You can’t call it a PC if you can’t install whatever the fuck you want on it.
That’s a weird definition, and I want to agree with it, but my iPhone is my personal computer… and while I can install “whatever the fuck” I want on it, I should specify that I don’t want to install anything that isn’t in the Play Store. iPhone has one of the best emulator apps, in that it has Google Drive sync. So I can uninstall this app (it’s called Delta), reinstall it, log into Google, and bam, all my games and settings and save games are downloaded. That’s awesome. Shame they don’t make it compatible with computers (even Macs). I suppose I wouldn’t mind being able to torrent on my phone, but I’ve never needed to do so.
PC just stands for personal computer. You can call it a PC if it’s a personal computing device. You don’t have to like how the software works. You might prefer Windows to Mac or Linux to Windows, but it doesn’t make someone else’s PC less of a PC because it’s not the brand, because it doesn’t run the software yours does. That’s not how definitions work.
They never said it would be an open PC.
and while I can install “whatever the fuck” I want on it,
Um, no, you can’t.
Try to install an older version of any iOS game. It can’t be done, even using Testpilot.
Android has orders of magnitude more flexibility on this, and it is still far more limited than a PC running even Windows. Now let’s consider running VM’s on Windows or Linux, and we’re now looking at even more apps.
For example, I’m running a 2013 version of an app that’s incompatible with Win11. It’s on a Win7 VM in VMware on my laptop, using Unity mode so it appears like any other app.
iOS can’t do anything like this, Android can run VMs though it’s not easy.
Who are you that you think you know more about what I want than I do? I just said there is nothing I want to install that I can’t install.
What older iOS game are you so sure I want an older version of?
Whatever the fuck I want
implies a whole lot more than
It runs what I need
Don’t be disingenuous.
I didn’t move any goalposts, though. I stated from the first comment that while I accept there are limitations, I have never personally needed anything outside those limitations.
You stated I did.
So either put up or shut up. What do you know about what I need that I don’t? And why do you think you are the supreme arbiter of what everyone else needs?
Okay we get you are 14.
In 15 years Google has failed to properly figure out tablets (with some comical situations where iOS/iPadOS Google apps worked better on tablets than their Android counterparts) and they expect us to believe they can pull an Android PC?
Android tablets have been languishing a marginal existence. The high end tablets are more expensive than the equivalent iPads. Most android tablets are crappy low end devices for cheap. That means the app ecosystem isn’t there either. Procreate for iPad combined with an Apple Pencil is one of the best ways to paint digitally. Android tablets don’t have something like that.
Google/Android on a cheap Laptop like the ChromeBooks could be a successful combination though.
Tablet hardware running a full Windows install is better than Android tablets these days, especially since battery life is so much better than it used to be. My laptop (Lenovo Yoga, so almost a tablet) runs all day, and I do some heavy stuff (including running a VM constantly). If I did only tablet stuff, I’d probably get 2 days out of it. The Yoga is a bit larger and heavier than my iPad with a keyboard case, but does 10x more.
Full OS on tablet is so close (both Dell and Lenovo offer tablets that can run Windows or Linux), I don’t see a mobile OS advantage anymore, and Google sees it too. They’ve got to get people locked in before a Linux laptop has 2 days of run time, because that will make an end run around mobile OS and UEFI lockdown.
Yes, windows on convertible laptops is a very powerful tool.
So they can lock it down like how they’re locking Android phones down right now? Pass.
Unfortunately, these might be successful because they will be dirt cheap.
Now, I’m not against economical stuff, but am when the price for that is buying into a ‘rental’ platform of predatory subscription apps, tracking, planned obsolescence, stuff that lets Google subsidize it like a printer. Heck, many folks are already replacing PCs with Android/iOS devices.
It’s a trap!
Infocomm 2024, google said to me that everything will be android, followed with chrome OS is dead and all chrome will be replaced. Weird way to put it but makes sense weirdly.
So… Linux? We already have that.
An iPhone is just a Mac that you put in your pocket and the desktop environment is different.
Android already has the desktop, at least on Samsungs. So traditionally a desktop is a tower computer with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other things plugged into. LPT, get a Thunderbolt dock and plug all those things into the dock rather than your computer. Now run a Thunderbolt cable from your desktop computer and tie it to the dock, since the desktop’s not going anywhere. Plug the cable in — all your stuff works. Now unplug it and plug in a laptop. All your peripherals, on the laptop. With me so far? Now plug it into a Galaxy phone and see what happens. LPT 2, lay the Samsung phone under the keyboard in the middle, because it’s gonna be a trackpad, like on a laptop/MacBook.
Now, the difference between what Google and Qualcomm are hinting at, and what Samsung calls DeX (Desktop eXperience), is that the proposed computer will be more like an M-series Mac. The same ARM64 type of processor that powers your phone, but bigger, with a larger thermal footprint. It’s still pretty small. Instead of a battery, you have a fan, and you attach AC power to it.
As far as the software, Android uses the Linux kernel, so technically they’re just talking about a Linux desktop, but one that would be compatible with the Play Store. This is smart, because it’s the same thing Apple is doing with its M-series Macs. They can all run most App Store apps and games (developers can opt out of Mac installation and many do).
Android users might also enjoy features like universal clipboard — copy something on one, paste it on the other. Macs and iPhones (and iPads) have this. Or messaging on any device.
The advantage of an Android PC is, it should, in theory, be able to dual boot with Windows for ARM, and, in theory, you should have access to some PC (Windows-based) gaming. If you like that idea, start rooting for Mac gaming and Switch gaming right now, because those platforms, as well as iOS and Android phones, are pushing ARM64 gaming. Most games are made first for x86-64, what runs most Windows PCs, as well as Xbox and PlayStation. But the new Xbox handheld coming out is an ARM64 machine, so now Microsoft has incentive to port games to ARM64, which will benefit anyone using anything Apple, Android, or Nintendo.
Honestly I’d say Google’s biggest hurdle here is making a desktop environment (Launcher, to Android fans) that is compelling for desktop use. Fortunately, those have existed for Linux for decades. KDE is similar to Windows and GNOME is similar to macOS, though those are over-simplifications. They are very much their own thing, but like, KDE has a Start menu of sorts, and GNOME has the persistent top menu bar like Macs do. So you start with what you know and customise it out from there.
Anyone who had used chromeos knows exactly how android desktop environment looks. It’s just terrible and nothing you can do about it. Just because they use a Linux kernel doesn’t mean they’ll allow a vaguely decent desktop.
in theory, you should have access to some PC (Windows-based) gaming.
Linux already has access to 99.9% of Windows games via Proton.
