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Android clearly has a fragmentation problem. Worse than that, is the dependency on device manufacturers to release updates to already released handsets, which
by Osiris 16y ago
Android clearly has a fragmentation problem. Worse than that, is the dependency on device manufacturers to release updates to already released handsets, which I'm sure many see as a waste of resources since they've already sold the device and would rather put that into the next big thing.
Despite all the problems with the iOS ecosystem, Android has plenty of its own, albeit very different, problems. I'm honestly jealous of the easy updates to iOS that Apple releases. A unified OS that installs on all but the oldest handsets regardless of carrier or model.
For Android, on the other hand, manufacturers have made it pretty clear that what comes on the phone is most likely the version of the OS you'll ever see, unless you root your phone replace the stock OS with an open source version of Android.
I don't see that as an easy problem to solve due to the nature of the ecosystem compared to Apple's completely integrated vertical.
- arron61 16y agoEven if the device manufacturers do not alter the OS, it's still impossible for Google to send one mass update that will apply to all the phones. Phone OSes are too embedded for this to work. Carriers and manufacturers will still need to do the updates, but it will definitely be a lot faster. Look at Microsoft trying to update Windows Phone 7. There are no customization, yet they have to carefully test on every device and have each device be updated independently. Microsoft is barely able to handle 7-10 devices. When it reaches Android's level with 100 devices, it won't be able to handle it either. Apple has enough trouble updating iOS on iphone 4, iphone 3gs, and iphone 3g.