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Apple seems to be able to innovate iOS while providing robust and timely updates for older devices.

jonursenbach 15y ago
The way Android is fragmented changes all of that. If iOS were fragmented the same way Android was, Apple would be doing the same thing.
cryptoz 15y ago
I would not call iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G "robust": it was more of a disaster than anything. There are obviously strengths to all sides here, and I don't mean to champion that Google's is best or the only way. But I think it's clear what they're doing, and I'd bet they've weighed all possible options and found this to be the most economically sensible one.
- AlisdairO 15y ago
  I honestly thought Apple's behaviour with the 3G was shameful. I wouldn't have minded if they hadn't released the update for the 3G, but instead what they effectively did was brick a load of people's phones and then offer poor options for downgrading. It's really not what I expect from a premium brand.
j_baker 15y ago
That's certainly true for some definition of "robust" and "timely". I'm assuming yours doesn't include security and bug fixes.
w1ntermute 15y ago
Oh yeah? Let me know when I can get Siri on an iPhone 4 without resorting to some sketchy hacks.
- Steko 15y ago
  This false equivalence is tiresome. The inability to run a handful of hardware dependent features on iOS is not even in the same ballpark as the complete lack of timely updates for over 95% of Android users.
  - john-n 15y ago
    Hardware dependant? Siri was shown running on pre-4s devices (3g if I recall correctly) before apple bought them.
    - Steko 15y ago
      Not to Apple's standards apparently. http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57371624-264/why-apples-a5-is-so-big-and-iphone-4-wont-get-siri/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57371624-264/why-apples-a5...
      - hahainternet 15y ago
        Siri has since been ported to older devices via jailbreaking. As I understand it, there are no performance issues. However, I do agree that Google needs to sort the 'update problem'.
        Steko 15y ago
        "As I understand it, there are no performance issues." It's one thing to "work" in the hacking sense, and another to "work properly" in the Apple sense. http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2656999&cid=38948715 http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2656999&cid=38... There's a difference between running and running as well as on the 4S. The demo of noise reduction is impressive. http://www.audience.com/demos/transmit-noise-en.php http://www.audience.com/demos/transmit-noise-en.php [audience.com] It's easy to see why with that noise reduction, Siri would be much more accurate than without it, in real scenarios. Apple obviously wants Siri to be judged on it's best performance. They have a reputation for quality to maintain.
notatoad 15y ago
this is a bad analogy, apple does not backport features to old versions of their OS, they put their new OS on old handsets. google puts their new OS onto old devices as much as they can too, the problem is that the carriers and other handset manufacturers don't. i'm sure google would love if everything would start running ICS, but it's not their responsibility.
- Steko 15y ago
  "as much as they can ...not their responsibility." You make it sound like Google's suddenly found themselves in these unfortunate circumstances through no fault of their own. On the contrary, this is the reality of Android. You don't get to own the pluses of being "open" and not own the minuses.
  - patrickaljord 15y ago
    > You don't get to own the pluses of being "open" and not own the minuses. Actually you can, you wouldn't blame Linus because your linux based router comes with a broken or old version of linux.
    - Steko 15y ago
      I'm sure Linus himself would tell you that he would own that as a minus of linux and that it's far outweighed by the positives.
      - patrickaljord 15y ago
        Let's not guess what he would say. But blaming Linus for that is like the Iranian government blaming a dev because someone used his upload app to upload porn pictures or people blaming gun makers instead of killers. You can do it but it isn't the smartest thing to do to say the least IMO.

The way Android is fragmented changes all of that. If iOS were fragmented the same way Android was, Apple would be doing the same thing.

cryptoz 15y ago

I would not call iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G "robust": it was more of a disaster than anything. There are obviously strengths to all sides here, and I don't mean to champion that Google's is best or the only way. But I think it's clear what they're doing, and I'd bet they've weighed all possible options and found this to be the most economically sensible one.

AlisdairO 15y ago
I honestly thought Apple's behaviour with the 3G was shameful. I wouldn't have minded if they hadn't released the update for the 3G, but instead what they effectively did was brick a load of people's phones and then offer poor options for downgrading. It's really not what I expect from a premium brand.

j_baker 15y ago

That's certainly true for some definition of "robust" and "timely". I'm assuming yours doesn't include security and bug fixes.

w1ntermute 15y ago

Oh yeah? Let me know when I can get Siri on an iPhone 4 without resorting to some sketchy hacks.

Steko 15y ago
This false equivalence is tiresome. The inability to run a handful of hardware dependent features on iOS is not even in the same ballpark as the complete lack of timely updates for over 95% of Android users.
- john-n 15y ago
  Hardware dependant? Siri was shown running on pre-4s devices (3g if I recall correctly) before apple bought them.
  - Steko 15y ago
    Not to Apple's standards apparently. http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57371624-264/why-apples-a5-is-so-big-and-iphone-4-wont-get-siri/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57371624-264/why-apples-a5...
    - hahainternet 15y ago
      Siri has since been ported to older devices via jailbreaking. As I understand it, there are no performance issues. However, I do agree that Google needs to sort the 'update problem'.
      - Steko 15y ago
        "As I understand it, there are no performance issues." It's one thing to "work" in the hacking sense, and another to "work properly" in the Apple sense. http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2656999&cid=38948715 http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2656999&cid=38... There's a difference between running and running as well as on the 4S. The demo of noise reduction is impressive. http://www.audience.com/demos/transmit-noise-en.php http://www.audience.com/demos/transmit-noise-en.php [audience.com] It's easy to see why with that noise reduction, Siri would be much more accurate than without it, in real scenarios. Apple obviously wants Siri to be judged on it's best performance. They have a reputation for quality to maintain.

notatoad 15y ago

this is a bad analogy, apple does not backport features to old versions of their OS, they put their new OS on old handsets. google puts their new OS onto old devices as much as they can too, the problem is that the carriers and other handset manufacturers don't. i'm sure google would love if everything would start running ICS, but it's not their responsibility.

Steko 15y ago
"as much as they can ...not their responsibility." You make it sound like Google's suddenly found themselves in these unfortunate circumstances through no fault of their own. On the contrary, this is the reality of Android. You don't get to own the pluses of being "open" and not own the minuses.
- patrickaljord 15y ago
  > You don't get to own the pluses of being "open" and not own the minuses. Actually you can, you wouldn't blame Linus because your linux based router comes with a broken or old version of linux.
  - Steko 15y ago
    I'm sure Linus himself would tell you that he would own that as a minus of linux and that it's far outweighed by the positives.
    - patrickaljord 15y ago
      Let's not guess what he would say. But blaming Linus for that is like the Iranian government blaming a dev because someone used his upload app to upload porn pictures or people blaming gun makers instead of killers. You can do it but it isn't the smartest thing to do to say the least IMO.