Android
Some thoughts on Android
HP TouchPad (tenderloin)
The HP TouchPad I bought during the fire sale has led me to wander into the world of Android customization. What a strange world it is.
The version of Android that a device runs is controlled by the manufacturer and usually lags behind the Android Open Source Project, so tweakers release custom ROMs based on more recent releases.
Typically the easiest way to stay up to date is the relevant forum on reddit or xda-developers.com (e.g. https://forum.xda-developers.com/hp-touchpad and https://www.reddit.com/r/touchpad/)
There, tweakers announce their builds with instructions on how to install. For TouchPad, codenamed tenderloin, that’s: http://evervolv.com/devices/tenderloin, https://download.dirtyunicorns.com/?device=tenderloin and https://updater.invisiblek.org/tenderloin (instructions)
Miraculously, nearly a decade after the TouchPad’s release, these faithful tweakers are still releasing updates.
It was slow with GApps.
Motorola Droid Turbo 2 (XT1585 kinzie)
I got a Droid Turbo 2 in November 2015, and even today (3 years later) is a great device for general use. However, the Verizon experience (shown in this simulator) can be greatly improved with the following modifications:
- Learn Moto Actions Twist your device to turn on the camera; chop cop your device to turn on the flashlight
- Upgrade to Android 7.1 It ships with Android 5, which lacks 6 doze (for battery life) and new permissions scheme, and 7’s new notification scheme
- Uninstall/Disable Unwanted Apps Most of the Verizon Apps (Caller Name ID, Cloud, Message+, Support & Protection & VZ Navigator) are inferior the Google equivalents and some are just bloatware (Amazon*, Amazon Kindle, Audible, IMDb, NFL Mobile & Slacker Radio.)
- Replace Default Apps with Messages (for saner group texts and Android for Web), Contacts (for synced contacts,) Phone, Photos (for sync and search,) Gboard (for swipe), GMail, Camera (for special features like photosphere — v4.1 arm-v7a is the latest that has the required drivers for the Sony IMX230 sensor) and Launcher (for smartspace and Now)
- Activate System UI Tuner Hide icons from the status bar (NOTE: To activate, tap and hold “Settings” icon from the quick settings panel)
- Enable Night Mode Night mode reduces eye strain at night by reducing the amount of blue light, so whites appear reddish. Enable with the Night Mode Enabler app.
- Activate HD Voice Use WiFi for calls. Activation Instructions here.
- Battery Tweaks None! :) The battery life is excellent out of the box, although I do disable Auto-Update for apps (since these happen frequently and consume battery unpredictably) and I do use Battery Saver mode when I need it. Facebook and Snapchat just seem to drain battery, so I don’t install them.
Favorite Apps
A few apps that I find especially interesting:
- Google Photos because the sync and search work incredibly well
- Google Fit because it passively collects activity data
- Firefox Focus because it’s fast (since it blocks ads and trackers) and it’s pushing the limits (brining GeckoView to Android)
- KOReader (ebooks) because it also works on my Kindle Paperwhite
- Google Podcasts because it can find basically any podcast regardless of how it’s distributed.
App Mods, Patches & Ports
Some developers modify, patch and port some apps (e.g. a Google Pixel app to another device.) Examples include:
- Phone by Google patched by XDA’s Martin.077
- Camera by Google patched by most notably by Arnova
- Launcher3 by Google patched by Amir Zaidi