Google wants smartphone makers to update Android faster

Sollie said:
Correct

This is where reality meets your logic.

I have PC in my workshop ~ 8 years old. Still works fine. I update it regularly with MS patches.

Step into the bespoke Android world. Three years down the line the manufacturer stops rolling out updates for your phone. Can you simply update it? No. So now you either have to fork out again and again for a new phone, purely at the mercy of phone manufacturer, or you can get into the world of rooting or like.

At this stage I have a perfectly good Samsung Note II that is not receiving the newest updates. Meet Stagefright. As such I bit the bullet and loaded CyanogenMod.

However the normal user probably does not have this ability, your grandmas/grandpas/uncles/aunts/brothers/sisters/friends who are tech clueless. No disrespect to any of these, some people are tech savvy, some not (Your mom & pop will probably just ask you anyway). This is a major security problem and a perfect storm waiting to happen.
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Since the phones and batteries are glued together nowadays, it will be a brick in 3 to 5 years anyway :whistle:

Bet you the glue they use in my shiny new s7 will no longer get soft when heated up 3 to 4 years down the line and trying to remove the battery to replace it will result in permanent damage...
 
My LG G4 updated to Marshmallow ages ago, wasn't a big update. I see the S6 update is almost 4 times that of the LG, is that how much bloat is on there?
I'd love the OEMS to update their OS more regularly, my old S4 needs to get some marshmallow love as it's currently still on a buggy lollipop release. I'd also like my Xperia Tablet to be updated, but Sony are even worse on remembering their older devices.
 
Lupus said:
My LG G4 updated to Marshmallow ages ago, wasn't a big update. I see the S6 update is almost 4 times that of the LG, is that how much bloat is on there?
I'd love the OEMS to update their OS more regularly, my old S4 needs to get some marshmallow love as it's currently still on a buggy lollipop release. I'd also like my Xperia Tablet to be updated, but Sony are even worse on remembering their older devices.
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Which Xperia Tablet do you have? Z1?
 
SykomantiS said:
Which Xperia Tablet do you have? Z1?
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Yup I do, got it in 2013, they last updated it to Lollipop around a year later, after that nothing. Thought they'd at least go for two years of support :-). I don't see any reason to "upgrade" my tablet when our SP selection isn't really great at the moment either.
 
Lupus said:
Yup I do, got it in 2013, they last updated it to Lollipop around a year later, after that nothing. Thought they'd at least go for two years of support :-). I don't see any reason to "upgrade" my tablet when our SP selection isn't really great at the moment either.
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Well, seems the Z1 and Z1 Ultra are on the cards, so I assume the Z1 tablet should be as well. Guess it's just a matter of time.
 
In South Africa the operators are a much bigger problem than the manufacturers. Look on sites like sammobile and you will see other countries get updates for older phones long after we stopped getting updates in SA. That is because VC, MTN and CellC cannot be bothered to check these updates for all the phone models. They only do it for the flagship and very popular models.
 
furpile said:
In South Africa the operators are a much bigger problem than the manufacturers. Look on sites like sammobile and you will see other countries get updates for older phones long after we stopped getting updates in SA. That is because VC, MTN and CellC cannot be bothered to check these updates for all the phone models. They only do it for the flagship and very popular models.
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And as can be seen with the S6 they seem to hold off on updates so that flagships sell better or is that a tinfoil statement?
 
It's ironic that the manufacturers want to customize Android in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, when it actually ends up having the opposite effect.

A lot of people are willing to pay money to avoid manufacturer customized Android, which should show you that there is a problem.
 
AstroTurf said:
Since the phones and batteries are glued together nowadays, it will be a brick in 3 to 5 years anyway :whistle:

Bet you the glue they use in my shiny new s7 will no longer get soft when heated up 3 to 4 years down the line and trying to remove the battery to replace it will result in permanent damage...
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I got out in time. Have a phone with a removable battery and an upgrade path ;)

mister said:
Try a 5 year old Samsung...

/no updates available
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Read my post ;)
9f7ea37ef4e34f7ebeb5ae3ce02def4a.png
 
Ancalagon said:
It's ironic that the manufacturers want to customize Android in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors, when it actually ends up having the opposite effect.

A lot of people are willing to pay money to avoid manufacturer customized Android, which should show you that there is a problem.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be nice if Google added Terms to the contracts that manufacturer customisations may take no longer than 1 week to implement after an update and that sp's may not install more than 1 extra app before upgrades?

I love that the only Vodabloat I can't remove from my s7 is "Start"
I don't mind Start, it's 1 single app and if i ever want vodacom bloat it's easy to get to.
 
calypso said:
If you like android, buy Nexus.
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+1 I bought a Nexus 6 last year and honestly can't imagine getting another brand Android again. The phone is great and I get version updates once a year minimum and security updates once a month. No other brand comes close
 
Smartphone makers do not want this. Software upgrades add another reason to upgrade the device.

Which is why I have a device that is not linked to such greedy practices and uses CyanogenOS.
 
A lot of the bloatware is coming from Google themselves. You are their product after all, don't forget that.
/tinfoil hat
 
AstroTurf said:
Wouldn't it be nice if Google added Terms to the contracts that manufacturer customisations may take no longer than 1 week to implement after an update and that sp's may not install more than 1 extra app before upgrades?

I love that the only Vodabloat I can't remove from my s7 is "Start"
I don't mind Start, it's 1 single app and if i ever want vodacom bloat it's easy to get to.
Click to expand...
But is that disgusting meerkat also loaded as part of the bloat? :sick:
 
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