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[ThanosOTitan]

never seen an app this big, srsly

Portal and Halflife for android. Wen you download it from app store it;'s only like 200MB, but when you start the game they both download 2GB each worth of game files. Many games on the play store do this.

 

[terrisus]

I have no idea what is taking up the 3.5GB on my phone. I understand the OS + apps is probably 1.5GB. But the rest... whiskey, tango, foxtrot, over.

India Delta Kilo, my Bravo Foxtrot Foxtrot Jill

 

[Vyer]

I know this pisses quite a few people off, and I totally understand why it does, but it has never been an issue for me.

Between the on-board storage and the cloud, I get by just fine with my 32 GB Nexus 5.

Kind of how I feel, 32 gb iPhone has been fine for me. Cloud stuff has been great for my usage.

Totally understand why some people are upset though.

 

[Polk]

never seen an app this big, srsly

TomTom is and other offline nav programs. And no, Google alternative is not good enough. Epecially when you want to visit different countries.

 

[Nvzman]

never seen an app this big, srsly

Modern Combat 4 is almost 2 GB, he's not lying

 

[terrisus]

' The biggest space hog are the apps, most hitting 1gb or more. '

uh no.

never seen an app this big, srsly

Dragon Quest VIII: 1.47GB

I have Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition deleted to make space, but that was over 1GB as well.

 

[ShowDog]

I remember my One X had about 2GB of "internal" space and 28GB of "external" space despite it not having an SD Card slot. Once that 2GB started to fill up the phone ran like shit. Do they still do that partitioning garbage? It was the most useless 32GB phone I've ever owned.

 

[Husker86]

I remember my One X had about 2GB of "internal" space and 28GB of "external" space despite it not having an SD Card slot. Once that 2GB started to fill up the phone ran like shit. Do they still do that partitioning garbage? It was the most useless 32GB phone I've ever owned.

Nah, I'm pretty sure they do it how you're supposed to now. Storage banks aren't separate anymore. All internal is available to the system and user apps alike; though I'm sure there is some invisibly reserved for the OS itself.

 

[wanders]

By far my biggest gripe with Android (the gripe most people have with iOS, actually).

Storage expansion! Not only has Google moved away from this, they've actively updated their OS to seemingly combat this. Sure, they're trying to get the OEMs to up the on board storage, but OEMs haven't been biting. We're lucky to get 32GB? MicroSD is useless, only media, no apps? The biggest space hog are the apps, most hitting 1gb or more. 16GB + OS + bloatware you can't delete = 8GB out of 16GB. Terrible. Galaxy S5 sounds like a wonderful device, but at only 16gb, I can't jump in. It upsets me because the Note 4 looks great, but it'll likely come out in 32GB max with a useless MicroSD function.

Oh, and the solution? The same solution everyone has with iOS. "Hack the device to do what you want it to do." That's fucking bullshit. Plus, rooting is infinitely more complicated than Jailbreaking (which is completely user friendly. Literally click a button to JB). Android isn't even easily rootable, OEMs lock their shit tight for a long while. Samsung has Knox (which permanents counts how many times you attempt to hack your device, voiding warranty), which can be avoided, but gives you more steps in your rooting process.

And I don't just want higher onboard storage capacity (that Google is trying so hard to force the OEMs to do), I want the flexibility to expand my storage!

I had more trouble JB then Rooting. Like wtf are blobs, hashes, etc. Towel Root is a one click root that is working on almost every android device

 

[Fezan]

Seriously why would Google dont allow us to move our apps to SD cards even tough my phone has SD card slot. They actively shut it down before you could easily move apps to SD cards.

 

[GeneralArrow]

It's pretty simple really, google wants you to start using there cloud services like Picasa. Anybody notice the forced login to the Samsung gallery using your gmail email?

 

[AstroNut325]

Yeah that seems like a huge problem, I really have no experience with devices with that little space. Anyways...

Download this app to check where your storage is going, maybe an app is leaving behind a lot of stuff you dont need/want

Ok I downloaded the app. It only found 1.3GB in total. Apps taking up 700ish MB, and a few hundred MB for the OS. Where is the remaining 2.7GB?

