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vendredi 31 décembre 2021

Want to ditch Google services? Apple’s ecosystem is almost the perfect replacement

Apple markets its products and services as privacy-focused ones. When you buy a device from the company and use the included software, you’re assured that your data isn’t getting sold to third parties. Google, on the other hand, makes most of its revenue from advertising. And what pays more than a regular advertisement is a targeted one, tailored based on your interests. It’s no secret that the search giant collects all sorts of data on its users. In a way, this is what makes it superior in some aspects — having richer, more accurate databases. However, plenty of users would rather not feed the machine learning algorithms. Ditching Google services in Apple’s ecosystem is doable. It comes with many frustrations, though, that differ based on where you live, your routines, the apps you use, and other factors.

Navigate this article:

Google Services VS Apple Equivalents

Search

Google Search

When it comes to search engines, Google dominates the field. None of its rivals have the same reach it has. People tend to say “Lemme google that” rather than “Lemme Bing it” for a valid reason — it’s the most popular search engine out there. In fact, even the verb google has been recognized and added to the dictionary.

When you search in Safari — whether on an iPhone or a Mac — the browser defaults to google.com. That’s because the company pays Apple billions of dollars every year to remain the default search engine. You can change the default one in the Settings app. However, most average users don’t know or care about that.

DuckDuckGo

Apple doesn’t have a search engine of its own. Users aiming at a de-Googled digital life have other privacy-focused options, though. DuckDuckGo is a decent replacement that doesn’t collect as much data on you. Additionally, the search engine allows you to turn off ads in search results for free. On Apple devices, it’s one of the five options you can have as a default engine. This way, you can type directly in Safari’s search field without needing to visit duckduckgo.com manually before every search.

When it comes to the accuracy of search results, Google’s are more relevant than DuckDuckGo’s — generally speaking. However, the latter is accurate enough for quick searches in day-to-day life. I sometimes find myself visiting google.com if I’m not satisfied with the results of the other one. However, that rarely happens. I would say ditching Google Search is one of the easier aspects of the Google-free digital life.

Authenticator

Material Design Authenticator

2-factor authentication (2FA) is an additional security layer people can add to some of their online accounts. If you’re unfamiliar with 2FA codes, they’re one-time digits you have to type after correctly entering your email/username and password. These digits are generated by apps — such as Google Authenticator — and they expire after (usually) 30 seconds.

How to use the new 2FA code generator on iOS 15

There are plenty of equivalents for Google Authenticator, like LastPass, for example. Additionally, if you’re on iOS 15 or macOS Monterey, then you can take advantage of the built-in 2FA code generator Apple has added. I don’t find myself missing Google’s app because Apple’s works just fine and supports auto-filling the codes when signing in to apps and websites.

Entertainment

YouTube logo on TV

The YouTube family is quite big and well-rooted. You’ve got the regular service, the music-oriented one, TV, Kids, Gaming, etc… Apple only offers Music and TV apps. There you can either subscribe to, rent, or buy your favorite albums, movies, and shows. If you use YouTube to follow certain channels that aren’t run by artists, then you’re stuck with at least one Google service.

Apple Music

Personally, I use YouTube less than once a week, and when I do, it’s usually to check a link sent by a friend. I’m not a video consumer in general. Even when it comes to music, I’m not interested in the music videos — I just want to listen to the audio tracks. As a result, Apple Music is enough for me. Most people probably can’t relate to this in the era of YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. However, I’m sure there are similar-minded people out there who don’t really care as much about video content.

Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Both Apple and Google offer podcast apps on iOS. However, if you use Google’s, then you’re stuck with the web version of it on the Mac, as there’s no macOS app for it. I have to admit, Apple Podcasts needs a serious update from the company. It’s usable, though, and you aren’t missing out on much by not depending on Google’s. I wouldn’t consider the Podcasts app one of the struggles when trying to achieve a de-Googled life.

Home

Google Home

When it comes to building a smart home, there are endless brands and products to choose from. Whatever it is that you’re looking for, you will likely find a HomeKit version of it. A significant portion of smart home appliances are platform agnostic anyway — as long as you find the HomeKit compatibility tag on it, you will be able to set it up through Apple’s Home app. When I’m browsing through smart appliances, I just search for ones that support HomeKit. This way I’m not forced to depend on Google Home. Additionally, Apple Home syncs to the Mac, too.

