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Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

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Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#151

Post by jsz0 »

cbracken wrote: post #102
degusta wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, the original iPhone & 3G don't support iOS 5. But they did support the current version of iOS for 3 years after they were released - far more than any Android phones of the period. (And, no, they don't charge for iPod Touch updates any more - that was technically an accounting regulation issue that the government changed.)

Though to be honest, for the iPhone 3G, the longer green bar is easily misinterpreted as a positive thing, when for the most part, iOS4 rendered the phone very painful to use. 15-30s wait times for camera shutter, frequent hangs, constant crashes in Maps, being the main pain points with the two that my wife and I owned. If they'd have continued security and minor app updates for iOS3 on the 3G, I'd have been much hap…

The first releases of iOS4 for the 3G were pretty bad but the subsequent releases greatly improved things. I recently sold my old 3GS so I updated it to the latest 4.x version and it was totally usable. Slower than iOS2 but for a 3.5 year old device I thought it was completely acceptable performance. In the rush to release iOS4 I think Apple didn't have time to optimize the 3G release. They seem to have learned their lesson with iOS5 for the 3GS.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#152

Post by angryasian »

RexRollman wrote: post #147

To me, Android is a fragmented soup sandwich. I like the idea of having choices for hardware, but under Android: - You can't assume what's going to be on the phone, software wise. Each maker evidently messes with it, sometimes even changing the interface itself. I've also read stories of bloatware being added. - You can't be sure how software updates are going to be handled, because that varies depending on maker and…

the interfaces and multiple app stores are strengths of Android. If I don't like the default launcheror the default lockscreen or the keyboard, I can change it. Customization is a strength. It might be hard for IOS users to understand. Also multiple appstores is a strength because, competition is always good for the consumer. If you are afraid of the relaxed rules of the google market use amazon. If you want huge user base, use appbrain.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#153

Post by airlineuser »

ceejayoz wrote: post #133
airlineuser wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that doesn't happen, because it's easy for game developers to support FroYo+ devices with the same APK. Example: The latest hot Android game is "Wind-up Knight". It supports Android 2.2 and up. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.robotinvader.knigh...

As long as you don't need new APIs or features in a particular version of Android, sure.

Do you have any specific APIs or features in mind?

I think most app devs look at the installed base numbers and choose to support 2.1+ or 2.2+. I can't think of any APIs in 2.3 or 3.0 (or even 4.0) that are so wonderful that they are worth cutting off such a large part of the potential customer base.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#154

Post by woobar »

bpolania wrote: post #51

It's an important omission not to mention that Android-based phones prices are declining at a much faster pace than iOS based phones. This is important because in many cases updating from one android to the next version (and sometimes to the next next version) is less expensive than buying a simple iPhone, rendering the need for further support unnecessary.

I am confused. Are you saying that high depreciation is good?

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#155

Post by joebadmo »

1. Anyone who cares about OS updates would only have ever owned three or four of the phones on the chart.

2. Anyone who cares about OS updates doesn't keep a phone for longer than 2 years. Most spring for an early upgrade after 1.5. Many (like me) finagle a new one every year or so.

3. My wife has never updated the OS of any of the 3 iPhones she's owned. I believe she is representative.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#156

Post by RK »

d_r wrote: post #6

The current situation is somewhat unfair to the indiscrete / non-tech-savvy consumer since they might buy an Android phone without understanding the differences from the iOS ecosystem. At least several of my friends did. "They're about the same right? And this one was $30 cheaper!" And I genuinely feel bad every time this happens. Note that I of course have no gripes with Android OS/concept itself -- it's a good cont…

I'm very happy with Android. But, I only recommend the Nexus line and this post seems to back that up (we'll see as things go forward).

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#157

Post by Splines »

tptacek wrote: post #128
watmough wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I speak from experience when I say, putting iOS 4 on the 3G was just a terrible idea. The 3G should have stayed with the 2G in being restricted to iOS 3.1.3, which whilst no speed demon, at least runs reasonably well, even now. The 3GS is the lowest hardware that should have been given iOS 4.

Didn't they address that in a subsequent iOS 4 update? My understanding is that 3G iOS4 support got a lot more tolerable.

The latest iOS 4 version (I think it's 4.2.1?) is better than iOS 4.0, but it's still slower than 3.1.3.

The only reason why I had iOS 4 on my 3G was app compatibility. I eventually was frustrated enough to go back to 3.1.3 and it was like having a new phone again.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#158

Post by armored »

degusta wrote: post #2

I wrote the piece / did the research. Happy to answer any questions or comments people might have.

I think you should touch on frequency of updates: how often does Apple release, how often does Google?

Also it's not really fair to expect that every phone is going to run the very latest Android code, especially ice cream sandwich, which expects a forward facing camera, doesn't use the navigation buttons and so forth.

I do agree with the general premise that Android carriers/manufactures tend to release and abandon. They have no interest in updating the OS after the sale, which explains the popularity of Cyanogen.

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#159

Post by joebadmo »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #149
vetinari wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, ICS solves that. Even if the apk is installed in system partition (that means you can't uninstall it), you can mark it hidden and the system will never take it into account at startup, intent broadcast or in other situations. It is as good as removed (except that it physically can't be removed, because you may want to restore the phone to factory settings).

>you can mark it hidden Is there a UI function in the OS(for example by right clicking on the icon) for that or should it be done via a adb shell?

It's available in system settings:

http://thisismynext.com/2011/10/20/bloatware-kill-switch-ice...

Re: Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support

#160

Post by gte910h »

kalleboo wrote: post #59

How many PC users are still using XP, a 10 year old OS? If the version of the OS you have still works, it still works. The real issue here is security updates. Google need a way to update core OS component that aren't affected by the manufacturer's UI skinning.

We're still in the toddler stage of handset OSes. There are a lot of new features that are pretty important still coming through the pipe.
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