 

[hodgy100]

I used to use loads of memory on my phone. my htc one X was 32 gb and i used to fill it with music and stuff. now however ive moved my music over to google play so i stream it all, i only need my 16gb N5 and I only use ~10gb in total on that.

 

[Cipherr]

Google deprecated SD storage in Android for a couple of reasons.

For one, they didn't want users to be confused about what was where. So it's about consistency of experience in regards to what's installed where. Plus, if an app runs out of space on the external card, does it save additional data on the local drive? What about vice-versa?

Secondarily, there are security concerns around externally stored app-data vs. internally stored app-data.

There was an Android Developers blog post about this. I think in either 4.3 or 4.4, they made it so that externally-installed apps can only touch data within their own file space.

I think we all know that, But it still sucks to lose such a fantastic and money saving feature because some idiots cannot remember that they saved a game on the SD, so when the SD is removed, the game doesn't function. Thats just ridiculous, but in the vein of chasing that user Google has removed official support for it from most of their OS. It fucking sucks. I just buy larger capacity devices, but still, its bullshit.

And then people will bitch that their game is running like shit from their cheap fucking class 2 SD card. Or that their video isn't recording right, or that their camera can't take pictures one after another fast enough.

Yes they would, and they would be stupid for doing so. I don't feel that chasing those people as customers justifies removing such a great option for someone who knows at least a LITTLE about these devices. Its just wrong.

 

[I'm new be nice]

If it makes the phone more secure I'm okay with it. It's not great having to use a PC to shift some files around, but it's better than nothing. I download music and movies to my phone, if I hold on to them indefinitely I shift them to the SD card. Works well enough when you have 32 gigs of storage and 128 in SD.

Yes they would, and they would be stupid for doing so. I don't feel that chasing those people as customers justifies removing such a great option for someone who knows at least a LITTLE about these devices. Its just wrong.

I think you underestimate just how rampant this kind of customer is. It would be crazy not to design for them, unfortunately.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

I don't even mind not being able to install apps on external SD (I don't play big games on my phone so the biggest app I have is maybe 100-150mb big), but it is a step back from Android 2.3 (or was it 2.2?) where moving apps to SDcard was a feature. However, I would love for the system to at least allow me to move apps' cached data to SDcard. Current Android versions not only don't allow you to move apps to SDcard, but also have internal SDcard emulation enabled meaning apps treat your internal memory as a SDcard. So even if an app has an option to put cache/data on SDcard, because of the emulation it still puts it on the internal memory. It sucks when you have a measly 2GB of internal memory and every now and then you have to go through your apps and clear cached data just because you want to install something new.

Thankfully some ROM makers disable the emulation.

I think you underestimate just how rampant this kind of customer is. It would be crazy not to design for them, unfortunately.

Then at least give me an option, even if it's hidden under developer's menu.

 

[Kapsama]

Yeah seriously fuck Google for completely killing Flash and completely neutering SD card supprt in KitKat.

I didn't update my Note 3 to 4.4 because of that shit. And guess what if Apple releases a 5.5 inch iPhone I'm leaving. If Android loses it's benefits over iOS then why stick with it?

 

[Thoraxes]

I have most of my apps on my microSD card on my S5. In fact, there's a menu to do it too if you need to.

 

[SolsticeZero]

I was actually surprised when I got my G3 that it had a micro SD slot. Got a 32gb card on the way.

Yeah seriously fuck Google for completely killing Flash and completely neutering SD card supprt in KitKat.

I didn't update my Note 3 to 4.4 because of that shit. And guess what if Apple releases a 5.5 inch iPhone I'm leaving. If Android loses it's benefits over iOS then why stick with it?

Google didn't kill flash. Adobe stopped supporting mobile flash. Besides, flash needed to die.

 

[massoluk]

Yeah bloody disgrace it is. Nevermind the media files, I simply can't imagine managing just apps on 16gb storage, let alone 8gb.

