A few observations

[Shimmy1]

Finally had to give up the trusty Ultra. I'm sure that's funny or ridiculous to a lot of you, but 3½ years and still working fine until I leaned on it in my pocket and wrecked the screen. I'm a Moto guy, and the Moto Z² is what I went with. This is going to pretty much be a rant, I'll be honest. I'll start with the home screen. Only way to have home screen in center is use third party launcher. Nova is ok, except I HATE the direct dial icons. Next, inability to attach a contact card directly to a text message. Why should I have to exit messaging, click contacts, find contact, click three dots, hit share, click messaging, select recipient, send message?? Message+ has added the contact card to the attachment menu, so that's what I'm using. Third, why can't I shrink down pics with any gallery app?? I can crop them, and they *appear* smaller, but if I try to assign the modified pic to a contact, it will not show the entire pic and will be missing the area I cropped off. Sorry for the long post, but I'm just a little irritated since I've been Droid since the LG Revolution came out, and I had never really found anything about the Ultra that I would have wanted to change.

 

[Sajo]

Welcome to the Forum. Congrats on the new phone. As a fellow Moto phone owner I can understand where you are coming from. I have had almost every phone they made since 2010, and currently running a Z2 Force.

As far as the Home screen, that's just the new Launcher3. Many Moto owners asked Moto to go that route, me included. I like the swipe left to open Google setup, with all other home screens to the right. Obviously not everyone likes it, buy they listened to a majority of customers and changed the stock Launcher to be more generic / stock Android.

For the other issues you mentioned, I'll have to dig around & investigate if the same things happen on my phone.

Did you get any Moto Mods?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Sajo]

I can share a contact card via Android Messages. Open the Contact > 3 dot menu > share > select the Messages option > pick the name you want to send to and the Messages app opens ready to send the contact card.

True, it's not in the Attachment option when Messages is open and you click Attachment buy it is an option from the stock Contact app.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Shimmy1]

Welcome to the Forum. Congrats on the new phone. As a fellow Moto phone owner I can understand where you are coming from. I have had almost every phone they made since 2010, and currently running a Z2 Force.

As far as the Home screen, that's just the new Launcher3. Many Moto owners asked Moto to go that route, me included. I like the swipe left to open Google setup, with all other home screens to the right. Obviously not everyone likes it, buy they listened to a majority of customers and changed the stock Launcher to be more generic / stock Android.

For the other issues you mentioned, I'll have to dig around & investigate if the same things happen on my phone.

Did you get any Moto Mods?

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

No, I didn't get any mods. If I was interested in doing anything with Google, I might like the swipe left to open it. However, I do not care to use Google for anything (I use Firefox), and would prefer to have the *option* to have the right swipe give me another home screen. Why can't it be an option?

 

[Sajo]

It is an option.... Google or the Verizon App Flash. Which is just a bunch of spam garbage. I love the Google app and the swipe to Google. I use it all day long. I guess it's not an option because it's very close to the stock vanilla Android Launcher. And Moto owners have spoken loud & clear through the Moto support forum that they (we) want as close to stock Android as possible.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Shimmy1]

It is an option.... Google or the Verizon App Flash. Which is just a bunch of spam garbage. I love the Google app and the swipe to Google. I use it all day long. I guess it's not an option because it's very close to the stock vanilla Android Launcher. And Moto owners have spoken loud & clear through the Moto support forum that they (we) want as close to stock Android as possible.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

That still hasn't answered my question, which was why can't I have the *option* of setting a default home screen on the Moto launcher. If you want a stock Android, have the default the left screen with swipe right to open Google. Would having that as a setting be that difficult?

 

[Sajo]

I understand what you are asking. But the answer is that we have a close to stock Launcher, and what you are wanting is not part of stock Android. That's the best answer....our phone runs close to stock Android. It would be nice to have that option, I don't disagree there. But then that requires more development work on Moto's part, and they are already short staffed on personnel. So they just run a close to stock Android Launcher and the play store offers other launchers for those that don't like the stock one.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Shimmy1]

I understand what you are asking. But the answer is that we have a close to stock Launcher, and what you are wanting is not part of stock Android. That's the best answer....our phone runs close to stock Android. It would be nice to have that option, I don't disagree there. But then that requires more development work on Moto's part, and they are already short staffed on personnel. So they just run a close to stock Android Launcher and the play store offers other launchers for those that don't like the stock one.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

I tried the Nova launcher, but then couldn't stand the icons lol. I guess I'm just too picky. How about the missing name card attachment in the messaging apps? Another option too troublesome to add? Please forgive me if my questions sound sarcastic, that is not my intent. I'm just trying to understand why things that I feel are so convenient for me seem be done away with when new versions come out.

 

[Sajo]

I posted about the vCard option via Messages a few posts ago.


I can share a contact card via Android Messages. Open the Contact > 3 dot menu > share > select the Messages option > pick the name you want to send to and the Messages app opens ready to send the contact card.

True, it's not in the Attachment option when Messages is open and you click Attachment buy it is an option from the stock Contact app.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Sajo]

And no....you don't sound sarcastic to me, just someone trying to get used to a version of Android that's three or four years newer than what you were used to. The Ultra / Droid Mini / Droid Maxx (which I owned and loved) haven't seen an Android update in a few years.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Shimmy1]

I posted about the vCard option via Messages a few posts ago.


I can share a contact card via Android Messages. Open the Contact > 3 dot menu > share > select the Messages option > pick the name you want to send to and the Messages app opens ready to send the contact card.

True, it's not in the Attachment option when Messages is open and you click Attachment buy it is an option from the stock Contact app.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

That's my point. I realize I can exit Messaging, and go to Contacts to send someone a name card. What I'd like to know is why should I? Every messaging platform I've *ever* used, back to the flip phone days, allowed a person to attach a name card. Currently I'm using Message+, and I can do it with that, but I liked the default Messaging app on my Ultra, the one with the green box and smiley face.

 

[Sajo]

That's my point. I realize I can exit Messaging, and go to Contacts to send someone a name card. What I'd like to know is why should I? Every messaging platform I've *ever* used, back to the flip phone days, allowed a person to attach a name card. Currently I'm using Message+, and I can do it with that, but I liked the default Messaging app on my Ultra, the one with the green box and smiley face.

That was the old Moto Message app. It was replaced by the stock Android Messages app, the blue & white icon. It's another example of Moto using stock Android and not using their own Moto developed apps when Google provides a text app in stock Android.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Sajo]

Also....you don't have to "exit" the Messages app. Just don't "start" there when sending a vCard. Start with the Contacts app and all the functionality you want is right there. Just a different way of doing things than what you are used to.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[Shimmy1]

Also....you don't have to "exit" the Messages app. Just don't "start" there when sending a vCard. Start with the Contacts app and all the functionality you want is right there. Just a different way of doing things than what you are used to.

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

Kind of hard not to start there if you're there already reading a text from someone asking for a phone number......

 

[Shimmy1]

Next frustration. Google photos will not crop a photo to fit a contact, and if you select the photo through the contact app and attempt to crop it that way, unless it's perfectly square, you're not making it fit the contact. WTF is the deal with that?? Trying to make it as difficult as possible to use photos from the internet I'm guessing.