Android updates vs. iOS updates

[VulchR]

I still wonder why Google does flex its muscles and require timely updating. Surely there must be a way of seperating the core OS and the layers phone-specific properties and procedures.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

I still wonder why Google does flex its muscles and require timely updating. Surely there must be a way of seperating the core OS and the layers phone-specific properties and procedures.

Because very little of Googles income actually comes from Android. Only about 20% in fact.

80% of their revenue in the mobile space comes from iOS. True story.

They don't really stand to gain anything by pushing for OS unification. They have already created a dystopian future for their mobile OS strategy and can't control the beast. And if you realize that most of the revenue they DO receive via Android comes from Google Play, they don't really WANT to unify the OS. They actually are playing on the fragmentation to generate their revenue stream.

Oddly enough, I believe the unification strategy for common Android OS updates will originate from those who currently enjoy the benefits of fragmentation the most. The carriers. Specifically, ISIS and NFC payments. This could create a common carrier standards group that pushes for uniform security, only obtainable via a common footprint for the OS. Of course, that assumes ISIS succeeds. Which is doubtful when you consider how much $ Google is pouring into their own Google Wallet strategy, something that competes directly with ISIS.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Amazon pushed out like 10 updates to the Kindle Fire in the last year. Probably already pushed out two for the new models.

So that's actually much better than iOS where we only get those crazy fast updates when a jailbreak exploit comes out.

The phone manufactures are just horrible though.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Amazon pushed out like 10 updates to the Kindle Fire in the last year. Probably already pushed out two for the new models.

So that's actually much better than iOS where we only get those crazy fast updates when a jailbreak exploit comes out.

The phone manufactures are just horrible though.

Well to be fair, many of the Kindle Fire updates were for the same reasons. People were figuring out ways to sideload and bypass Amazon's walled garden so they patched that. Numerous times.