11 ms·

What?? The whole point of getting a Nexus device is that, unlike a carrier phone, it's not supposed to get left behind by updates!

reustle 13y ago
The Galaxy Nexus came out at the end of 2011. It can only handle the latest OS for so long...
- dasil003 13y ago
  For less than 2 years? That's worse than Apple, and not just a little.
  - stesch 13y ago
    I have an iPhone 4S, but I guess I could buy a new Nexus phone every year and it would cost me less. :-)
  - bsimpson 13y ago
    They seeded the Galaxy Nexus to developers at I/O in 2012. Presumably they'll seed the Nexus 5 at I/O in 2014. For the next seven months, developers who rely on Google-seeded devices will be using out-of-date software. That defeats the whole point of seeding devices.
  - X-Istence 13y ago
    I know Apple is heralded as the company that builds planned obsolescence, but until about 2 months ago an 4 year old iPhone 3GS was still able to run the latest iOS without issues.
    - dasil003 13y ago
      Yeah I wouldn't say Apple goes out of their way to screw users, but compared to Microsoft in their heyday they have traditionally been pretty terrible. On the other hand, in the age of startups and smart phones Apple seems to be screwing over customers less than almost everyone.
    - myko 13y ago
      Well, the older Android will receive Google Play Services which includes many API updates. New OS functionality will be missing of course (as is Siri on older iPhones) but that's just what happens. That said, I feel like the Galaxy Nexus should be more than capable of running a release specifically created to handle lower end devices, let alone a flagship not even 2 years old.
- pwthornton 13y ago
  This is in stark contrast to iOS, which runs on a phone released in June 2010.
  - X-Istence 13y ago
    The most recent iOS only now deprecated the iPhone 3GS which was released in June 2009. Up until two months ago a 4 year old device was still running the latest version of iOS. Why is Google unable to do the same?
    - MAGZine 13y ago
      Because every Android device running an certain version of an OS all have exactly the same functionality for the most part. iOS might have everyone on the same version, but features are pruned for older hardware. As if getting through one software revision wasn't difficult enough through manufacturers and carriers to a magnitude of devices... users who are determined can still get the latest version of android on whatever phone they please.
      - millstone 13y ago
        > Because every Android device running an certain version of an OS all have exactly the same functionality for the most part. Google seems to be encouraging the opposite: "A new API, ActivityManager.isLowRamDevice(), lets you tune your app's behavior to match the device's memory configuration. You can modify or disable large-memory features as needed, depending on the use-cases you want to support on entry-level devices.” http://developer.android.com/about/versions/kitkat.html http://developer.android.com/about/versions/kitkat.html
      - jinushaun 13y ago
        It's not about user-facing features. It's about the damn API version! Fragmentation is a problem for users AND developers. With the news about the Galaxy Nexus, Google is basically telling developers to keep targeting old version of Android and avoid the latest APIs. As far as I'm concerned, the Android Support Library is the one true API.
- stesch 13y ago
  I have iOS 7.0.3 on my iPhone 4S. Released a month before the Galaxy Nexus.
  - kuschku 13y ago
