding of Android. For instance, I was just watching a video recommending a particular app and it mentioned ABD permissions, which I had to go look up. I’d love any recommendations y’all might have for good, ideally not boring resources that I can use to get a good understanding of the Android system, power user concepts, good apps, etc. Thanks!
For power user stuff, I’d say xda-developers.com is really good. For instance since you mentioned
adb, they have this guide: https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/ (and otheradbguides they link to at the end).For news and rumors you have a bunch of Android blogs but I think you could just take a look at this community here from time to time as news that’s interesting usually gets shared, while the noise mostly doesn’t.
And I guess just keep using the OS and ask questions here as soon as they pop up in your mind, there’s fundamentally nothing really complicated about Android especially as Google was recently trying to get iOS users into Android.
Also, since you’re planning to get a Pixel, might as well take a look at !googlepixel@lemmy.world too 👀 (disclaimer: I’m one of its mods).
Thanks! I just subscribed to !googlepixel@lemmy.world.
The best thing about Android and Google Pixel phones is the fact that you can remove all Google spyware. Check out GrapheneOS, it’s probably the only version of Android that offers the same level of security as an iPhone while not compromising on privacy. It also gives you the opportunity to learn a lot about Android and how it works. I recommend you to read through their documentation on the website, I find it interesting and fascinating. If you prefer a video, I recommend this one.
I originally was planning to install GrapheneOS, but now I’m not so sure. I’m honestly quite interested in features like Call Screen and the photo editing stuff, and my understanding is that at least Call Screen won’t work on GrapheneOS. I’m definitely keeping it in my back pocket, but I want to try the full experience first, and I also need to go through a threat modeling exercise as well to decide whether I truly want to do custom roms or not.
I think with enough configuration you can get call screen to work. For google photos you can install gcam and google photos and deny network access to both
There shouldn’t really be much you would really need to know about ABD permissions or anything complicated for regular use . I used to always root my phones but it hasn’t really been needed in recent years with android. Is there anything specific you are worried about needing your phone to do ?
Not really anything specific that I’m worried about, it’s more just that I don’t know enough right now to have informed opinions on whether I should do things like give an app ABD permissions, other than that I’m planning to not root or expose other lower level permissions until I understand more. Your answer actually really helps, because I can categorize ABD permissions in that bucket. Thanks!
I’ve never had an app ask ABD permissions. The only time I’ve ever done anything involving ABD it was when rooting a phonem , and android has come a long way so I don’t really feel the need to root anymore . So I wouldn’t really worry about it myself. I do recommend using nova launcher to replace your home screen if you like customization. Other than that you can find an app to do anything without any special permissions other than ad blockers .
Sam Beckman’s YouTube channel
