I’ve been an Android fanboy since Android 2.3, and my appreciation for the platform runs deep. Yet, there are still some frustrating aspects of Android that leave me shaking my head in disbelief.
8No Easy Way to Check Battery Health
When it comes to smartphones, battery health plays a huge role in long-term usability. Unfortunately, Android doesn’t offer a simple, built-in way to check it.
Although some manufacturers, like Samsung, offer basic battery health indicators, most Android phones force you to rely on third-party apps or dig through hidden diagnostics menus to see how your battery is holding up.
This makes it harder toknow when it’s time to replace your phone’s battery. In contrast, it’s something that you can easily do on an iPhone, Mac, or even a Windows laptop. While it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker, I feel it should be much easier to get detailed information about your battery’s health right on your device.
7Disappointing Standby Battery Life
While most Android phones these days have fast charging capabilities, their standby battery life remains disappointing. I’ve used both Android phones and iPhones over the years, and one thing that always stands out is how well iPhones conserve power while idle. On the flip side, I’m always left wonderingwhy my Android phone’s battery drains so fast, even with minimal use.
Personally, it’s frustrating to leave my Android phone with a decent charge at night, only to wake up and find it drained by 10-20% for no obvious reason. The main culprit here is poor software optimization.
Sure, I could limit background activity or enable aggressive battery optimizations, but then I’d just end up with other problems like delayed notifications, sync issues, or even sluggish performance.
Screenshot by Pankil Shah – No attribution required
6Feature Availability Varies Too Much
Unlike iPhones, where feature rollouts are consistent across all devices, you never quite know what they’re getting—or missing—when they buy a new Android phone. Since the Android OS is used by so many different brands—Samsung, Google, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and more—each manufacturer decides which features to include, tweak, or even remove.
For example, one of my favorite Android features, Circle to Search, is only available on certain Android phones and tablets. Similarly,my Samsung phone has several features that other Android phones lack, and vice versa.
Even if two phones run the same Android version and have similar specs, they can feel drastically different depending on the brand. This inconsistency makes it frustrating if you ever decide to swap to a different brand of phone, as the experience just isn’t consistent.
5Integration With PCs Still Sucks
I can’t help but envy how people with iPhones get to enjoy features like AirDrop, iMessage sync, and Continuity between Mac and iPhone. For all the progress Android has made over the years, it still lags far behind iOS in this area.
As an Android user, I often have to rely on third-party apps to achieve a similar experience with Windows. This might not be a big deal for everyone, but as someone who works on a computer all day, this is a major miss.
Sure, some manufacturers like Samsung offer a more cohesive experience. But that’s only useful if you’re using a Galaxy phone with a Galaxy Book laptop. And while Microsoft’s Phone Link app has made things slightly better, it still feels clunky compared to Apple’s seamless ecosystem.
4Bloatware Still Exists
Another big issue with Android phones is bloatware—those pre-installed apps you didn’t ask for and, in many cases, can’t even remove. This is especially common when you buy from carriers or certain brands.
And no, this isn’t just an issue with budget devices. Even flagship Galaxy phones come loaded with pre-installed apps from Samsung, Google, and Microsoft.
Sure, you’re able to uninstall or at least disable some of them, but that takes time. Worse yet, on certain phones, the only way to trulyget rid of bloatware is by using ADB commands—a process that’s not very user-friendly.
The only exception here is the Pixel and a handful of other devices that offer a cleaner Android experience. However, not everyone wants—or can afford—a Pixel.
3Ads Everywhere
Many manufacturers—like Xiaomi, Oppo, and OnePlus—push promotions in their budget models to help generate revenue. Even Samsung, which is considered a premium brand, has been known to serve ads through the Galaxy Store and Samsung Push Service notifications.
2Software Updates Take Forever
Unless you own a Google Pixel, the time between Android updates can feel like an eternity. The situation is even worse when carriers are involved—manufacturers first tweak updates for their custom skins, and then carriers conduct their own testing, further delaying the rollout.
Even within the same brand, update releases can vary depending on region and hardware variations. To make things worse, most Android phone manufacturers are often vague about update schedules, which leaves you in the dark about when—or if—you’ll receive the latest Android version.
While companies like Samsung promise long-term software support on flagship models, the speed of these updates still leaves a lot to be desired. By the time your phone finally gets the latest Android version, Google may have already announced the next big update.
1Poor Resale Value
Perhaps the biggest drawback of owning an Android phone is its poor resale value. Sure, most people don’t buy a phone with the intention of selling it later. However, for those who like to upgrade every couple of years, this is a huge problem.
Android devices depreciate much faster than iPhones. With new models flooding the market each year and intense competition between brands, prices usually drop rapidly—sometimes just months after a phone’s release.
Of course, severalfactors affecta phone’s resale valuelike the phone’s brand, condition, and demand. However, you’ll generally find that flagship Android phones lose their value far more quickly than their iPhone counterparts.
At the end of the day, no operating system is perfect. Despite its many strengths, Android has its fair share of frustrating flaws that even the most devoted of us Android users can’t deny. That said, I still enjoy using Android and hope to see these issues improve in the coming years.
