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I don't think that headline is even remotely fair. When Apple releases a new version of iOS, it often comes with a new phone and a $200-$400 price tag. When the

I don't think that headline is even remotely fair. When Apple releases a new version of iOS, it often comes with a new phone and a $200-$400 price tag. When the new Android version is released by Google, there are hundreds of different devices that already exist that have to be updated, and it gets updated for free.

sudont 16y ago
Fair or not, this is one of the biggest benefits of an integrated platform. The report is evidence that the model works.
lotusleaf1987 16y ago
How is it not fair? Carriers/manufacturers could easily update their phones if they were motivated to but they aren't at all, instead it's just planned obsolescence as usual. They want to force you to buy a new phone.
nhangen 16y ago
That's not a fair assessment at all. Many iPhone users are still on 3G and 3GS...not everyone bought an iPhone 4.
aristidb 16y ago
But still. Delayed updates (or getting none at all) is a huge problem affecting most Android users. I'm writing this from a phone with Android 2.1... And HTC already declared there will be no more updates. Even the update to 2.1 came with 6 months delay, here in Germany! (HTC Hero.)
davidedicillo 16y ago
iOS updates come for free as well and they offer all the features to at least the last 2 versions of the phone, covering basically two years of product releases. > there are hundreds of different devices that already exist that have to be updated That's exactly the problem. Also the problem is that those manufactures don't really care of those hundreds of devices, maybe they care of the latest 2 (two months product releases the most), because most likely they will have to push a brand new device the week after.
beej71 16y ago
Even the author of the piece said he doesn't think it was fair, so you're in good company.
credo 16y ago
6 points in 7 minutes is great, but I'm not sure why anyone would say that they "don't think that headline is even remotely fair" It looks like you're not denying the facts, just concerned that the facts don't favor Android (and you seem to acknowledge that hundreds of existing devices cannot be updated to the latest Android version) In general, do you not want your headlines to reflect the facts ? [edit: the parent comment was at 6 points when I wrote my response. Now, more than an hour later, it seems to have been downvoted down to 3 points.]
mbrubeck 16y ago
And how is this different from Android? "When Apple releases a new version of iOS, it often comes with a new phone and a $200-$400 price tag." - When Android 2.0 was announced, it was available on only one device, the new Verizon Droid ($199 w/ contract). Even the Verizon Droid Eris released the same day did not have the latest OS. (It missed out on 1.6 and 2.0, was upgraded to 2.1 six months later, and will never see supported upgrades to 2.2 or higher.) - When Android 2.1 was announced, it was available on only one device, the new Nexus One ($529). When 2.2 was released, buying a Nexus One was still the only way to run it at first, although some other devices did get updates a short while later. - When Android 2.3 was announced, it was available on only one device, the new Nexus S ($529 or $199 w/contract). Many Android devices never get updated to the latest major release. New devices are released every month or so that ship with year-old versions of the OS. Meanwhile, Apple provides upgrades for every one of its older devices, for at least the next few releases. Among other things, this means developers must decide whether to cut off half their users by taking advantage of new OS features now, or wait a couple years for enough old devices to be updated or thrown away. I work on Firefox for Android, and a bunch of features in the Gingerbread NDK would be perfect for us... if we could actually use them any time soon.

sudont 16y ago

Fair or not, this is one of the biggest benefits of an integrated platform. The report is evidence that the model works.

lotusleaf1987 16y ago

How is it not fair? Carriers/manufacturers could easily update their phones if they were motivated to but they aren't at all, instead it's just planned obsolescence as usual. They want to force you to buy a new phone.

nhangen 16y ago

That's not a fair assessment at all. Many iPhone users are still on 3G and 3GS...not everyone bought an iPhone 4.

aristidb 16y ago

But still. Delayed updates (or getting none at all) is a huge problem affecting most Android users. I'm writing this from a phone with Android 2.1... And HTC already declared there will be no more updates. Even the update to 2.1 came with 6 months delay, here in Germany! (HTC Hero.)

davidedicillo 16y ago

iOS updates come for free as well and they offer all the features to at least the last 2 versions of the phone, covering basically two years of product releases. > there are hundreds of different devices that already exist that have to be updated That's exactly the problem. Also the problem is that those manufactures don't really care of those hundreds of devices, maybe they care of the latest 2 (two months product releases the most), because most likely they will have to push a brand new device the week after.

beej71 16y ago

Even the author of the piece said he doesn't think it was fair, so you're in good company.

credo 16y ago

6 points in 7 minutes is great, but I'm not sure why anyone would say that they "don't think that headline is even remotely fair" It looks like you're not denying the facts, just concerned that the facts don't favor Android (and you seem to acknowledge that hundreds of existing devices cannot be updated to the latest Android version) In general, do you not want your headlines to reflect the facts ? [edit: the parent comment was at 6 points when I wrote my response. Now, more than an hour later, it seems to have been downvoted down to 3 points.]

mbrubeck 16y ago

And how is this different from Android? "When Apple releases a new version of iOS, it often comes with a new phone and a $200-$400 price tag." - When Android 2.0 was announced, it was available on only one device, the new Verizon Droid ($199 w/ contract). Even the Verizon Droid Eris released the same day did not have the latest OS. (It missed out on 1.6 and 2.0, was upgraded to 2.1 six months later, and will never see supported upgrades to 2.2 or higher.) - When Android 2.1 was announced, it was available on only one device, the new Nexus One ($529). When 2.2 was released, buying a Nexus One was still the only way to run it at first, although some other devices did get updates a short while later. - When Android 2.3 was announced, it was available on only one device, the new Nexus S ($529 or $199 w/contract). Many Android devices never get updated to the latest major release. New devices are released every month or so that ship with year-old versions of the OS. Meanwhile, Apple provides upgrades for every one of its older devices, for at least the next few releases. Among other things, this means developers must decide whether to cut off half their users by taking advantage of new OS features now, or wait a couple years for enough old devices to be updated or thrown away. I work on Firefox for Android, and a bunch of features in the Gingerbread NDK would be perfect for us... if we could actually use them any time soon.