Lead Android developer thinks a 5 month wait for an update is 'very rea

[Noir Angel]

On the other hand, on Android, if you?re always 4 months late, it?s like your device is used at 80% of its potential for 12 complete months in its life cycle, if your phone is good for 3 years and a new version is released yearly.

So do the new versions of Android contain some magic switch that magically makes people's phones stop running efficiently if they don't update? Because it seems to me those phones will still be working in exactly the same way they were designed to, even without the update :o

[Southern Patriot]

That doesn't change anything about different manufacturers slapping on their custom interfaces and stuff.

They could always release a generic version of Android that removes all of the custom crap, but allows them to offer an update option to everyone.

[moloko]

Look at it this way....5 months is better than never getting an update.

[nominak]

They could always release a generic version of Android that removes all of the custom crap, but allows them to offer an update option to everyone.

They do. People just think they have to wait for their carriers version.

[Gone]

Let me rephrase it: Android will not be as successful as the iPhone and iPad in the long haul unless they can close the gap between different versions.

[Matthew S.]

They do. People just think they have to wait for their carriers version.

I'll state it again it should be the device manufactures providing google with the updated device drivers and google pushes it out, none of this carrier testing and bloatware crap included in the os.

On iOS all the carrier provides is the network access file.

[PyX]

So do the new versions of Android contain some magic switch that magically makes people's phones stop running efficiently if they don't update? Because it seems to me those phones will still be working in exactly the same way they were designed to, even without the update :o

I wasn?t talking about efficiency, let alone a complete OS freeze, I was talking about potential. Thought it was clear.

[SharpGreen]

Let me rephrase it: Android will not be as successful as the iPhone and iPad in the long haul unless they can close the gap between different versions.

...and yet, according to most stats, Android is the most popular mobile OS in the world.

If any of you saying that 5 months is unreasonable, actually knew what went in to producing an update especially on the scale of Gingerbread to ICS then you'd probably think that 5months was quick.

[Astra.Xtreme]

If they rolled out the product to a huge number of phones/tablets, I'd say 5 months is reasonable, but that's truly not the case.

Honestly, the release cycle for Android is an absolute joke. Some Android phones are tempting, but seeing as I'd most likely have to install a custom rom to get the latest firmware timely, I can't say I'd ever both with one.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Wait... Aren't we near Android 4.1 or 5 soon? How can this be acceptable when all competing OSes are on a yearly refresh cycle (and so is Android from my understanding). We're already halfway toward the next update and the lion's share of users aren't on this version.

I don't think it is a leap to expect that OEMs get access to Google's latest update sooner than RTM...