The biggest problem is that android is not focusing on the low end where most of their users are. They need to make the UX on these older and slower devices _better_ with every update, not worse
Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
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Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#12Not sure why I should care. Can't think of a single feature I'm missing on my S6.
The ability to update apps on battery power only. The ability to not have ridiculous lag during updates of my apps.
Better integration with password managers (works great in apps, not so much in Chrome)
S reasonable desktop experience (shout out to Samsung DeX FTW)
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#13But manufacturers getting faster and faster in pushing new phones in the market at the same time.
There is no real return on investment in fast Android upgrades (which only cost money for them). There are also other risks (things will get slower, things will break).
It's all about the money.
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#14The shining example of Google vs apple for me is the package manager. Since Android D, updating my apps has caused the phone to slow to a crawl. Fps drops heavily, apps are laggy, etc. There is no option to only download updates when charging. Google has done nothing about this for years now. I still use Android because I need the control. But parts of the platform are just inexcusable (imo) in 2019. Dont get me wron…
What control does Android give you that you want? (I’m legitimately asking: is there an immediate pragmatic reason, or is it a principled stance against walled gardens?)
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#15This is why Google is devoting more and more resources to the Fuchsia project: to replace Android with an operating system that supports over-the-air (or WiFi) updates like iOS does and Windows Mobile did. It's the only way Google can effectively fight their fragmentation issue: get everyone to upgrade to the latest OS version.
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#16I misread the title. The article is about the rate of adoption of new releases. Personally, I think it's due to people keeping their phones longer (and, of course, carriers not passing on the major updates).
I suspect a lot of it is people keeping phones longer too.
Hypothetically old phones could get updates... but it doesn't work that way, does it?
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#17This is definitely a problem but in practice it's not as dire as this article makes it sound. So many of the essential pieces have been factored out into the support libraries and independently upgradable components that Android devices actually get more regular updates in some respects than iOS devices do.
For example, I have to update my entire iPhone OS to get an updated web browser or photo library or keyboard. Google can update all of those every day without a reboot.
As an iOS developer I can't use new OS features until all my users have upgraded. As long as what I need is in the support library I can adopt the latest and greatest for Android right away.
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#18This is why Google is devoting more and more resources to the Fuchsia project: to replace Android with an operating system that supports over-the-air (or WiFi) updates like iOS does and Windows Mobile did. It's the only way Google can effectively fight their fragmentation issue: get everyone to upgrade to the latest OS version.
Doesn’t Android already support OTA upgrades?
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#19The shining example of Google vs apple for me is the package manager. Since Android D, updating my apps has caused the phone to slow to a crawl. Fps drops heavily, apps are laggy, etc. There is no option to only download updates when charging. Google has done nothing about this for years now. I still use Android because I need the control. But parts of the platform are just inexcusable (imo) in 2019. Dont get me wron…
What control does Android give you that you want? (I’m legitimately asking: is there an immediate pragmatic reason, or is it a principled stance against walled gardens?)
The replaceable launcher is a big one. Tasker was another (though I heard Google Play was cracking down on non-accessibility uses of accessibility features for security reasons?)
I switched back to iOS when the SE came out, but I still miss Nova Launcher. Especially being able to put two actions on each dock icon, one for tap and one for swipe up. So if you have something like friends split over two main chat platforms you can stuff Discord and SMS apps in the same icon and have them both quickly accessible.
Re: Android updates are getting slower and slower, despite Google's best efforts
#20The shining example of Google vs apple for me is the package manager. Since Android D, updating my apps has caused the phone to slow to a crawl. Fps drops heavily, apps are laggy, etc. There is no option to only download updates when charging. Google has done nothing about this for years now. I still use Android because I need the control. But parts of the platform are just inexcusable (imo) in 2019. Dont get me wron…
You can set apps to only update when you tell it to, and then use Tasker to update when charging.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/al2gd4/android_9_in...