I can 100% confirm everything you write and have made exactly the same experiences with DAPs, especially if one is into streaming services, like myself.
As someone else here has written, too , I have sold almost all DAPs I have ever owned because of it.....
I have also owned the Mojo and tried out the concept of an exclusively wired DAC - but this wasn`t for me either, because it was maybe one of the most impractical solutions I have tried yet to get (admittedly great) sound quality "on the go" out of my phone.
And then I tried something that was unthinkable for me some years ago: bluetooth dongles (currently own the Go Blu and UP5)
that can also be used wired for critical listening!
And must say - I have totally underestimated them for too long and can now say that they are almost the perfect solution for my needs.
They sound
a lot better than their reputation in BT mode, I am not dependent on the "programming weaknesses" of small DAP companies for their user interfaces, and wired I get an equal sq as from a DAP.... in situations when I need it (sit down in my arm chair, connect to my iPad and enjoy browsing on a big screen while I can do critical listening
).
This is why I hope that Mojo 2 will also have BT or similar functions as Poly on board!
Here’s hoping!
There are multiple free (as in FOSS) options: Linux, *BSD, a long list of RTOS... The choice is really vast. The problem is, the manufacturers should also convince the various streaming services to create apps for their platform, which is not going to happen for the largest ones. One option could be to create a single, possibly free as in freedom, open OS to be shared among all manufacturers and that could definitely put some steam in this effort, but honestly I don't see that happening any time soon: although this is literally the recipe that made Windows and Android successful, no manufacturer wants this because it would mean collaborating with each other and they simply won't do that, if history really is there to teach us anything.
Agreed re. Microsoft. The point I was making is that doing an OS from scratch is difficult, even for them.
And I completely agree with you regarding the challenges of getting the streaming services to create an app for a new OS were a DAP maker to actually get one off the ground… To be clear, I am not suggesting creating a new OS in place of Android… I actually said I don’t believe such an endeavor is feasible.
My suggestion was to throw out mobile operating systems entirely, and license a simple media operating system, such as Roku. Most of the streaming services (Tidal, Amazon, Spotify, Google and Sony) have apps for Roku, only Apple Music and Quobuz are missing. Roku is much easier to mod than Android, and they lease the license cheaply to pretty much anybody… I wasn’t kidding about the refrigerator with Roku. I think there’s even a toilet.
In any event, its a simple, easy to implement solution that really should be the standard instead of Android. For one thing, unlike Android, it’s far more hardware-reliant in terms of updates. Meaning if your device’s hardware is suitably future-proofed, you can update Roku to the latest version for years and years. Unlike Android…
I couldn't disagree with you more. I won't buy anything but an Android DAP. The good ones are really good now. Fast and reliable. Far more reliable than my Mojo/Poly ever was. I had more dropped connections of my home network with it than all problems combined with any of my Android DAPs. And, streaming changes everything. I can rent all music and never have to worry about owning it again. That's a game changer.
Also, a Mojo connected to a smart phone is not portable and the wires are unbearably impossible to streamline. Couple that with the battery and charging issues and you have a pretty prehistoric user experience.
I would change my mind if Chord could pair my iPhone just like the Mojo does with the Poly. However, given the constantly changing designs, that is never going to happen. The next best alternative is for Chord to buy a DAP company and use their world class skills in industrial design and make a great Android DAp that pairs perfectly with the Mojo 2. That would be an interesting product.
I have what I believe many consider the best current DAP in terms of a smooth, fast, bug-free Android experience… the Fiio M11 Plus LTD- running Android 10, Snapdragon 660, and yes, as you correctly say, it has been excellent so far. Lightyears ahead of what was considered a good Android experience just 2-3 years ago. I remember when I got my ZX507 and was like “Wow, Sony stuff just works”… comparing that buggy mess to the Plus LTD now is night and day. Unfortunately, I far prefer the sound of the ZX507 to the Plus LTD, ha ha. But I digress.
So we both agree that there is no doubt that Android DAPs can be very good these days. But even the most cutting-edge Android DAPs, like my Plus LTD, are borderline obsolete by phone standards. Again, my Plus LTD is running Android 10. But 12 dropped more than a month ago. And right around 13 is when we should begin to see bugs popping up in streaming service apps, due to less-than-perfect compatibility with older OS. God help my DAPs running 7 and 8. I already run into ocasionally issues with my DAPs running Android 9.
The point is, decent OS usability in DAPs doesn’t need to be so short-lived and problematic. And it only is because Android is overkill for what a DAP needs to do- it’s overly complex for a DAP’s simple requirements because it is a full-blown mobile operating system. The quickly diminishing compatibility between current versions of streaming apps and older Android isn’t because the apps are adding a ton of new code-heavy features. It’s because Android changes so dramatically that the streaming services need to code for that, rather than worry as much about backwards compatibility. Android literally makes massive changes between versions due to security upgrades for fear of foreign governments using phones to rig elections. Seriously.
That’s the world of mobile operating systems, and it’s an absurd amount of overkill if all you need a device to do is connect to wifi and run a media app.
This is why I’m so hot on Roku or similar. The average TV is owned for ten years. So these media operating systems are basically updatable until the hardware can’t keep up. So you future-proof a device well enough, and you’re golden for years. And I can’t say this enough… Roku is a license whore. Whore, whore, whore. We could all be running absolutely up-to-the-minute versions of an incredibly stable and easily moddable OS with most major streaming services already onboard, running the latest versions of those apps.
Instead I’m feeling good that my “bleeding-edge” Android 10 Fiio is only obsolete by two whole versions, and my apps should be perfect for at least another year. I mean, come on…
And for the record, I’m not obsessed with Roku or anything. Any of these simple media operating systems would do. I mean, Amazon sells a ton of audiophile gear; they actually serve as the sole importer for several companies to the US market. Can you imagine if they essentially leased the guts of a Firestick to, say, HiBy? Who then modded it for bit-perfect sound and threw it in a case with a screen and storage? Game over. It would obliterate the Plus LTD, in terms of OS stability and future-proofing.