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> To help ensure a consistent experience, Android One devices will receive the latest versions of Android directly from Google. So you’ll get all the latest fea

> To help ensure a consistent experience, Android One devices will receive the latest versions of Android directly from Google. So you’ll get all the latest features, up-to-date security patches, and peace of mind knowing your stuff is always backed up. This rings a bitter note for me -- I bought a Galaxy Nexus a while after it came out and I was really surprised how quickly Google discontinued updates for it. Is it expected that "the next five billion" will also buy a new phone every two years? To quote Google: > Galaxy Nexus, which first launched two years ago, falls outside of the 18-month update window when Google and others traditionally update devices. (I still own the phone and I have the latest Android because of Cyanogenmod, but again, this is not something that can be recommended to "the next five billion".)

tylerH2014 12y ago
> I bought a Galaxy Nexus a while after it came out and I was really surprised how quickly Google discontinued updates for it. This is likely because it used a TI OMAP processor. TI left the mobile field, fired thousands of engineers and instead focuses on industrial/automotive. OMAP was dead in the water shortly after that phone appeared. I'm guessing that probably meant no support or driver updates.
- freehunter 12y ago
  It's funny because the Moto 360 runs an OMAP 3 processor and Motorola is still owned by Google until the sale goes through, so it's not like Google refuses to use or update OMAP processors anymore.
- bduerst 12y ago
  This is mostly why the Galaxy Nexus no longer gets updates. The Galaxy Nexus was also born from a not-so-great partnership with Samsung, who was at the time maneuvering into a position to compete directly with Google (e.g. Tizen).
jacquesm 12y ago
> Is it expected that "the next five billion" will also buy a new phone every two years? Absolutely! The whole phone market is one huge study in planned obsolescence. It's doing even better than cars in that respect. And the tablet market isn't far behind.
- mvp 12y ago
  And probably for the better in case of mobile phones. Can't say the same for cars personally.
  - umeshunni 12y ago
    It's just a reflection of the state of maturity/pace of development of the industry. I remember when people used to replace their computers once ever two/three years. Nowadays, it's more like 5-7 years.
- simonh 12y ago
  On the contrary, the main reason iPad sales have stalled appears to be that they have such long useful lives compared to other types of computer. My wife's father has my old iPhone 3GS and my wife is using my old iPhone 4, four years old and now running iOS 7, though when my contract expired shell get herself a 6. I'll stick with my 5 as I usually cary an iPad so the larger screen isn't as much use to me. These things last for ages. I honestly don't know his long other peoples devices last or are used, but mine have so far had pretty decent useful lives compared to most desktop computers I've owned.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- w1ntermute 12y ago
  Presumably you're referring to the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. That was a unique situation which won't happen again, as no more Nexus phones will be coming to Verizon. Moreover, in the years since the Galaxy Nexus, Google has made huge strides in moving as much of the Android OS into independently updatable apps as possible.
  - fpgeek 12y ago
    As one of the many whose international 2013 Nexus 7 LTE mysteriously took three extra weeks (compared to the other Nexus devices) to get the 4.4.3 update and still hasn't gotten 4.4.4 (unless that fix was rolled into the late 4.4.3), I'm not that confident the Galaxy Nexus situation is unique. It may just be a coincidence, but it's hard not to notice that OS updates were faster before the US Nexus 7 LTE was certified on Verizon. Hopefully, the Android L update will be better, but I worry.
hrvbr 12y ago
*Receives automatic Android updates for up to 2 years. http://www.android.com/one/ http://www.android.com/one/ I guess the poor can replace their phone every two years like the rich.
- lclarkmichalek 12y ago
  Or survive on a slightly older version of Android?
  - MichaelApproved 12y ago
    It's not about having the latest & greatest, it's about having a secure device. Imagine hundreds of millions of devices with security holes no longer being patched after 2 years. At least XP was supported for over a decade. Having a device as expensive as a phone (for the market) no longer patched after 2 years isn't a good idea.
    - buster 12y ago
      Seriously, i think many people don't care about the Android version they are running and won't care to check for updates even if they are available.
      - jarek 12y ago