    Have you gotten all the features, the iPhone 5S got? Do you have the nice blurred Control Center background? Android's Problem is fragmentation, and it wouldn't help at all to just backport some functions to older devices, because then developers coulnd't be sure about tthe availability of any API.
    - eddieplan9 13y ago
      Quite to the contrary, the whole point for iOS to be supported on "old" devices like iPhone 4 is reduce fragmentation: developers can focus on building for the latest iOS using the latest API and generate one binary. For god's sake, you can even target both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms with one build. You only need to deal with "availability of any API" when you hit hardware limit, like features that only work when there is Bluetooth LE or Dual Band Wi-Fi.
    - rsynnott 13y ago
      > Do you have the nice blurred Control Center background? You get this on the 4S, yes, just not on the iPhone 4 or the iPad 2/3. > because then developers coulnd't be sure about tthe availability of any API. iOS 7 running on the iPhone 4 has the same APIs as on the 5S; it just doesn't have all the UI features (notably, the blurring stuff).
    - sologoub 13y ago
      My iPhone 4S benefited immensely from iOS7 (UX-feel not withstanding). The biggest difference for was in the camera software. I can't describe how much better it is performing in filming things as they happen. By contrast, my Galaxy Nexus has become slower and slower with each upgrade. With the last update, my keyboard started to crash... I was really looking forward to the 4.4, hoping things would improve. And yes, I use two phones and most of the time have both with me... GN is no longer used as a camera though.
    - 13y ago
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- zmmmmm 13y ago
  > It can only handle the latest OS for so long That would be reasonable if Google wasn't touting 4.4 as something that can run on devices with half the memory that the GNex has. In the past people have always made hardware excuses for why Google stopped supporting Nexus devices, but this time it's crystal clear: they just can't be bothered. 2 years is the lifespan of a Nexus.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
eco 13y ago
I don't know how accurate this is but I've read that the TI OMAP processor division no longer exists so the Galaxy Nexus can't receive updates that it may need to support 4.4.
lambda 13y ago
I was upset when my N1 didn't get the Android 4 release. Apparently, the whole Nexus thing means you are first in line to get updates when they come out (as opposed to carrier phones which frequently get updates several months after they are released, and may never get updates), but that only lasts for about two years.
- eigenvector 13y ago
  Although 3rd party developers eventually brought ICS (and Jelly Bean for that matter) to the Nexus One with a lot of hacking, there were good technical reasons why there was never an official release. ICS needed drastically more space on NAND than Gingerbread, as evidence by 3rd party ICS ROMs requiring you to repartition your NAND as well as mount /data on the SD card if you wanted to install more than two or three apps, which then led to greatly reduced I/O performance.
  - jinushaun 13y ago
    The Nexus One couldn't install ICS or JB because Google and HTC made the stupid decision to give the system only 256 MB of storage--relying instead on the "endless potential" of SD storage to store apps. <facepalm> I can wipe my Nexus One, return to a clean copy of Gingerbread and will still only have about 30 MB of space for apps. What a joke.

