Time for 'Android Update' - like Windows Update


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I have installed every iteration of Windows since 3.1 & 3.11 - currently running Windows 10 Build 10568 (stable), installed may Linux distros, owned an AT&T 3b1 with SVR4 & I prefer Windows 8.1 or 10.

Owned HTC WD7 phone (Windows early version) and many other phones with diff OS'es - currently a BlackBerry Q10 happy user

Own a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5" tablet - solid, reliable, very customizable & less expensive than Apple iPADs

Retired IT grunt - Every OS has its merits and drawbacks too

Just know exactly what you require a device for & the MAX amount of $$ you wish to spend

My preferred PC vendor is DELL

BTDT - in fact, my preferred PC vendor USED to be Dell.

Where Dell shot themselves in the foot was some rather disappointing decisions in their Dimension line of desktops (back in the Intel S478 era) - it was for THAT reason (and, surprisingly, some smart decisions AFTER HP acquired Compaq) that got me to shift to - and stay with - HP as the OEM I most recommend today.

 

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I would love for this to happen (and I also would not mind them increasing the minimum support dates for flagships to 4 years), but I very much doubt it will happen because most manufacturers use heavily modified versions of Android that may be incompatible with vanilla patches and most carriers want to have firm control over updates so that they can obsolete the device as soon as possible and get customers to buy new ones (although Apple and partially Microsoft have managed to somewhat mitigate the carrier issue so maybe Google can as well but I doubt they have the incentive to). 

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The very reason I'll never trust my smartphone enough to put any financial apps on it.  I don't trust my money with an unsecured device.

Huh? Smartphones are more "secure" then your PC so I guess you are doing all your finances on your Casio calculator?

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The poor support for non-Nexus devices is the main reason I opted for the Nexus 6P. As much as I like my Note 3 the support for it has been poor and the communication of said support even worse - were it not for that I may well have opted for the S6 Edge+ or Note 5.

Google needs to take control away from manufacturers and networks. Windows doesn't stop updating just because you bought your computer from Dell or you have WindowBlinds installed for a custom look or you have a specific ISP. Are manufacturers and networks really going to drop Android entirely because Google takes control of the update procedure? Of course not, as iOS is a closed platform and Windows Mobile is a joke; Samsung dabbled with Tizen but backed away from that idea. Google needs to be proactive about OS updates.

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The very reason I'll never trust my smartphone enough to put any financial apps on it.  I don't trust my money with an unsecured device.

I own a BlackBerry Q10 and do banking online, make payments & purchase thru the BB Q10 WITHOUT fear of breaches in security

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Personally, I think Google should now take Android and make it closed source (leaving the code base for apps open source) and beef up Play Store security like Apple do with the App Store. They have the market share now and it would make life much better for users as they would be able to get the best Android experience, without the manufacturer and carrier bloat and get updates on time, not several months or even a year after!

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I dont see how this is Google's problem. They do release update that support many phones.

It's the manufacturers and service providers that don't allow the consumers to get those updates.

It's ridiculous how long it takes to get updates after Google releases them.

It's not right as far as I'm concerned, Google makes those updates for a reason, therefore we should be getting them right away.

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  • 1 year later...
On 10/2/2015 at 6:48 PM, Melfster said:

 

This is a model Google chose for Android in order to get marketshare fast....That is why it Google problem rather then a vendor problem.   It creates all kinds of problems down  road for Android devices.  You can't blame the vendor for wanting to differentiate their devices. 

That still leaves it up to the user - it is also why former (not just current) developer devices are the ones that retain their value the longest.

Consider one of the OLDEST Nexus phones - the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (in three US variations - maguro, toro, and toroplus); collectively, they are referred to as "tuna" - and there ARE community ROMs that work equally on all three variants - check my sig here on Neowin.

Former developer devices (not JUST the Galaxy Nexus), but devices newer than the Nexus (but like said GNex, no longer active developer devices) are STILL supported by AOSP - the fact that the TI OMAP SoC (easily one of the oldest SoCs ever used in a Nexus device) is a dual-core has NOT roadblocked it from catching up in terms of ROM to the Pixel and Pixel XL (only developer versions of either are ahead of me - either ROM-wise OR update-wise - and this is a phone that is older - by quite a stretch - than my tablet).

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Way old thread!

But still relevant... even more so today.

 

It's funny how people aren't blaming Google.

While I agree, it's not entirely their fault, they could include an option when setting the phone up for "stock" android, or the manufacturer specific version.  If not during the setup, at least make it available as some sort of official hack.  But then why can't Google, now they have a good share of the market, disallow any changes to the OS once released.  There are many Windows Phone manufacturers and I don't see manufacturer specific changes to the OS - although I can't be totally sure.

 

Plus, people expect the software maker to be responsible - I don't see Dell or any other manufacturer stopping Windows Updates on computers.

 

Until Google stop renouncing their responsibility, Android will always be held back.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/25/2017 at 2:13 AM, Sir Topham Hatt said:

Way old thread!

But still relevant... even more so today.

 

It's funny how people aren't blaming Google.

While I agree, it's not entirely their fault, they could include an option when setting the phone up for "stock" android, or the manufacturer specific version.  If not during the setup, at least make it available as some sort of official hack.  But then why can't Google, now they have a good share of the market, disallow any changes to the OS once released.  There are many Windows Phone manufacturers and I don't see manufacturer specific changes to the OS - although I can't be totally sure.

 

Plus, people expect the software maker to be responsible - I don't see Dell or any other manufacturer stopping Windows Updates on computers.

 

Until Google stop renouncing their responsibility, Android will always be held back.

The ONLY way Google could enforce that "responsibility" is to close the source - which NOBODY wants.  It's a two-edged sword - being open-source has indeed led to low prices at the low end; however, the devices AT said low-end are almost always up to shens of some sort which in turn undercut those low-price advantages (such as MediaTek, for example - and I'm speaking as someone that owns a Mediatek-powered Android tablet).

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