4 ms·

From what I'm hearing, Google is not happy with Samsung. Google wants to lead and direct the future of Android but Samsung wants to do what's best for Samsung.

From what I'm hearing, Google is not happy with Samsung. Google wants to lead and direct the future of Android but Samsung wants to do what's best for Samsung. Google is facing a bit of a dilemma. They can't push and risk alienating their number one device producer and they don't want to lose control of Android. Their only option is to move faster than Samsung to make sure samsung follows.

notatoad 13y ago
Their other option is to declare android essentially a lost cause, let the device manufacturers do whatever they want to it, and develop their own "pure google" platform that runs on top of android and works around any OEM specific customizations. Coincidentally, they already have a platform that they maintain complete control over and that runs on top of other operating systems - Chrome. and android just got brought under the umbrella of the chrome division.
- chrisrhoden 13y ago
  They have that now, but they don't because consumers do not care. The Nexus line is the best smartphone bargain that has ever happened, period, and it's still outsold by the Galaxy S III. They even use the words "pure google" in some of their marketing materials for the devices. Developers seem to be most of their market, though. They could also opt not to include the Google properties on such phones (GMail, Google Play Store, etc...) but they don't. I suspect that relationships with headset manufacturers is the reason for this, but that's pure conjecture.
  - AlexDanger 13y ago
    >The Nexus line is the best smartphone bargain that has ever happened, period, and it's still outsold by the Galaxy S III. Dont forget what happened with the Nexus 4. A pure-android device with great hardware at a reasonable price. It sold out within an hour. Availability was terrible for weeks (months?) after launch. A very large number of people who wanted the phone couldnt have it and presumably went with other handsets such as the S3. So clearly consumers do care, but in this case it was Google/LG who screwed up. I suspect they'll be better prepared for the next Nexus iteration.
    - batiudrami 13y ago
      Plus, I don't know about the US, but in Australia the average consumer is going to have no idea the Nexus 4 even exists. Previous nexus handsets were supported by significant collateral from telcos, the only way you'd know about the N4 would be if you accidentally clicked the 'devices' link in Google Play. The lack of 4G is also a bit of an issue to the average consumer, I think - it's a clear feature differential between it and high end phones, at a time when 4G is receiving a huge marketing push in Australia.
    - Shank 13y ago
      They'll be prepared with the next revision for sure. The last time Google tried to sell a phone was the Nexus One, but that was at full retail price. The Nexus 4, on the other hand, was below market price, unlocked, and the best "pure Google" phone around.
- mtgx 13y ago
  They could do the exact same thing with Nexus. They just need to try and get more OEM's every year involved, instead of one or two.
yareally 13y ago
I don't think Google was overly happy with Samsung implementing the multi-app view on the Note 2 either, but there was not much they could do about it in the end. They had already told Cyanogenmod previously not to do this[1], so one can assume they were not pleased that Samsung would do it, but Samsung carries much more weight than an AOSP modding group. [1] https://plus.google.com/100275307499530023476/posts/ViCME1bb8F6 https://plus.google.com/100275307499530023476/posts/ViCME1bb...
- myko 13y ago
  Samsung is allowed to do this because they limit multi-window to apps that support it. Cornerstone was built to work for every app, and could cause problems for apps that don't know how to behave properly when windowed like that.
- fpgeek 13y ago
  Samsung implemented multi-window exactly as Google wanted: opt-in instead of opt-out or forced. I highly doubt the Android team is unhappy about that. Several top Google apps support it (Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Talk and YouTube, judging from my Note 2). Given that (and the many other windowing hacks I've seen including ones by such obscure companies as Facebook and Sony) I expect some sort of cleaner, official multi/floating window support to be coming in a future version of Android. I would have even predicted next week before the rumor mill started saying to expect 4.3, not 5.0
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - yareally 13y ago
    I wouldn't mind multiview becoming the norm with official Android API support for apps made to support it. I didn't realize Samsung made it opt-in, but that makes much more sense and calms my fears about it. We can already have multiple fragments displayed in an app, so it would make sense the next logical step is to have multiple apps open with some limitations and restrictions via official support in the Android API. Just curious, but did support for it (for Google Apps) come at the Note 2 release or after its release?

