6 ms·

3 years of Android version updates and at least 5 years of security updates. But I have to say, Apple's OS version updates are not always quite what they seem.

3 years of Android version updates and at least 5 years of security updates. But I have to say, Apple's OS version updates are not always quite what they seem. My 2 year old iPad gets OS updates in name only. None of the major new iPad OS features are supported. That's fine if the hardware just isn't capable of supporting those features. But it sort of muddies the water compared to an Android device that doesn't get a nominal OS bump but still gets security updates and all the new features distributed through Google's Play services.

ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, feature updates are gated by model because Apple wants to sell new stuff and the new features are a big driver of that. GrapheneOS on Pixel is probably the best bet right now.
- fauigerzigerk 4y ago
  >All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, absolutely. I didn't mean to imply anything else. Google says Pixel 6 will get "at least 5 years" of security updates. We're going to have to wait and see if that's better or worse than what Apple does.
BoorishBears 4y ago
Are you serious? iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. Compare that to Android where the best case is invisible security updates and guess which causes upgrade anxiety? I'm an Android developer for a living but I use iPhones because the Android ecosystem is currently optimized for generating e-waste. SoC manufacturers generally don't make enough money to want to do more than the bare minimum, so unless you're Google making billions off a hundred other angles you don't do OS updates for more than a few years and maybe pay lip service with security upgrades.
- esteth 4y ago
  He's serious. The new multitasking workflow which is the major feature of iPadOS 16 is not available on non-M1 iPads, for example
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    You mean Stage Manager??? That's a truly terrible example... First off it's not "the major feature of iPadOS 16, it's one call out of many _many_ features: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ Second, _massively increasing multitasking capabilities_ is being given to the models that have _a massively upgraded SoC_ there's nothing artificial about that limitation. Older iPads cannot not hold 4 arbitrary apps in memory, try it yourself if you want. For anything but the most basic set of apps you'll find something evicted by the time you loop back... Third, "the" major point of an OS upgrade if any is being on the latest development target. Ask Android devs still targeting versions of Android from 2015 about that...
- fauigerzigerk 4y ago
  >iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. As you know, Google updates apps and cloud features on a continuous basis while Apple holds back most new features until they release a new OS version. If you look through the list of iPad OS 16 features for instance, you'll see that almost all of them are in fact new apps, app features and sharing/cloud features that Android users would be getting anyway [1]. Of the very few actual OS features, the most substantial one by far is Stage Manager, which is only supported on M1 iPads as esteth has said. This isn't just "a few flashy features". I'm a bit unlucky with my iPad purchases because this is the second time I'm missing out on the most important new OS features on a new-ish iPad. Granted, nothing of the sort ever happened to me on iPhone. I'm rather happy with Apple's iOS update policy. [1] https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    Stage Manager will straight up not work on non-M1 iPads. You cannot keep 4 major apps in memory without seeing an eviction. Also your comparison doesn't make sense, you're comparing iOS built-in apps to Android 3rd party apps by Google... AOSP's built-in photos and emails apps have barely been updated in the last decade. All in all if you think iPadOS is letting you down, Android upgrades are a circus that Google refuses to rein in.

ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago

All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, feature updates are gated by model because Apple wants to sell new stuff and the new features are a big driver of that. GrapheneOS on Pixel is probably the best bet right now.

fauigerzigerk 4y ago
>All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, absolutely. I didn't mean to imply anything else. Google says Pixel 6 will get "at least 5 years" of security updates. We're going to have to wait and see if that's better or worse than what Apple does.

BoorishBears 4y ago

Are you serious? iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. Compare that to Android where the best case is invisible security updates and guess which causes upgrade anxiety? I'm an Android developer for a living but I use iPhones because the Android ecosystem is currently optimized for generating e-waste. SoC manufacturers generally don't make enough money to want to do more than the bare minimum, so unless you're Google making billions off a hundred other angles you don't do OS updates for more than a few years and maybe pay lip service with security upgrades.

esteth 4y ago
He's serious. The new multitasking workflow which is the major feature of iPadOS 16 is not available on non-M1 iPads, for example
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  You mean Stage Manager??? That's a truly terrible example... First off it's not "the major feature of iPadOS 16, it's one call out of many _many_ features: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ Second, _massively increasing multitasking capabilities_ is being given to the models that have _a massively upgraded SoC_ there's nothing artificial about that limitation. Older iPads cannot not hold 4 arbitrary apps in memory, try it yourself if you want. For anything but the most basic set of apps you'll find something evicted by the time you loop back... Third, "the" major point of an OS upgrade if any is being on the latest development target. Ask Android devs still targeting versions of Android from 2015 about that...
fauigerzigerk 4y ago
>iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. As you know, Google updates apps and cloud features on a continuous basis while Apple holds back most new features until they release a new OS version. If you look through the list of iPad OS 16 features for instance, you'll see that almost all of them are in fact new apps, app features and sharing/cloud features that Android users would be getting anyway [1]. Of the very few actual OS features, the most substantial one by far is Stage Manager, which is only supported on M1 iPads as esteth has said. This isn't just "a few flashy features". I'm a bit unlucky with my iPad purchases because this is the second time I'm missing out on the most important new OS features on a new-ish iPad. Granted, nothing of the sort ever happened to me on iPhone. I'm rather happy with Apple's iOS update policy. [1] https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  Stage Manager will straight up not work on non-M1 iPads. You cannot keep 4 major apps in memory without seeing an eviction. Also your comparison doesn't make sense, you're comparing iOS built-in apps to Android 3rd party apps by Google... AOSP's built-in photos and emails apps have barely been updated in the last decade. All in all if you think iPadOS is letting you down, Android upgrades are a circus that Google refuses to rein in.