Will all manufacturers start to move over to Pure Android? surely its the way forward.

[Falhófnir]

Well, WileyFox has now separated itself from cyanogen in favour of stock android, Nokia have come back into the game with Stock android, Google’s pushing hard with their pixel lineup, there’s a much better variety of stock android hardware than there’s been in certainly a long time (ever?) - the benefits could start to massively outweigh the negatives of feature loss as stock gets ever better...

 

[deany]

Just leaving the fact that 5 android phones UI maybe different and cause confusion...

I think Security if the main issue here.

"The security of Android depends on the timely delivery of updates to fix critical vulnerabilities. Unfortunately few devices receive prompt updates, with an overall average of 1.26 updates per year, leaving devices unpatched for long periods. We showed that the bottleneck for the delivery of updates in the Android ecosystem rests with the manufacturers, who fail to provide updates to fix critical vulnerabilities. This arises in part because the market for Android security today is like the market for lemons: there is information asymmetry between the manufacturer, who knows whether the device is currently secure and will receive updates, and the consumer, who does not.

Consequently there is little incentive for manufacturers to provide updates. To address this issue we developed the FUM security metric to quantify and rank the performance of device manufacturers and network operators, based on their provision of updates and exposure to critical vulnerabilities. The metric enables purchasers and regulators to determine which device manufacturers and network opera- tors provide updates and which do not.

Using a corpus of 20400 devices we demonstrated that there is significant variability in the timely delivery of security updates across different device manufacturers and net- work operators. We find that on average 87.7% of Android devices are exposed to at least one of 11 known critical vulnerabilities and, across the ecosystem as a whole, assign a FUM security score of 2.87 out of 10. In our data, Nexus devices do considerably better than average with a score of 5.17; LG is the best manufacturer with a score of 3.97. "

https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~drt24/papers/spsm-scoring.pdf

 

[MarkX]

Just to clear something up...

Yes... Samsung is at the top of the list as the top-selling Android OEM.

BUT... there are more non-Samsung Android phones being sold than those made by Samsung.

There were 300 million Android phones sold last quarter... but Samsung was only 80 million of those.

No doubt Samsung sells a lot of phones... but there are almost 3 times as many Android phones not made by Samsung.

This doesn't really change the discussion here... I just wanted to point it out.

Too often we hear "Samsung is the biggest" and then move on.

But I just wanted to reinforce how big the Android market really is.

While Samsung is the biggest single Android OEM... they only made about 27% percent of all the Android phones sold last quarter.

Again... a big number at first glance... but Samsung isn't the be-all-end-all.

If three people walk into a store to buy an Android phone... only one of them walks out with a Samsung phone.

The other two walk out with another brand of Android phone.

In sheer numbers you have highlighted just how much Samsung dominates the Android market.

There are approximately 1300 Android brands, if one brand (Samsung) is responsible for 1 in 3 Android phone sales leaving the other 1299 to battle out the other 2 phones, I’d agree, maybe they’re not the be all and end all but they’re close.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Just to clear something up...

Yes... Samsung is at the top of the list as the top-selling Android OEM.

BUT... there are more non-Samsung Android phones being sold than those made by Samsung.

There were 300 million Android phones sold last quarter... but Samsung was only 80 million of those.

No doubt Samsung sells a lot of phones... but there are almost 3 times as many Android phones not made by Samsung.

This doesn't really change the discussion here... I just wanted to point it out.

Too often we hear "Samsung is the biggest" and then move on.

But I just wanted to reinforce how big the Android market really is.

While Samsung is the biggest single Android OEM... they only made about 27% percent of all the Android phones sold last quarter.

Again... a big number at first glance... but Samsung isn't the be-all-end-all.

If three people walk into a store to buy an Android phone... only one of them walks out with a Samsung phone.

The other two walk out with another brand of Android phone.

It doesn't matter how you want to spin in samsung are the biggest and best selling android OEM. They are the biggest smartphone seller in the world.

 

[Falhófnir]

In sheer numbers you have highlighted just how much Samsung dominates the Android market.

There are approximately 1300 Android brands, if one brand (Samsung) is responsible for 1 in 3 Android phone sales leaving the other 1299 to battle out the other 2 phones, I’d agree, maybe they’re not the be all and end all but they’re close.

80M out of 300M is more like 1 in 4 phones

 

[Shanghaichica]

80M out of 300M is more like 1 in 4 phones

None of the other android OEM's are selling close to what Samsung are. Although xiaomi were rapidly expanding.

 

[Falhófnir]

None of the other android OEM's are selling close to what Samsung are. Although xiaomi were rapidly expanding.