notatoad 13y ago

Their other option is to declare android essentially a lost cause, let the device manufacturers do whatever they want to it, and develop their own "pure google" platform that runs on top of android and works around any OEM specific customizations. Coincidentally, they already have a platform that they maintain complete control over and that runs on top of other operating systems - Chrome. and android just got brought under the umbrella of the chrome division.

chrisrhoden 13y ago
They have that now, but they don't because consumers do not care. The Nexus line is the best smartphone bargain that has ever happened, period, and it's still outsold by the Galaxy S III. They even use the words "pure google" in some of their marketing materials for the devices. Developers seem to be most of their market, though. They could also opt not to include the Google properties on such phones (GMail, Google Play Store, etc...) but they don't. I suspect that relationships with headset manufacturers is the reason for this, but that's pure conjecture.
- AlexDanger 13y ago
  >The Nexus line is the best smartphone bargain that has ever happened, period, and it's still outsold by the Galaxy S III. Dont forget what happened with the Nexus 4. A pure-android device with great hardware at a reasonable price. It sold out within an hour. Availability was terrible for weeks (months?) after launch. A very large number of people who wanted the phone couldnt have it and presumably went with other handsets such as the S3. So clearly consumers do care, but in this case it was Google/LG who screwed up. I suspect they'll be better prepared for the next Nexus iteration.
  - batiudrami 13y ago
    Plus, I don't know about the US, but in Australia the average consumer is going to have no idea the Nexus 4 even exists. Previous nexus handsets were supported by significant collateral from telcos, the only way you'd know about the N4 would be if you accidentally clicked the 'devices' link in Google Play. The lack of 4G is also a bit of an issue to the average consumer, I think - it's a clear feature differential between it and high end phones, at a time when 4G is receiving a huge marketing push in Australia.
  - Shank 13y ago
    They'll be prepared with the next revision for sure. The last time Google tried to sell a phone was the Nexus One, but that was at full retail price. The Nexus 4, on the other hand, was below market price, unlocked, and the best "pure Google" phone around.
mtgx 13y ago
They could do the exact same thing with Nexus. They just need to try and get more OEM's every year involved, instead of one or two.

yareally 13y ago

I don't think Google was overly happy with Samsung implementing the multi-app view on the Note 2 either, but there was not much they could do about it in the end. They had already told Cyanogenmod previously not to do this[1], so one can assume they were not pleased that Samsung would do it, but Samsung carries much more weight than an AOSP modding group. [1] https://plus.google.com/100275307499530023476/posts/ViCME1bb8F6 https://plus.google.com/100275307499530023476/posts/ViCME1bb...

myko 13y ago
Samsung is allowed to do this because they limit multi-window to apps that support it. Cornerstone was built to work for every app, and could cause problems for apps that don't know how to behave properly when windowed like that.
fpgeek 13y ago
Samsung implemented multi-window exactly as Google wanted: opt-in instead of opt-out or forced. I highly doubt the Android team is unhappy about that. Several top Google apps support it (Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Talk and YouTube, judging from my Note 2). Given that (and the many other windowing hacks I've seen including ones by such obscure companies as Facebook and Sony) I expect some sort of cleaner, official multi/floating window support to be coming in a future version of Android. I would have even predicted next week before the rumor mill started saying to expect 4.3, not 5.0
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- yareally 13y ago
  I wouldn't mind multiview becoming the norm with official Android API support for apps made to support it. I didn't realize Samsung made it opt-in, but that makes much more sense and calms my fears about it. We can already have multiple fragments displayed in an app, so it would make sense the next logical step is to have multiple apps open with some limitations and restrictions via official support in the Android API. Just curious, but did support for it (for Google Apps) come at the Note 2 release or after its release?