        > won't care to check for updates even if they are available. At least in 4.4 you automatically get a notification when an update is available
        buster 12y ago
        Yes, but i think this "i want the latest update" argument is much exagerated on HN, but not so much important for Joe User. My gf just bought a cheap android phone and i told her that it won't receive any updates but she didn't care. Offering to check for updates (the nerd that i am) she still refused. She just doesn't want to be bothered with it. I suppose that is true for many people. And, to be honest, Android didn't have truely interesting new features for several releases. I own my google phone, and it's nice for me to be on the latest releases all the time, but truth be told i couldn't tell if my phone ran 4.0 or 4.4.
mirsadm 12y ago
Did your phone stop working? It's annoying but your phone is perfectly usable even without the latest Android version.
- xorcist 12y ago
  Perfectly usable, maybe, but there are security fixes in each and every version of Android. A desktop browser from 2012 is absolutely full of security holes, no matter which one you look at. There is zero reason to believe mobile browsers would fare any better (and they haven't, so far). More and more people do their banking on their mobile devices. And Google's solution to the password problem is a shared secret on your mobile. So, is it really usable? It would be a matter of perspective, but I would argue a no.
hyperbovine 12y ago
All those off-contract phones have got to end up somewhere...
sschueller 12y ago
At least you have the option of installing Cyanogenmod. Look at the iphone. The old ones you can throw away. There are security holes that have not been patched and there is no alternative OS you can run on them.
- zoul 12y ago
  I have an old iPhone 4. I bought it when it was released four years ago and the latest supported iOS version is 7.1.2, released this summer. That’s four years of support, which is quite decent IMHO.
  - Ntrails 12y ago
    I, too, have an iPhone 4. However I never updated to ios 7 because by Gods I liked the skeuomorphic paradigm. I think about 2 months ago was the first time I hit a roadblock that made me want to update.
  - vetinari 12y ago
    I have an iPhone 3G, that was released six years ago, and the latest supported OS is 4.1.2. Not that it is usable with this version, latest usable version was 3.x. It inhabits the drawer for several years already.
    - krrrh 12y ago
      I posted this elsewhere on the thread, but in case you missed it, you might find that this project breathes new life into that old device. http://www.whited00r.com/features?lang=en http://www.whited00r.com/features?lang=en
      - vetinari 12y ago
        Thanks, I noticed it. Meanwhile, I ordered a new battery for the phone, so I can play with it during weekend :)
- ishansharma 12y ago
mg74 12y ago
Well did you get the international edition? Because I did, and that was even worse. Samsung managed the updates and had their own branch of Android for the phone. It both lagged the Google version and stopped at 4.2.x, which was terrible because the Galaxy Nexus suffered dearly from the flash fragmentation issue which was only fixed in 4.3.x. I managed to flash the phone to the Google branch and get it to 4.3.x after being stuck on dog slow phone for over 6 months, made it usable again.
krisgenre 12y ago
Hmm.. this "next five billion" market will hardly ever connect to the Internet, even if they do, OS upgrades might get pretty expensive for their data plan. If Google could make really cheap quality Android phones that this segment can buy every two years, it will be a quite good accomplishment( or if Google could partner with carriers to offer these updates for free then it will be even more awesome ).
- exhilaration 12y ago
  They talk about this: In an effort to reduce data costs, if you have an Airtel SIM card, you’ll get these software updates for free for the first six months. As part of this same Airtel offer, you’ll also be able to download up to 200MB per month worth of your favorite apps (that’s about 50 apps overall) from Google Play—all without counting toward your mobile data usage.
worklogin 12y ago
I bought a Moto G specifically for its claim of staying up-to-date (and some other cool features), so I hope that I'll get major updates for years to come, lest I have to go to Cyanogen. People in this thread are shocked, SHOCKED! that people would keep a phone for more than two years. Except for my gaming habit, my 5+ desktop would still have its original components, and my laptop is from 2010. Replace the battery, and it's a champ. Annual hardware upgrades shouldn't be a "thing" unless desired.
- snogglethorpe 12y ago
  I agree, but the hardware manufacturers have a very strong incentive to get you to buy new hardware. As long as the device makers have any hand in releasing software updates for their devices, software updates will be a problem....