No, but overstating samsung’s Android market share doesn’t make that any more true aren’t Samsung’s sales declining or something too?

 

[MarkX]

80M out of 300M is more like 1 in 4 phones

I was using the numbers from Michael’s post which I was replying too.

If you want to be picky it’s 1 in 3.75

Either way it’s still a massive amount.

 

[thering1975]

See you took my post out of context. I stated Samsung's advertising budget dwarfs all others hence having better profits which feeds back into more advanced features. if you asked any Joe bloggs walking down the street who makes phones other than apple the top answer will be Samsung. I doubt many non techies would say LG Huawei etc. And this was the point if all OEMs had to use pure stock you would see the choice shrink. And who would advertise then sure as hell bet Samsung wouldn't so android would drift back to the core community and sales dwindle. Android is about your personal choice.

To be fair whilst I don't like iOS personally it's much more fluid and better looking than stock android. So you would see quite a shift if stock android was enforced.

 

[Michael Scrip]

It doesn't matter how you want to spin in samsung are the biggest and best selling android OEM. They are the biggest smartphone seller in the world.

Correct. And I said that. I totally agree that Samsung sells more smartphones than any other Android OEM.

But the other side of the coin is... Samsung is still only 27% of the Android market.

Which means 73% of all the Android phones sold are NOT made by Samsung.

And that's a lotta phones... almost 3 times as many non-Samsung Android phones sold in the last quarter.

In sheer numbers you have highlighted just how much Samsung dominates the Android market.

There are approximately 1300 Android brands, if one brand (Samsung) is responsible for 1 in 3 Android phone sales leaving the other 1299 to battle out the other 2 phones, I’d agree, maybe they’re not the be all and end all but they’re close.

First of all... I can't imagine 1,300 different brands of ANY type of product. I heard this number a couple years ago and it just seems impossible. I need to see the list.

I looked up mobile phone brands on Wikipedia... but I only found around 170 brands.

I can't even comprehend the jump to 1,300 brands...

Anywho... in terms of sheer numbers... Samsung sold 80 million Android phones last quarter.

But Samsung didn't sell the other 220 million Android phones last quarter.

So that's 220 million examples where Samsung wasn't able to convince someone to buy their phones.

Look... I know the headline: Samsung sells more phones than any other manufacturer. And you can assign whatever importance you want to that statement.

But there are almost 3 times as many phones that Samsung didn't sell. So that's where I question their "dominance"

Like I said before... too many times someone says "Samsung is on top" and they drop the mic and walk away.

But I think there's more to the story than just that statement. For instance... the rest of the market that doesn't belong to Samsung.

I think this is where it all falls apart for me:

You're looking at Samsung's #1 position among the individual OEMs. And that's fine.

But if you're gonna say Samsung dominates the Android market... you actually have to look at "the Android market"

And Samsung is only 27% of "the Android market" which doesn't sound very "dominant" to me.

The biggest? Yes!

Dominant? To be determined...

 

[convergent]

Correct. And I said that. I totally agree that Samsung sells more smartphones than any other Android OEM.

But the other side of the coin is... Samsung is still only 27% of the Android market.

Which means 73% of all the Android phones sold are NOT made by Samsung.

And that's a lotta phones... almost 3 times as many non-Samsung Android phones sold in the last quarter.



First of all... I can't imagine 1,300 different brands of ANY type of product. I heard this number a couple years ago and it just seems impossible. I need to see the list.

I looked up mobile phone brands on Wikipedia... but I only found around 170 brands.

I can't even comprehend the jump to 1,300 brands...

Anywho... in terms of sheer numbers... Samsung sold 80 million Android phones last quarter.

But Samsung didn't sell the other 220 million Android phones last quarter.

So that's 220 million examples where Samsung wasn't able to convince someone to buy their phones.

Look... I know the headline: Samsung sells more phones than any other manufacturer. And you can assign whatever importance you want to that statement.

But there are almost 3 times as many phones that Samsung didn't sell. So that's where I question their "dominance"

Like I said before... too many times someone says "Samsung is on top" and they drop the mic and walk away.

But I think there's more to the story than just that statement. For instance... the rest of the market that doesn't belong to Samsung.

I think this is where it all falls apart for me:

You're looking at Samsung's #1 position among the individual OEMs. And that's fine.

But if you're gonna say Samsung dominates the Android market... you actually have to look at "the Android market"

And Samsung is only 27% of "the Android market" which doesn't sound very "dominant" to me.

The biggest? Yes!

Dominant? To be determined...