Health

Google Fit heart respiratory rate iPhone

Google offers its Fit app on iOS. The app requests access to HealthKit to import and sync your fitness-related data. Apple Health remains the core app for this purpose on iPhones. It’s worth noting, though, that Google Fit allows you to measure your heart rate on an iPhone without a smartwatch. So if you don’t want to buy a wearable and are interested in knowing your BPM, then Google Fit could be a tempting app to keep installed. The app is also capable of measuring your respiratory rate. I personally depend on my Apple Watch to keep track of my heart rate — Fit is useless to me.

Maps

A phone showing directions in Google Maps

This is a service that Apple struggles to compete with, relatively speaking. Google Maps, especially in third world countries, is much more populated, detailed, and accurate than Apple’s. When I used to live in Lebanon, Apple Maps was pretty much useless. However, as a local, I didn’t depend on maps much. That’s because the country is tiny, I was generally familiar with the areas associated with my routines, and I didn’t do a lot of exploring on my own.

Last year I moved to Turkey, and that changed everything. For starters, Istanbul is gigantic — coming from a city as small as Beirut. Secondly, I don’t speak Turkish, so I have to completely depend on maps to find my way around. While Apple Maps in Turkey is not as much of a ghost town as it is in Lebanon, it still isn’t complete. Additionally, it doesn’t support saving maps for offline navigation. I do have mobile data at all times, but I still like keeping an offline map available as a just in case thing.

Another advantage of using Google’s is navigation through public transport. The app displays the exact schedules, numbers, and stations of busses/metros you have to go through. Apple’s neither supports this nor street view in the region. That’s how I ended up a prisoner to Google Maps. But hey — Apple Maps has a macOS app.

Detialed map of london apple maps macos

I understand that Apple’s is more populated in first world countries, especially the US. So if you live there, you will likely have no trouble completely depending on it and ditching Google’s. I’ve tried so many times to uninstall Google Maps here, but it always finds its way back to my iPhone. So that’s one service stopping me for the time being from achieving the de-Googled life again.

Translate

Apple translate on iPad

That’s the other Google service I can’t get rid of. Apple introduced its Translate app on iOS 14 — which was followed by the release of the iPad app on iPadOS 15. However, macOS still lacks an Apple Translate app. Additionally, the company only supports around a dozen languages, while Google supports over a hundred. You’d think the few languages the Cupertino giant supports have been perfected — but no. As an Arabic/English bilingual, I’ve tested this language pair on both services. Google’s Arabic translations are notably more human. While Apple’s might be grammatically and semantically correct (most of the time), they don’t sound as natural.

This makes complete sense, considering Apple has just entered this domain. Google Translate has been around for many years, which enables the company to provide more accurate translations through a richer database. It additionally can translate more advanced and complex walls of text without losing context. Both services support offline translations, but Google’s execution is more efficient and data-friendly. None of the languages I’ve downloaded on Google Translate exceed 100mb. On the contrary, downloading a single language on Apple Translate heated up my iPhone and consumed several hundred megabytes of storage.

As someone who only needs a translation app for the Turkish/English language pair, Apple’s isn’t an option. That’s because Turkish isn’t one of the few available languages. And most of the locals here don’t speak English, so I can’t depend on that as a lingua franca. What frustrates me, though, is that the Apple Translate app and system-wide translations (such as in Safari and Messages) are neatly built. It’s just that Apple doesn’t have Google’s database. It’s like riding a fancy, shiny car with a broken engine. So if you live in your homeland or in a country that you speak the language of, this is a Google service you can likely ditch.

Communication

Google Meet and Google Chat logos in a Chromebook line drawing

I won’t list Google’s communication services because honestly I’m no longer counting or keeping track — for obvious reasons. However, I’m unaware of any region that solely depends on an app by Google for instant messaging (IM) and VoIP calls. Generally speaking, people depend on a handful of IM apps, based on where they and their loved ones live. You’ve got iMessage, Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, Facebook/Instagram DMs, and even SMS in some places. So even if some of your contacts use an app by Google to communicate, you will likely find them on a different IM app. So communication has never been a de-Googling obstacle — to me at least.

Mail

New Gmail logo on white background Google

If you’ve already created your online accounts using your Gmail, then de-Googling will sound like a nightmare. However, it’s not as complicated as you’d picture it from afar. Once upon a time, I was an Android user, and all of my online accounts were based on my Gmail. After making the move to iCloud Mail, I just changed my active accounts’ email to the iCloud one.

