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This is the number one problem I have with Android. Once I buy an Android phone I pretty much expect 6 months of updates. Maybe longer if it is a really big bug

This is the number one problem I have with Android. Once I buy an Android phone I pretty much expect 6 months of updates. Maybe longer if it is a really big bug. Sure some OEMs have made "promises" to provide 2 years of updates but that updates don't come out all that quickly, often several months after it hits the main AOSP line. If you want an iOS like experience with Android you have to buy a Nexus phone of which the Nexus 6 sucked balls due to its size. I wish Google hadn't killed the Play Edition phones. I would love a choice of phones running stock Android, maybe with a few extra, optional, apps from the OEM similar to what Motorola does. A Galaxy S6 running stock Android with a guarantee of update within 2 weeks of it hitting a Nexus would be my perfect phone.

dzhiurgis 11y ago
What is it with Android that it can't work the way Windows updates work? Amount of hardware is same as in any laptop. Is Android missing some driver framework or what?
- icebraining 11y ago
  Yeah, Linux in general doesn't have a driver "framework", it has kernel modules, and the in-kernel API is not stable, by design - the position is that keeping a stable API is extra complexity if you want to continue improving the kernel. If you're a driver developer, there are essentially three options: (1) submit the driver to the kernel tree, in which case (if it gets accepted) the developer making the API change will update your module, (2) keep pulling the kernel tree locally and update the module yourself and (3) simply stick with a kernel version. Here's the official explanation: http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/stable_api_nonsense.txt http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.g...
georgefrick 11y ago
There is a new Nexus 5 being shown on Sept. 29th, it looks to be a pretty good phone. I have a Nexus 5 and I already got the update they spoke of.
- kozukumi 11y ago
  Is that the one with the cancerous growth top-back?
sergiosgc 11y ago
Just select your brand based on their ability to update phones for a couple of years past purchase. Nexus phones are kept up to date. Motorolla too. LG seems to be on that track, but History will tell. Samsung also pledged to update for two years.
- ocdtrekkie 11y ago
  Or just don't buy phones with an OS that the OS developer can't actually patch. Buying Android is buying poor security.
  - sergiosgc 11y ago
    That is false. As long as the OS is updated, it does not matter whether it is the OS developer, or the equipment manufacturer, publishing the update. I wonder, if Apple delegated OS update publishing onto third parties, if you'd keep your position. The Jobs distortion field extends beyond the grave, it seems.
- tacticus 11y ago
  the problem is not just the brands. the telcos block updates for phones for stupid stupid reasons.

dzhiurgis 11y ago

What is it with Android that it can't work the way Windows updates work? Amount of hardware is same as in any laptop. Is Android missing some driver framework or what?

icebraining 11y ago
Yeah, Linux in general doesn't have a driver "framework", it has kernel modules, and the in-kernel API is not stable, by design - the position is that keeping a stable API is extra complexity if you want to continue improving the kernel. If you're a driver developer, there are essentially three options: (1) submit the driver to the kernel tree, in which case (if it gets accepted) the developer making the API change will update your module, (2) keep pulling the kernel tree locally and update the module yourself and (3) simply stick with a kernel version. Here's the official explanation: http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/Documentation/stable_api_nonsense.txt http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.g...

georgefrick 11y ago

There is a new Nexus 5 being shown on Sept. 29th, it looks to be a pretty good phone. I have a Nexus 5 and I already got the update they spoke of.

kozukumi 11y ago
Is that the one with the cancerous growth top-back?

sergiosgc 11y ago

Just select your brand based on their ability to update phones for a couple of years past purchase. Nexus phones are kept up to date. Motorolla too. LG seems to be on that track, but History will tell. Samsung also pledged to update for two years.

ocdtrekkie 11y ago
Or just don't buy phones with an OS that the OS developer can't actually patch. Buying Android is buying poor security.
- sergiosgc 11y ago
  That is false. As long as the OS is updated, it does not matter whether it is the OS developer, or the equipment manufacturer, publishing the update. I wonder, if Apple delegated OS update publishing onto third parties, if you'd keep your position. The Jobs distortion field extends beyond the grave, it seems.
tacticus 11y ago
the problem is not just the brands. the telcos block updates for phones for stupid stupid reasons.