Help why do google keep restricting android with each new version

[gbswales]

In the latest versions of android apps can no longer properly manipulate data that is stored on an external card - this is crazy because it means editors have to save results to internal storage and the user has to copy it back to the external SD card - it seems like google are driving even more manufactures to drop sd card support. With the latest update to Lollipop it seems that most of the call and text blocking apps are no longer able to block unwanted numbers. Notification pop ups in 5.0.1 are a nightmare and impossible to block without blocking notifications for an app altogether.

I moved to Android to find a more flexible system but increasingly it is becoming the same sort of locked down, dumbed down interface that iOS is. No wonder there is such a huge interest in rooting devices but then doing this voids your warranty AND locks you out of many online streaming services such as All Four.

We should be in charge of what gets displayed on our screens and not google or facebook

 

[Crashdamage]

Everyone has their own way of looking at this, but can be loosely put in one of 3 groups:

1. SD yes.
2. SD no.
3. SD meh.

I'm in #2.
I used to be in #1 but I and most people I know have been getting along just fine the last few years without SD cards. Increased storage and cloud storage has made SD unimportant to us.

They tend to be kinda unreliable, run FAT which is ancient and lacks modern filesystem features, and you can do a lot more with cloud storage.

Cloud storage isn't all sunny skies but for me it represents the future of storage in the 21st century. SD cards are soon gonna replace the floppy disks in the bottom of the junk drawer. Ultimately, I think it will be a Good Thing. It's just time to move on.

Sorry, but that's the way I see this is going, like it or not.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah at least in the mid/high range of devices we're being offered decent internal storage options now and it's only a matter of time until that comes to the low range so yup I can now easily live without an sd card.
I think the problem is that manufacturers are still offering devices with sd slots and people buy them and then see it as being "useless".
Imo there's still a place for sd cards for storing media until we get even bigger internal storage options or data becomes more affordable/reliable

 

[Slug]

In the latest versions of android apps can no longer properly manipulate data that is stored on an external card

Not true, it's just that apps can no longer arbitrarily write to whichever folder they or their creator choose. This thread explains in more detail: SD card write permission issue

it seems like google are driving even more manufactures to drop sd card support.

Many mainstream OEMs still offer microSD support. Only Samsung, with the S6 line, are bucking this trend.

 

[gbswales]

Yeah at least in the mid/high range of devices we're being offered decent internal storage options now and it's only a matter of time until that comes to the low range so yup I can now easily live without an sd card.
I think the problem is that manufacturers are still offering devices with sd slots and people buy them and then see it as being "useless".
Imo there's still a place for sd cards for storing media until we get even bigger internal storage options or data becomes more affordable/reliable

Personally I feel it is a con on the part of the manufacturers to sell the larger memory models. 32gb of storage which is high on the average phone is simply not enough after you account for the O/S and a lot of game apps. I can understand it is the future and I hope we can look forward to cheap devices with 200gb of storage. However at least in the UK the cloud is not a viable alternative unless you are always near wi-fi. High def videos simply wont play on most over the air cloud connections and even if they did, most providers only give about 500mb - 1GB on all but the most expensive plans.

My point is - why take something out while there are still devices out there that want to make use of it. I like the convenience of having all my videos and music available to me even when there is no internet connection and that needs at least the 64GB that. DVDs and CDs are becoming less popular but they are still around which is why most PCs still come with a DVD drive.

My point is why not give as many user options as possible in an operating system designed to work on all kinds of devices ?

I CAN live without an SD card , heck I could live without a phone, but dont see why I should be forced to

 

[funkylogik]

But sd cards in modern Android are still perfectly capable of storing and playing back media
PS I'm not trying to defend Google here. I'm not even sure that I fully understand their move away from sd support
PPS check out Three network in the UK for unlimited data for £15p/m without contract

 

[Hadron]

Yeah, if you want to store a lot of big games then sd is not useful, but for media it certainly is. That's one of the major reasons for having one to my mind (I currently don't, but will have next time).

(I don't regard the cloud as remotely viable for my needs by the way.)

 

[chanchan05]

AFAIK it's only on Kitkat that this became an issue and was fixed with Lollipop, where you can give each app permission to write on a particular folder?