The vast majority of the Android OEMs other than the dozen or so recognizable brands are the cheap no-name stuff which replaced feature phones. If you don't think Samsung is dominant then you are living in a false reality. Apple is dominant and they have a smaller share than Samsung. Those other OEMs are throwing things together with spec parts and contract manufacturers. They have no R&D and no marketing.

 

[jamezr]

Just to clear something up...

Yes... Samsung is at the top of the list as the top-selling Android OEM.

BUT... there are more non-Samsung Android phones being sold than those made by Samsung.

There were 300 million Android phones sold last quarter... but Samsung was only 80 million of those.

No doubt Samsung sells a lot of phones... but there are almost 3 times as many Android phones not made by Samsung.

This doesn't really change the discussion here... I just wanted to point it out.

Too often we hear "Samsung is the biggest" and then move on.

But I just wanted to reinforce how big the Android market really is.

While Samsung is the biggest single Android OEM... they only made about 27% percent of all the Android phones sold last quarter.

Again... a big number at first glance... but Samsung isn't the be-all-end-all.

If three people walk into a store to buy an Android phone... only one of them walks out with a Samsung phone.

The other two walk out with another brand of Android phone.

Here is the latest 2017 Q2 smartphone market share breakdown

 

[MarkX]

Correct. And I said that. I totally agree that Samsung sells more smartphones than any other Android OEM.

But the other side of the coin is... Samsung is still only 27% of the Android market.

Which means 73% of all the Android phones sold are NOT made by Samsung.

And that's a lotta phones... almost 3 times as many non-Samsung Android phones sold in the last quarter.



First of all... I can't imagine 1,300 different brands of ANY type of product. I heard this number a couple years ago and it just seems impossible. I need to see the list.

I looked up mobile phone brands on Wikipedia... but I only found around 170 brands.

I can't even comprehend the jump to 1,300 brands...

Anywho... in terms of sheer numbers... Samsung sold 80 million Android phones last quarter.

But Samsung didn't sell the other 220 million Android phones last quarter.

So that's 220 million examples where Samsung wasn't able to convince someone to buy their phones.

Look... I know the headline: Samsung sells more phones than any other manufacturer. And you can assign whatever importance you want to that statement.

But there are almost 3 times as many phones that Samsung didn't sell. So that's where I question their "dominance"

Like I said before... too many times someone says "Samsung is on top" and they drop the mic and walk away.

But I think there's more to the story than just that statement. For instance... the rest of the market that doesn't belong to Samsung.

I think this is where it all falls apart for me:

You're looking at Samsung's #1 position among the individual OEMs. And that's fine.

But if you're gonna say Samsung dominates the Android market... you actually have to look at "the Android market"

And Samsung is only 27% of "the Android market" which doesn't sound very "dominant" to me.

The biggest? Yes!

Dominant? To be determined...

I guess you’re just one of those people that likes to argue for the sake of it

Dominant: occupying or being in a commanding or elevated position.

 

[Falhófnir]

I'll be interested to see if HMD/ Nokia can shake things up a little, once they're up and running at full capacity. The hardware they've put out so far is too safe for them to make any breakthroughs yet imo, but once they've established themselves a bit and have a bit more room to experiment then they could come out with some very interesting things. Nokia's design at it's best was always better than Samsung's (IMO) back before the days of android. Judging by how well the new 3310 is said to have sold, the name seems to still have weight with people. I'm seriously considering trying a 9 when it arrives (will be my first ever android)

 

[KingslayerG5]

Samsung Pay is a big deal to many. I would go back to using a Samsung just for that. Superior to Apple Pay and Android Pay since MST is found in card readers. Sometimes I forget my debit card at home and Samsung Pay saves me in a pinch.

LG Backup isn't perfect but is better than Google's way of backing up apps for me. Self-explanatory. Less than 20 minutes, my homescreen is back to what it was about 95%. My V20 also has superior camera app with more robust settings and can shoot in wide-angle and RAW.

As great as the Nexus/Pixel software experience is, I wouldn't want every Android to be in vanilla form. Their skin is their differentiation and flavor even if fragmentation is a problem. Some other OEMs have better ideas than Google's vision.

If you prefer sameness, stick to iOS. WP had the same problem and also lacking in many key apps. I generally don't like Samsung's skin and only like LG's skin a bit better but Nova Launcher Prime and 0.5x helps.

I will still purchase Pixels in the future once I get another Windows laptop again. Going with a Google & LG combo. Waiting until Pixel have 2x Telephoto. Like Mr. Mobile, Michael Fisher (aka Captain2Phones), been carrying two phones since 2004. But both need to be different enough.

Google
LG
HTC
Nokia
Motorola
Sony
Samsung

Avoid ASUS like a plague. Zen UI is overrated. Might return to Samsung if I start to miss Samsung Pay more and keep forgetting my debit at home.

