Laptops. The M series is silly.

No, and if it does it would be an unnoticeable amount. I've run custom launchers since the Nexus days. If I ever load the stock launcher it's slow to start so that indicates it hasn't been sitting in RAM.

There's so many extra things you can do with custom launchers that I would have a hard time going back. One thing I like about Nova that I haven't seen anywhere else, is folders within icons. So I can make a folder called "Messengers" and put all my different messaging apps in it. I then put Signal as the first in the folder (because I use it most) and in the folder setting select "launch first app" as the tap action and "open folder" as swipe up action. The folder then just becomes a Signal icon and works like a regular Signal icon, but if I swipe up on it, all my different messaging apps come up. Its great and I have these hidden folders for everything. My camera app is actually my gallery, picture editors, etc. My Phone app is also my contacts, meeting app, you get the picture. Keeps my home screen nice and tidy but I still have everything categorized and easy to reach.

Idk if it’s a fair point, they’re advertising their service where it lives in their settings.

Like, they aren’t pushing ads down your throat they’re showing the service in its home.

It’s not like a Samsung tv pushing ads on your Home Screen.

Does Google not advertise their services in the settings menu where you’d login to the cloud provider?

Not going to shill for Samsung, it has it's problems, but to answer your question I happen to use one and I don't have a Facebook app. I don't remember if it was not preinstalled or if it was able to be uninstalled and I did when I got the phone, but I don't have the app. Either way there is definitely no unremovable third-party bloat. But there is a bunch of first-party bloat though, like Samsung Cloud, Samsung Checkout, Samsung Keyboard, etc, and it can't be completely uninstalled. I haven't seen any apps being downloaded to my phone automatically, but I'm not logged in to a Samsung account so maybe that's why.

It's obvious how you haven't even touched a Samsung phone in the past 10 years and are just repeating misinformation. Carrier phones with preinstalled bloatware is a thing, but Samsung mostly did it in the heyday if Facebook and Twitter integration with data plans in the US circa 2015. Newer phones and international versions have never had preinstalled social media apps, let alone installed at system level. This was a widespread issue at the time with all phones, from Motorola to ASUS, and yes, even Apple. Not a Samsung exclusive issue.

Currently, even Samsung applications can be uninstalled. There's ads, on the Galaxy store, where you are supposed to have ads. They are no more intrusive than looking at recommended apps on the Play store or the AppStore.

There's one bit of dark pattern left, and it is after major upgrades, Samsung will show a notification suggesting to install recommended apps. But you can touch "don't show this again" and it goes away forever. I've never seen an ad on my s24 phone ever.

So, my suggestion is to not blindly trust everything you hear on the internet. No matter how geeky and knowledgeable the people may seem. Just find variety and diversity of POVs to form a more complex and nuanced opinion, even seek personal experience. Not just stay with a single person's biased opinion. And definitely don't parrot loudly something that you have no first hand experience with.

But they are objectively better though that's beside the point tbh. Normal peoppe don't care that much about these issues unfortunately and thats why Google's Pixel event was basically a TV shop for house moms rather than highlight on side loading and freedom.

I do agree that regression is awful with the latest Google news that they'll require developer identification for Google play protect and made me cancel my pixel 10 pre order. It's incredibly shameful eventhough it can be bypassed with 1 setting toggle for now.

Saying Apple is bad is not tech tribalism. Even in this shitty duolopoly competition is good and reflecting on platform differences is what pushes them to compromise. If android didn't have side loading Apple would have never been forced to open up in europe and if Apple didn't have magsafe we would never have qi2 etc.

It's objectively good to have conflict here unless you believe in some twisted form of accelerationism where both platforms should burn in a fire and which clearly will never happen.