Most online services allow you to change your email address, so that shouldn’t be an issue. And to make sure I don’t potentially miss any emails from old contacts I’ve forgotten about — since I no longer check my Gmail — I’ve set a forwarding rule that automatically sends them from my Gmail to my iCloud inbox. Seriously, it’s simpler than it sounds.

Productivity

Both Apple and Google offer Notes, Reminders, and Calendar apps. While they’re not identical, both sets support the main features you’d expect the respective apps to have. Additionally, by using Apple’s, you get instant background sync through iCloud. So the content remains up to date on all of your iDevices. The same applies to the Photos apps. There will always be exclusive perks on either side, but they’re usually not deal-breakers to most average users.

iwork updated macos icons

If you want to type a document on your Mac, you have to use Google Docs on the web. Apple’s iWork suite allows you to work on documents, sheets, and presentations on macOS through dedicated, native apps. So by using Apple’s productivity tools, you don’t have to depend on web apps.

News

Apple News+ on macOS

Apple News is only available in a handful of countries. If you live in a region where it’s not supported, then you will either have to use apps like Flipboard or depend on Google News. Personally, my devices and Apple ID are US-based, so I can use Apple’s service just fine. If Apple News isn’t available for you, though, there are plenty of other non-Google apps for your daily dose of international drama. I wouldn’t consider News a solid barrier stopping users from de-Googling.

Drive

iCloud description from Apple.com

If you’re in Apple’s ecosystem, then using iCloud Drive makes more sense — as it syncs all of your data instantly and doesn’t consume as much battery. Google Drive, though, offers 15GB of free storage, compared to Apple’s 5GB. So if you’d rather not pay a monthly iCloud Plus subscription fee to expand it, this could be a dealbreaker for you. Personally, my data consumes less than 5GB, and I use the Apple One Premier bundle anyway — so that’s not forcing me to use Google Drive.

Personal Thoughts

Completely de-Googling is doable in some regions under certain circumstances. I was able to do it once, back when I was living in Lebanon. I had no Google apps on my devices and didn’t have the need to visit any of their respective websites. However, when I moved to a foreign land, I found myself desperately needing some of these services to adapt to life here.

If I eventually relocate to an English-speaking, first world country, I most definitely see myself deleting them again. This is because Maps and Translate are the only two apps I can’t not depend on. So if Apple Maps is (properly) available and I speak the language of the locals, then there’s nothing stopping me from achieving this yet again.

Apple and Google logo

Additionally, I prefer Apple apps on the company’s operating systems because they tend to have better UI/UX and implement the latest APIs introduced to the OSs on day one. That’s not to mention the better system integrations and privileges that aren’t available to third-party developers.

A Google-free life sounds impossible, considering the company dominates many aspects of our lives. But if you actually take it one service at a time and put in the effort to convert to equivalents, you might realize that it’s not as far from reality as it appears from afar. There will always be more privacy-focused equivalents. They might not be as accurate or functional in certain cases, but they’re valid options. Ultimately, it all comes down to your priorities and needs.

Do you see yourself living a completely de-Googled life? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Descendant 12 based on Android 12 is here for the POCO F3, POCO X3, and more

The Descendant custom ROM is quite popular in the aftermarket development community, providing an alternative experience to users who want to retain the ability to customize their device and still stick closer to the stock Android look and feel. Over the years, Descendant has managed to create its own loyal fanbase who like the ROM and its unique features for good reason. Now, the Descendant team has announced the first official builds of Descendant 12 based on Android 12.

As the flood of Android 12 custom ROMs continues to flow through, more and more devices are seeing the fruits of Google’s latest and greatest version of Android. In this regard, the Descendant project is undoubtedly a little late to the Android 12 party. But if you are a fan of the ROM and were waiting for the public release, you should be delighted to know that Descendant 12 comes with plenty of visual treats. The official builds feature a brand new boot animation, a redesigned volume UI, and a highly customizable dynamic theming system based on kdrag0n’s implementation.