 

[deany]

Google must have a secret team called "we've created a monster, how do we tame it?" aka "Project Purple beater" http://allthingsd.com/20120803/apples-scott-forstall-on-how-project-purple-turned-into-the-iphone/ .

There will only be (see below) two OS available BUT Google will have to 'clean things up'.

Only thing in doubt is Jeff Bezos, who goes to bed at night dreaming of amazon OS smartphones, if, maybe, possibly a second try now Alexa has matured so much.

[I Don't think the Facebook smartphone will materialise]

Foot note (those were the days!):
"....to develop products for mobile users who want one device that can make phone calls, access the internet and run advanced multimedia, application content and services."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...-with-sony-to-challenge-microsoft-280164.html
April 2000, 7 years before iPhone

 

[Tsepz]

Here is the latest 2017 Q2 smartphone market share breakdown

And all 4 of those major Android OEMs listed there make their own Custom UI.

Interesting how that works, and most of the ones who are fading away are the ones doing "Pure Android".

 

[FFR]

I don’t know.
Oppo, Huawei, and Xiaomi are predominantly catering to the Chinese market.
While Samsung is the only one left with a skinned UI on a global scale.

I believe the op was right all along, except for China where they prefer a non vanilla android.

As for Xiaomi well:
“Review: Xiaomi absolutely slays with its first pure Android model”

https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/per...absolutely-slays-its-first-pure-android-model

 

[convergent]

I don’t know.
Oppo, Huawei, and Xiaomi are predominantly catering to the Chinese market.
While Samsung is the only one left with a skinned UI on a global scale.

I believe the op was right all along, except for China where they prefer a non vanilla android.

As for Xiaomi well:
“Review: Xiaomi absolutely slays with its first pure Android model”

https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/per...absolutely-slays-its-first-pure-android-model

How do you conclude that people prefer a vanilla Android outside China from that? Lets just take the US market. Samsung sales compared to the king of vanilla, Google? You can't use no name cheap devices in aggregate when the people buying them probably could care less what OS is running on it... if they even know.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I guess you’re just one of those people that likes to argue for the sake of it

Dominant: occupying or being in a commanding or elevated position.

27% of the Android market is an elevated position?

What about the other 73% of the Android market?

 

[MarkX]

27% of the Android market is an elevated position?

What about the other 73% of the Android market?

For a single manufacturer to have about a quarter of the Android market share then that’s an emphatic yes.

I think you are the only one that would disagree.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Here is the latest 2017 Q2 smartphone market share breakdown

Yep... that's where I got my numbers.

If you subtract Apple... that leaves around 300 million smartphones last quarter. (there aren't enough Windows or Blackberry to count anymore )

So that's around 300 million Android phones... 80 million from Samsung and 220 million from NOT Samsung.

Let me be clear: I understand that Samsung is #1 among all the individual OEMs.

But when we're talking about "the Android market"... there is a huge portion of "the Android market" who are NOT Samsung.

 

[jamezr]

Yep... that's where I got my numbers.

If you subtract Apple... that leaves around 300 million smartphones last quarter. (there aren't enough Windows or Blackberry to count anymore )

So that's around 300 million Android phones... 80 million from Samsung and 220 million from NOT Samsung.

Let me be clear: I understand that Samsung is #1 among all the individual OEMs.

But when we're talking about "the Android market"... there is a huge portion of "the Android market" who are NOT Samsung.

Then by your logic....that makes Apples numbers shrink even more considerably.....
But if you look at the numbers....Samsung has almost 80% of the smartphone shipping volume. Others are gaining on them for sure but thats still 80%

 

[Michael Scrip]

Then by your logic....that makes Apples numbers shrink even more considerably.....
But if you look at the numbers....Samsung has almost 80% of the smartphone shipping volume. Others are gaining on them for sure but thats still 80%

Samsung has 80% of the smartphone shipping volume?

What just happened?

 

[Michael Goff]

With reviews coming out of the Pixel 2 being smoother than Clint Eastwood in a spaghetti western movie surely pure Android is the way forward?

Also the Mi A1 is getting great reviews, mainly because its Android One and guaranteed Oreo before end of 2017

Android is getting such good reviews, its really matured to be an iOS beater.
Now must be the time for Alphabet to say to manufacturers 'you cant tinker'?

Alphabet can’t do that if they want to sell in the EU. They’re already in hot enough water without doing this sort of thing. Now is the worst time for Alphabet to try to exercise control over Android.

That’s not even getting into the idea that Samsung is pushing Android further on a feature front than Google is.