 

[ComputerMKII]

One of the core Android principles is that you never need a file manager. Ever. We wanted to avoid the obnoxious "sneeze and a file picker appears" syndrome of basically every other OS. Local data that apps know how to handle should just be magically available within the apps, or stored in the cloud. You shouldn't have to go spelunking on your SD card to find data.
The problem with having both internal storage and SD cards is that suddenly that goal gets a whole lot harder to achieve. For a given shot, should the camera save to internal-16GB, or to SD card? Should an app from Market be installed to internal or SD? etc.
Yes, we can solve this by letting the user choose, or have it be in settings. But then, that's a file picker, or close enough to the file picker experience that we dislike it just as much.
And besides that, there are API consequences: if you stick in an SD card with photos on it, do you add those to the system media content provider? If you do, you will screw up apps because they aren't designed with the concept that photos can come and go.
What we will probably do eventually is add an import/export concept to removable storage. So the Camera will always save to internal-16GB, and when you pop in an SD card (or insert a thumb drive on USB host devices) you can start a migration or import/export dialog.
But until we have that, devices will generally either have an SD card, or a large internal storage, but not both. I totally get that a lot of people like SD cards, and I miss USB Mass Storage myself. But then, that's why it's great that there are so many devices to choose from.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...behind-galaxy-nexus-lack-of-usb-mass-storage/

 

[Mr_Zombie]

Yes, we can solve this by letting the user choose, or have it be in settings. But then, that's a file picker, or close enough to the file picker experience that we dislike it just as much.

Since when are options a bad thing? Not to mention, that's still better than being forced to uninstall apps, clear files or constantly migrate things to the cloud because you don't have enough space on your tiny internal memory. How is that better when it comes to usability?

It's one thing to think that you live in a perfect world where every device has 16gb+ internal memory. The true world is different though and a lot of new devices, especially budget ones, are releasing with only a few gigabytes of build-in memory.

And besides that, there are API consequences: if you stick in an SD card with photos on it, do you add those to the system media content provider? If you do, you will screw up apps because they aren't designed with the concept that photos can come and go.

Isn't this what apps has been doing since... forever? There's a media scanner demon that constantly scans your memory - both internal and external - for media files and notifies apps whenever a new music file, movie or image appear. And since in most phones you have to remove batter in order to insert a memory card, each time you stick/remove a SD card you have to restart the system.

When a user is in the app he doesn't notice the difference between the file being on internal or external memory. It's still in the app.

 

[BertramCooper]

Yeah seriously fuck Google for completely killing Flash and completely neutering SD card supprt in KitKat.]

Killing Flash is somehow a bad thing?

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Google music, Google + auto backup for photos. Done.

This. I have no music on my phone. Everything is on Google Music. For Pictures/Videos I move them TO Google Drive. The only physical thing I have on my phone are apps. So 32gb should be enough for apps.

 

[rpmurphy]

They probably did this due to security.

If Nintendo can solve this problem, I don't see why the heck Google engineers can't.

 

[Askherserenity]

What the fuck are you downloading on your phone?

Unless you have your phone filled with huge games or porn, I don't see why this is a problem.

Everything these days is streamed or in the cloud. Including your porn.

 

[NotBacon]

but it is a step back from Android 2.3 (or was it 2.2?) where moving apps to SDcard was a feature. However, I would love for the system to at least allow me to move apps' cached data to SDcard. Current Android versions not only don't allow you to move apps to SDcard, but also have internal SDcard emulation enabled meaning apps treat your internal memory as a SDcard. So even if an app has an option to put cache/data on SDcard, because of the emulation it still puts it on the internal memory. It sucks when you have a measly 2GB of internal memory and every now and then you have to go through your apps and clear cached data just because you want to install something new.

If you want slow ass apps then sure.

Yeah seriously fuck Google for completely killing Flash and completely neutering SD card supprt in KitKat.

I didn't update my Note 3 to 4.4 because of that shit. And guess what if Apple releases a 5.5 inch iPhone I'm leaving. If Android loses it's benefits over iOS then why stick with it?