Download Descendant 12

Although not every Descendant-exclusive feature has been rebased yet, the team is satisfied with the current state of the ROM and hence, has made the new releases officially available to the public. You can try it out on your phone — assuming your device is on the initial roster. In the first wave, the flashable builds of Descendant 12 are live for the Lenovo Z5s and a bunch of Xiaomi smartphones. Notably, these builds already have Google apps included, so you don’t need to flash a separate ZIP file to get the Google Play Store. The GSI targets are absent for now, but they will be available soon.

Here’s the complete list of devices that have received the official build of Descendant 12:

Download Descendant 12 based on Android 12 for your phone

More devices are slated to receive an official build of Descendant 12 in the coming days. If you’re interested in helping the Descendant team with development, then take a look at the project’s GitHub repo.

Have you tried out Descendant 12? Let us know your experience with this new release in the comments below!

The post Descendant 12 based on Android 12 is here for the POCO F3, POCO X3, and more appeared first on xda-developers.



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jeudi 30 décembre 2021

Samsung will reveal Exynos chip with AMD graphics in January

Samsung started working closely with AMD back in 2019, with the goal of improving the graphics capabilities of Samsung’s Exynos System-on-a-Chip (SoC) designs. Samsung confirmed at the time that the improved GPU capabilites would arrive roughly within two years, and a new tweet from the company confirms it might be ready for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S22.

Samsung published a tweet on Thursday teasing “the next Exynos with the new GPU born from RDNA 2,” with a reveal date of January 11, 2022.

RDNA is the codename for AMD’s current Radeon graphics architecture, which first arrived on the Radeon RX 5000 series of desktop graphics cards. RDNA 2 is used in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, as well as AMD’s Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards. Integrating the technology into a mobile chip could provide significant improvements over the usual Adreno graphics found in most ARM chips (which is also based on AMD technology).

Previous leaks and rumors point to the Galaxy S22 using an Exynos 2200 chipset, at least outside of North America (where Samsung’s phones usually have Snapdragon chips). The company also announced back in October that a future Exynos chip would support ray tracing graphics. There are also rumors that Samsung might sell Galaxy S22 phones with Snapdragon chips in regions that previously only had Exynos models available, such as India.

It remains to be seen if the new Exynos will compete with Apple’s mobile chipsets, which have maintained a significant lead over anything available from Samsung, Qualcomm, and MediaTek for years. Android is still the preferred gaming platform for many, thanks to the abundance of hardware options and more open software platform, but more often than not, Apple has still claimed victory in gaming performance.

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Nokia G50 is the latest HMD Global phone to get Android 12

The Nokia G50 is a direct successor to the Nokia G20 that launched earlier this year alongside the Nokia G10, packing the budget-oriented Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 chipset. It has a 6.82-inch LCD panel, 4GB of RAM, and launched with Android 11 in September. HMD Global promised that the phone would receive two major upgrades with three years of security patches. Since then, we’ve seen both the Nokia X20 and the Nokia X10 receive their first major updates to Android 12. Now, it’s the Nokia G50’s turn, as it’s getting Android 12 as well.

HMD Global has not officially announced the update yet, and so there’s no changelog. However, it comes with the November 2021 security patches and carries version number V2.160. Android 12 brings a lot of changes to the table, including a whole new user interface. Non-Pixel devices won’t get Material You just yet, but the rest of the changes are there including larger quick toggles and more rounded UI elements.

As usual, we expect that Nokia is pushing out these OTAs in a phased manner. Typically, a smaller subset of users will receive the update, and then the number of users receiving it will grow until everyone has it. Because there is no official announcement yet, we don’t know where and when the update is supposed to be rolling out, but we can imagine that the company will split it up into multiple waves as it has done with the Nokia X10. Device owners should check their phone for updates to see if they have it available for download.

The Nokia G50 is available in the U.S. and Europe for $300/ €270. It can be purchased from Nokia.com.

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Google pauses December 2021 update for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro

Google released the December 2021 security patch for Android back on December 6th, but the update for Pixel phones was a bit more substantial, adding a handful of new features for most Pixel phones. The update was delayed for the Pixel 6, but now it appears the rollout has been completely halted.

Google didn’t officially start rolling out the December 2021 update to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro until December 13, but many owners of the phones were still left waiting for the upgrade (and some resorted to manually flashing it). Google has now confirmed it paused the rollout, following reports of calls dropping and disconnecting after installing the upgrade.