reustle 13y ago

The Galaxy Nexus came out at the end of 2011. It can only handle the latest OS for so long...

dasil003 13y ago
For less than 2 years? That's worse than Apple, and not just a little.
- stesch 13y ago
  I have an iPhone 4S, but I guess I could buy a new Nexus phone every year and it would cost me less. :-)
- bsimpson 13y ago
  They seeded the Galaxy Nexus to developers at I/O in 2012. Presumably they'll seed the Nexus 5 at I/O in 2014. For the next seven months, developers who rely on Google-seeded devices will be using out-of-date software. That defeats the whole point of seeding devices.
- X-Istence 13y ago
  I know Apple is heralded as the company that builds planned obsolescence, but until about 2 months ago an 4 year old iPhone 3GS was still able to run the latest iOS without issues.
  - dasil003 13y ago
    Yeah I wouldn't say Apple goes out of their way to screw users, but compared to Microsoft in their heyday they have traditionally been pretty terrible. On the other hand, in the age of startups and smart phones Apple seems to be screwing over customers less than almost everyone.
  - myko 13y ago
    Well, the older Android will receive Google Play Services which includes many API updates. New OS functionality will be missing of course (as is Siri on older iPhones) but that's just what happens. That said, I feel like the Galaxy Nexus should be more than capable of running a release specifically created to handle lower end devices, let alone a flagship not even 2 years old.
pwthornton 13y ago
This is in stark contrast to iOS, which runs on a phone released in June 2010.
- X-Istence 13y ago
  The most recent iOS only now deprecated the iPhone 3GS which was released in June 2009. Up until two months ago a 4 year old device was still running the latest version of iOS. Why is Google unable to do the same?
  - MAGZine 13y ago
    Because every Android device running an certain version of an OS all have exactly the same functionality for the most part. iOS might have everyone on the same version, but features are pruned for older hardware. As if getting through one software revision wasn't difficult enough through manufacturers and carriers to a magnitude of devices... users who are determined can still get the latest version of android on whatever phone they please.
    - millstone 13y ago
      > Because every Android device running an certain version of an OS all have exactly the same functionality for the most part. Google seems to be encouraging the opposite: "A new API, ActivityManager.isLowRamDevice(), lets you tune your app's behavior to match the device's memory configuration. You can modify or disable large-memory features as needed, depending on the use-cases you want to support on entry-level devices.” http://developer.android.com/about/versions/kitkat.html http://developer.android.com/about/versions/kitkat.html
    - jinushaun 13y ago
      It's not about user-facing features. It's about the damn API version! Fragmentation is a problem for users AND developers. With the news about the Galaxy Nexus, Google is basically telling developers to keep targeting old version of Android and avoid the latest APIs. As far as I'm concerned, the Android Support Library is the one true API.
stesch 13y ago
I have iOS 7.0.3 on my iPhone 4S. Released a month before the Galaxy Nexus.
- kuschku 13y ago
  Have you gotten all the features, the iPhone 5S got? Do you have the nice blurred Control Center background? Android's Problem is fragmentation, and it wouldn't help at all to just backport some functions to older devices, because then developers coulnd't be sure about tthe availability of any API.
  - eddieplan9 13y ago
    Quite to the contrary, the whole point for iOS to be supported on "old" devices like iPhone 4 is reduce fragmentation: developers can focus on building for the latest iOS using the latest API and generate one binary. For god's sake, you can even target both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms with one build. You only need to deal with "availability of any API" when you hit hardware limit, like features that only work when there is Bluetooth LE or Dual Band Wi-Fi.
  - rsynnott 13y ago
    > Do you have the nice blurred Control Center background? You get this on the 4S, yes, just not on the iPhone 4 or the iPad 2/3. > because then developers coulnd't be sure about tthe availability of any API. iOS 7 running on the iPhone 4 has the same APIs as on the 5S; it just doesn't have all the UI features (notably, the blurring stuff).
  - sologoub 13y ago
    My iPhone 4S benefited immensely from iOS7 (UX-feel not withstanding). The biggest difference for was in the camera software. I can't describe how much better it is performing in filming things as they happen. By contrast, my Galaxy Nexus has become slower and slower with each upgrade. With the last update, my keyboard started to crash... I was really looking forward to the 4.4, hoping things would improve. And yes, I use two phones and most of the time have both with me... GN is no longer used as a camera though.
  - 13y ago
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
zmmmmm 13y ago
> It can only handle the latest OS for so long That would be reasonable if Google wasn't touting 4.4 as something that can run on devices with half the memory that the GNex has. In the past people have always made hardware excuses for why Google stopped supporting Nexus devices, but this time it's crystal clear: they just can't be bothered. 2 years is the lifespan of a Nexus.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

eco 13y ago

I don't know how accurate this is but I've read that the TI OMAP processor division no longer exists so the Galaxy Nexus can't receive updates that it may need to support 4.4.

lambda 13y ago

I was upset when my N1 didn't get the Android 4 release. Apparently, the whole Nexus thing means you are first in line to get updates when they come out (as opposed to carrier phones which frequently get updates several months after they are released, and may never get updates), but that only lasts for about two years.

eigenvector 13y ago
Although 3rd party developers eventually brought ICS (and Jelly Bean for that matter) to the Nexus One with a lot of hacking, there were good technical reasons why there was never an official release. ICS needed drastically more space on NAND than Gingerbread, as evidence by 3rd party ICS ROMs requiring you to repartition your NAND as well as mount /data on the SD card if you wanted to install more than two or three apps, which then led to greatly reduced I/O performance.
- jinushaun 13y ago
  The Nexus One couldn't install ICS or JB because Google and HTC made the stupid decision to give the system only 256 MB of storage--relying instead on the "endless potential" of SD storage to store apps. <facepalm> I can wipe my Nexus One, return to a clean copy of Gingerbread and will still only have about 30 MB of space for apps. What a joke.