1. Flash is shit.
2. "Neutering" your SD card ensures optimal phone performance and security.
3. Not upgrading to the latest Android because of this isn't smart. You're missing out on many system improvements just because you perceive one con.
4. You're not using an Android phone, you're using a TouchWiz phone.

 

[Mr_Zombie]

If you want slow ass apps then sure.

If I have to choose between "slow ass apps" (because caching speed is so important in apps like internet browser, facebook, flipboard, pocket, TED etc., right? and those apps can cache a shitload of data) and no apps, then I prefer the former, thanks.

 

[Kapsama]

Google didn't kill flash. Adobe stopped supporting mobile flash. Besides, flash needed to die.

Killing Flash is somehow a bad thing?

If you want slow ass apps then sure.

1. Flash is shit.
2. "Neutering" your SD card ensures optimal phone performance and security.
3. Not upgrading to the latest Android because of this isn't smart. You're missing out on many system improvements just because you perceive one con.
4. You're not using an Android phone, you're using a TouchWiz phone.

Stop being Internet nazis. If you didn't like Flash, fine don't use it. But don't seriously try to argue that removing the option for people who DO like Flash is the right thing to do.

- Also yes Google effectively killed flash because Chrome never supported it and they replaced the AOSP browsern, which did, with Chrome.
- 4.3 Jelly Bean dropped support for Flash so app developers like Opera followed suit.
- Finally in KitKat apps that relied on the AOSP browser to display web content, also lost Flash support because Google switched that to Chrome as well.

2 .Also, while pretending to ensure optimal phone performance and security is a nice fairy tale, all I ask for is giving me the choice of still using the SD to the fullest, for instance by hiding it in the developers menu.

3. Two features that I really appreciate more over the legion of stuff I didn't ask for. Tough choice.

4. Keep your nitpicking to yourself.

 

[Phoenix]

Google music, Google + auto backup for photos. Done.

If only it didn't still keep copies of things around on the device after it did its auto backups.

 

[segasonic]

De clutter your digital life. Too many apps if 32gb isn't enough for you.

Less is more. Yay communism!!

 

[kehs]

- 4.3 Jelly Bean dropped support for Flash so app developers like Opera followed suit.

Adobe turned off compatibility with newer versions of android, not the other way around.

 

[yogloo]

Google music, Google + auto backup for photos. Done.

I'd love to see you travel around the world trying to stream your music.

And good luck backing up all your photos after you streamed those music.

 

[Phoenix]

http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...behind-galaxy-nexus-lack-of-usb-mass-storage/

Some of that might have been true before, but with all the APIs currently in place with the later versions of Android and the new Media Browsers and such, I don't believe ANY of this has merit any more. They pretty much solved all of those problems with KitKat and even moreso with L.

Pretty much anything they wanted to do with respect to files was implemented with the new APIs.

 

[clav]

One of the handful of things MS really got right in WP

Noooo. You're supposed to hate MS and WP.

 

[reKon]

OEMS should be making 32gb onboard standard. It's not that fucking expensive

 

[Furyous]

I'm with you OP.

Why is SDXC support limited to 128 GB?

I want to pop one of these in my future (today that would be an LG G3) device:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090BEWKY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

OEMs need to do better.

Can we please shy away from the platform WARZ? Love what platform you want to love but that doesn't mean we have to disparage another platform in this particular post. Leave Sailfish alone!

 

[Javaman]

Both my Samsung Note 3 and my nVidia Shield (uses almost stock) have the option to move to storage, to be fair, I havent checked how much it leaves behind in the actual storage but I have never run into problems.

Download this app to check where your storage is going, maybe an app is leaving behind a lot of stuff you dont need/want

Many thanks for the link to that app. I found a huge (800meg) picasa web album cache that remained even after doing a recovery boot/factory format to install CyanogenMod. Screw you picasa sync!

 

[Volotaire]

Yeah it is shitty and then companies like HTC go from 32GB HTC One no SD slot to 16GB HTC One M8 with SD slot. Why couldn't they leave at 32GB with SD.

Wait, they reduced it to 16GB? That was a terrible decision. I hope the flagships next year do away with 16GB of storage .