A Google representative wrote on the Pixel Help forums, “The Pixel team paused the December software update to Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices after some users reported calls were dropping or disconnecting. We have now identified a fix that will roll out in a software update by late January. This update will also include all the fixes and improvements that were originally planned in December.”

That means most Pixel 6 owners, minus the people who already received the buggy update, will be stuck on the November 2021 security patch level until sometime in late January. That’s not great news, but preventing people from placing calls on their phones probably isn’t a preferable alternative. Google’s only advice for anyone experiencing problems is to perform a factory reset while reverting to the November 2021 system image.

Many Pixel 6 owners took to social media to complain about the original rollout. “Still no network connectivity on the pixel 6 following the December update and no word from google,” one person wrote, while another said, “no signal, no WiFi, no Bluetooth & battery dead in half a day all this for 19 days.” XDA Developers‘ own Jeff Springer was experiencing signal issues and decreased battery life, and other reports mentioned the official Pixel Stand charger no longer working.

The OTA files and factory images for the December 2021 update are still available from Google’s website, if you want to take your chances a (potentially) buggy update.

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Here’s how to fix Google Pixel 6’s annoying screen freezing issue

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are some of the best flagships available on the market right now. From powerful cameras and in-house Tensor chipset to thoughtful software experience, Google’s latest flagships phones have everything you would want from a modern-day flagship. While the Pixel 6 series has received positive reviews from critics, it seems end-users aren’t having a stellar experience with Google’s newest phones so far. The new phones have been subject to numerous bugs and issues as of late, with users complaining about the slower fingerprint scanner, ghost dialing, connectivity issues, and more. Lately, many Pixel 6 owners have noticed an annoying issue where the device completely freezes up for a few seconds.

Google Pixel 6 Pro Review: Fantastic everyday phone with an undeniable Exynos inspiration

The freezing touch-input issue seems to trigger on Pixel 6/Pro units that have an Accessibility Service running with canPerformGesture permission enabled. When this permission is enabled, the whole system freezes for 1-2 seconds every time the battery drops by 1%. If you own a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro and are affected by this bug, there’s a temporary workaround to resolve the issue. It requires disabling all Accessibility features. To do so, go to Settings > Accessbitliy on your Pixel 6 and turn off every accessibility service you find in there, including Voice Access, Accessibility Menu, Switch Access, and others.

    Google Pixel 6
    The Pixel 6 comes with Google's new Tensor SoC, a fresh design, and powerful flagship cameras.

Google says it’s currently investigating the issue and has assigned the bug to the relevant product and engineering team. The company hasn’t provided any timeline as to when we can expect the software fix to be ready. We’ll keep an eye out and let you know as soon as we learn more details about the screen freezing bug.

Have you noticed the screen freezing issue on your Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro? Let us know in the comments below.


Thanks XDA Senior Member micku7zu for the tip!

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Telegram 8.4 adds message reactions, spoiler formatting, message translations, and more

Telegram is one of the best messaging services around, and it adds new features and options at an incredible rate. The service added new media improvements and iOS updates last month, and more recently restricted message forwarding and made it easier to delete older chats. Now another update is rolling out with even more features. Telegram latest update, version 8.4, adds message reactions, spoiler tags, message translations, and more.

Message reactions are ubiquitous across platforms, with WhatsApp even being spotted working on introducing them in the future. Other platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Discord, and even Slack supported them, but their omission from Telegram seemed odd. Now they’re here, and you can even set a quick reaction that can be triggered just by double-tapping a message.

Telegram message reactions

Another big update outlined in the company’s blog post is the introduction of spoiler formatting, which we knew was being tested recently. It’s great for discussing movies and other content that you don’t want people to automatically see. Just watched Spider-Man: No Way Home and want to talk about it in a group chat without spoiling it for the one friend who hasn’t seen it? Just use spoiler tags, and your message will only be viewable by tapping it.

Finally, you can also translate messages into any language directly from within Telegram. You can enable the Translate button in Telegram’s language settings, and then just hold down on any message to translate it. You can also exclude the translate button from messages written in a language you’re fluent in. It works on all Android devices that support Telegram but requires iOS 15+ on iPhones.

Telegram translate message

Other smaller updates include themed QR codes for your username, new menus for MacOS, and more interactive emoji. The interactive emoji are fun, as you can tap a large emoji sent on its own to play a fun animation.

Telegram 8.4 is rolling out on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Telegram (Free, Google Play) →

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