tylerH2014 12y ago

> I bought a Galaxy Nexus a while after it came out and I was really surprised how quickly Google discontinued updates for it. This is likely because it used a TI OMAP processor. TI left the mobile field, fired thousands of engineers and instead focuses on industrial/automotive. OMAP was dead in the water shortly after that phone appeared. I'm guessing that probably meant no support or driver updates.

freehunter 12y ago
It's funny because the Moto 360 runs an OMAP 3 processor and Motorola is still owned by Google until the sale goes through, so it's not like Google refuses to use or update OMAP processors anymore.
bduerst 12y ago
This is mostly why the Galaxy Nexus no longer gets updates. The Galaxy Nexus was also born from a not-so-great partnership with Samsung, who was at the time maneuvering into a position to compete directly with Google (e.g. Tizen).

jacquesm 12y ago

> Is it expected that "the next five billion" will also buy a new phone every two years? Absolutely! The whole phone market is one huge study in planned obsolescence. It's doing even better than cars in that respect. And the tablet market isn't far behind.

mvp 12y ago
And probably for the better in case of mobile phones. Can't say the same for cars personally.
- umeshunni 12y ago
  It's just a reflection of the state of maturity/pace of development of the industry. I remember when people used to replace their computers once ever two/three years. Nowadays, it's more like 5-7 years.
simonh 12y ago
On the contrary, the main reason iPad sales have stalled appears to be that they have such long useful lives compared to other types of computer. My wife's father has my old iPhone 3GS and my wife is using my old iPhone 4, four years old and now running iOS 7, though when my contract expired shell get herself a 6. I'll stick with my 5 as I usually cary an iPad so the larger screen isn't as much use to me. These things last for ages. I honestly don't know his long other peoples devices last or are used, but mine have so far had pretty decent useful lives compared to most desktop computers I've owned.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

w1ntermute 12y ago
Presumably you're referring to the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. That was a unique situation which won't happen again, as no more Nexus phones will be coming to Verizon. Moreover, in the years since the Galaxy Nexus, Google has made huge strides in moving as much of the Android OS into independently updatable apps as possible.
- fpgeek 12y ago
  As one of the many whose international 2013 Nexus 7 LTE mysteriously took three extra weeks (compared to the other Nexus devices) to get the 4.4.3 update and still hasn't gotten 4.4.4 (unless that fix was rolled into the late 4.4.3), I'm not that confident the Galaxy Nexus situation is unique. It may just be a coincidence, but it's hard not to notice that OS updates were faster before the US Nexus 7 LTE was certified on Verizon. Hopefully, the Android L update will be better, but I worry.

hrvbr 12y ago

*Receives automatic Android updates for up to 2 years. http://www.android.com/one/ http://www.android.com/one/ I guess the poor can replace their phone every two years like the rich.

lclarkmichalek 12y ago
Or survive on a slightly older version of Android?
- MichaelApproved 12y ago
  It's not about having the latest & greatest, it's about having a secure device. Imagine hundreds of millions of devices with security holes no longer being patched after 2 years. At least XP was supported for over a decade. Having a device as expensive as a phone (for the market) no longer patched after 2 years isn't a good idea.
  - buster 12y ago
    Seriously, i think many people don't care about the Android version they are running and won't care to check for updates even if they are available.
    - jarek 12y ago
      > won't care to check for updates even if they are available. At least in 4.4 you automatically get a notification when an update is available
      - buster 12y ago
        Yes, but i think this "i want the latest update" argument is much exagerated on HN, but not so much important for Joe User. My gf just bought a cheap android phone and i told her that it won't receive any updates but she didn't care. Offering to check for updates (the nerd that i am) she still refused. She just doesn't want to be bothered with it. I suppose that is true for many people. And, to be honest, Android didn't have truely interesting new features for several releases. I own my google phone, and it's nice for me to be on the latest releases all the time, but truth be told i couldn't tell if my phone ran 4.0 or 4.4.

