> They really need to structure the OS so that the core components can be updated independent of the vendor ones. Then just ship updates regardless of what vend

> They really need to structure the OS so that the core components can be updated independent of the vendor ones. Then just ship updates regardless of what vendors do. Except that won't work because what vendors do is modify core system components. Network stacks, audio/video codecs, system themes, etc. are all things changed by carriers and manufacturers for a variety of reasons. There are two core reasons why Android OS updates are slow to roll out: 1) there is no profit motive to upgrade phones that have already passed their prime retail lifespan 2) modifications made my carriers/manufacturers are not simple and often have dramatic consequences for how the phone and apps on the phone behave For companies like Microsoft, there is a profit motive to updating released software and selling larger OS upgrades at a price. For Linux users, the onus to upgrade comes from the users themselves, much like how there are those that choose to install custom ROMs on Android to get those advanced features. Regardless, the fact that you can create an Android app that runs on so many hardware configurations is extraordinary. The downside to the popularity is that its likely your app won't run on every hardware configuration, so the question is how will Google mitigate that problem?