Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsImpressive, Quality Device - Unbearable Bloatware Ruins IT!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024
How many apps do you think you have on your phone? 40? 50? how about your phone from 2 or 3 years ago? 15-20 tops? LOL ah, yes the days when we got excited to get a few free apps or games on our new phones... alas those days are OVER bro! get you a variation of the moto g device family. Out of the box, she is pretty amazing. I didn't have a single complaint really. Super fast, tons of storage, great camera, new updated apps, lots of customizing, etc. JUST WONDERFUL. After a few months it happened, the dreaded update in April I think it was, maybe March, I now have 400+ apps. (I will attach a pic, it shows 399, there have been about 30-40 more that have trickled in since the initial dump, which took about 5-7 days to finish up... and 75-80% are "system apps" (bloatware from any and every carrier in fact.... ALL. OF. THEM.) For example, a bluetooth app for t-mobile, & verizon, & sprint, & metro, && cricket. Before you say, "just uninstall them and move on!" - I did. I have. I've factory reset twice and they're just BUILT INTO THE phones disk memory. There simply is no "delete" them. Some of them, as duplicatory as they are, messing around with them can still brick up your jawn within a few clicks... and before you even start, you are not a dev... so chill, I mean neither am I... but you just stay out of that menu, that app, and that folder. Really, who knows why they name everything in tech sketchy stuff like "com.sys.IM-WATCHING-YOU-PAM.000" and "<%real/secret/23-LISTENER999>... but anyways... JUST PROMISE ME, YOU WON'T GET INTO THAT APP, OR FOLDER.... okay?
So Motorola should reimburse me for having to put myself through IT school to teach myself to operate on this phones guts and remove all these garbage apps manually to create the phone I thought I purchased. All you can do is force stop and disable them. Buuut I still feel like they are gathering data, bc, why wound't they be. Its not just this model either, my partner has the moto g stylus 5g and its even worse on theirs. the play store basically never gets a break from constant updates (and then theres the transferring of precious data to the mother ship)
yeaaaa we also had to upgrade our home internet plan and router because of all this. We couldn't both use the wifi at the same time doing anything at all. it was crazy. allllllso the apps are gathering intense amounts of data and ALL WANT crazy permissions that have nothing to do with the app itself. like the calculator wants camera permissions... nuts. The sheer number of apps that require making system changes or having total device control... it was too much. I would almost ask for a refund, but from what I see these days most phones are leaning that direction, making money off our god given ones and zeros.... and then still try and look at us in the eyes while they sputter out the retail price of the next generation of your favorite device. can't even hold it down on a free case or something..
THEN - - when you finally get a break from force quitting and removing permissions that, somehow keep TURNING BACK on... you might have a few minutes to enjoy a quick photoshoot. NOPE. the camera app it comes with stinks, it just soooo basic.. so then you think, oh, i'll download a cool camera app off play store... NOPE. theres a fricking governor on the camera. That makes it so NO 3rd party camera app will get full usage of ALL THE MEGA PIXELS YOU PAID YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY FOR (48 megs to be precise, which is overkill, but still, you will be lucky to get to use 10 or 12 MP!!)
Seriously. And JUST as google starts conveniently implementing the awesome 2 step verification, and authentication keys.... JUST in time for you to have to answer to your wife about why you don't have as much info in your google takeout as she does... yikes... oh and squeeze on some more of that exact same conversation about your FB activity as well.. yaaaaay.
So, let me get this straight... I now have to REMEMBER ALL MY UNIQUE PASSWORDS && double log in, && verify 3 ways, all to check a notification thats just a promotional email about the new apps GEWG will put out next week. AND then FINALLY the google security come forward to say they don't trust my log in (bc i've got a VPN) - - - (from guess who - G1 - duh!) and they really cant tell the difference between MY REAL actual login on my trusted device from what it must assume is a HAKKr logging in 3 states away. . . . . . E.V.E.R.Y. LOG - INNNN!
at this point i am thinking about a jitterbug and some stress eating of sour worms to relax.
but yeah the phones cool, other than that.