mirsadm 12y ago

Did your phone stop working? It's annoying but your phone is perfectly usable even without the latest Android version.

xorcist 12y ago
Perfectly usable, maybe, but there are security fixes in each and every version of Android. A desktop browser from 2012 is absolutely full of security holes, no matter which one you look at. There is zero reason to believe mobile browsers would fare any better (and they haven't, so far). More and more people do their banking on their mobile devices. And Google's solution to the password problem is a shared secret on your mobile. So, is it really usable? It would be a matter of perspective, but I would argue a no.

hyperbovine 12y ago

All those off-contract phones have got to end up somewhere...

sschueller 12y ago

At least you have the option of installing Cyanogenmod. Look at the iphone. The old ones you can throw away. There are security holes that have not been patched and there is no alternative OS you can run on them.

zoul 12y ago
I have an old iPhone 4. I bought it when it was released four years ago and the latest supported iOS version is 7.1.2, released this summer. That’s four years of support, which is quite decent IMHO.
- Ntrails 12y ago
  I, too, have an iPhone 4. However I never updated to ios 7 because by Gods I liked the skeuomorphic paradigm. I think about 2 months ago was the first time I hit a roadblock that made me want to update.
- vetinari 12y ago
  I have an iPhone 3G, that was released six years ago, and the latest supported OS is 4.1.2. Not that it is usable with this version, latest usable version was 3.x. It inhabits the drawer for several years already.
  - krrrh 12y ago
    I posted this elsewhere on the thread, but in case you missed it, you might find that this project breathes new life into that old device. http://www.whited00r.com/features?lang=en http://www.whited00r.com/features?lang=en
    - vetinari 12y ago
      Thanks, I noticed it. Meanwhile, I ordered a new battery for the phone, so I can play with it during weekend :)
ishansharma 12y ago

mg74 12y ago

Well did you get the international edition? Because I did, and that was even worse. Samsung managed the updates and had their own branch of Android for the phone. It both lagged the Google version and stopped at 4.2.x, which was terrible because the Galaxy Nexus suffered dearly from the flash fragmentation issue which was only fixed in 4.3.x. I managed to flash the phone to the Google branch and get it to 4.3.x after being stuck on dog slow phone for over 6 months, made it usable again.

krisgenre 12y ago

Hmm.. this "next five billion" market will hardly ever connect to the Internet, even if they do, OS upgrades might get pretty expensive for their data plan. If Google could make really cheap quality Android phones that this segment can buy every two years, it will be a quite good accomplishment( or if Google could partner with carriers to offer these updates for free then it will be even more awesome ).

exhilaration 12y ago
They talk about this: In an effort to reduce data costs, if you have an Airtel SIM card, you’ll get these software updates for free for the first six months. As part of this same Airtel offer, you’ll also be able to download up to 200MB per month worth of your favorite apps (that’s about 50 apps overall) from Google Play—all without counting toward your mobile data usage.

worklogin 12y ago

I bought a Moto G specifically for its claim of staying up-to-date (and some other cool features), so I hope that I'll get major updates for years to come, lest I have to go to Cyanogen. People in this thread are shocked, SHOCKED! that people would keep a phone for more than two years. Except for my gaming habit, my 5+ desktop would still have its original components, and my laptop is from 2010. Replace the battery, and it's a champ. Annual hardware upgrades shouldn't be a "thing" unless desired.

snogglethorpe 12y ago
I agree, but the hardware manufacturers have a very strong incentive to get you to buy new hardware. As long as the device makers have any hand in releasing software updates for their devices, software updates will be a problem....