iPhone vs. Android phone update-ablity
Michael Degusta from the understatement did a tremendous job putting together a breakdown on iPhone vs. Android phone device update and support history. [Click/tap on the thumbnail above to go to his site and see it in full.]
Just as LTE-support, user-changeable batteries, different form factors, etc. are legitimate points of consideration when it comes to choosing beteen iPhone 4S and the various Android phones, so is vendor support and their history of OS updates. Not just for consumers, but for developers as well.
Even if you upgrade your phone every year, it will influence your ability to repurpose an old device, hand it down, or sell it.
Check out Degusta's full chart and highly detailed post via the link below.
Source: the understatement
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
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lol well considering how often android updates compared to ios this chart is a moot point.
Huh? That makes so sense. If Android performed frequent updates then all phones should be on a fairly new version of the OS, not 2 or 3 versions behind.
In other words, while Android has frequent updates, most devices never see them.
you don't understand how upgrading a device works do you? There are HARDWARE requirements that need to be met. So not every phone can get the upgrades and that is something the consumer knows buying the phone. If android fans wanted the latest and greatest update they would get the nexus, which they do.
I know how upgrading works, I am not sure that you know how the android upgrade process works. Each manufacture is responsible for taking the lasted android update and tweaking it for their device. But they have no interest in doing that as they would rather sell a new device and upgrade an old one.
So the number of updates that Google puts out has little impact on the upgrading of manufacturers devices.
I understand how it works son. I'm a developer for ios and android. There are things called business tactics and hardware limitations. Yes there are hardware limitations. It happens. Not as many REAL ones like that. But it's a business tactic. Apple does the same exact thing. They just don't have as many phones so it's not as apparent.
there is no real hardware requirements, all of these phones could run gingerbread. Even the iphone 3g could successfully run it. All phones with a single core processor should be able to run it. They just want you to feel dumb for having an old os so you'll buy a new phone with a newer one.
yeah its called business. Apple did the same thing if you don't remember. But yes there are hardware limitation. You obviously missed a couple android phones.
Well it depends , the nexus one should be capable of running the latest OS (4.0) but google decided not to, just look at the iPhone 3GS running iOS 5 and that's an ancient phone comapring specs
correct. There are obviously some phones that can't run the latest and greatest, but the majority of the time it's a business tactic. A tactic Apple uses as well.
If by consumer you mean tech savvy people then I agree (and even then not in all cases). If you mean your average Joe, then no, they don't know that that they won't get upgrades unless a CSR at the store tells them. In actuality the Average Joe will never update his phone anyway, anymore than he does his computer.
That's funny. My wife actually left her Gingerbread update on her phone for months. I asked her why she didn't update when I told her to she said "I did. It said Install Now or Later. I chose Later." She was being funny but serious. Months later her Evo is on Gingerbread.
Non-tech folks do not care. We do.
That's funny. My wife actually left her Gingerbread update on her phone for months. I asked her why she didn't update when I told her to she said "I did. It said Install Now or Later. I chose Later." She was being funny but serious. Months later her Evo is on Gingerbread.
Non-tech folks do not care. We do.
not to mention the wide array of choices available makes it difficult to have the same exact os on every single phone.
And this is the reason the my iPhone 4s is my daily driver right now, I have 5 different devices(android ) and 3 of them have been without current updates, and that' was in the last 18 months, I hate to wait for updates, and rooting kind of helps but some builds are buggy , I still got my evo 3d tho
I would hate having to root to get an update man. I don't even jailbreak anymore I am over it. I just want my phone working and help me get work done and when it's time to play let's me play. My Sister has the GS Epic 4G and she still has 2.1 not gonna get any new updates and she got in Feb because Sprint just got the EVO shift 4G and Announced the Echo and she wasn't interested in any of those so she went was what still considered the best. Now she wants the new Android update but still has contract until 2013. She was pissed when the EVO 3D and Nexus S came out a few months later both would have been better and featured more support.
I wouldnt blame her my brother is in the same boat and he got the epic when it came out (14 months ago )
Yeah I told her to get it when she was eligible for upgrade in September 2010. I heard lots of people raving over the SG 1's and heard it was the best Sprint ha other than the EVO 4G at the time, which was to big for her. Well she waited and waited and waited. They announced the EVO Shift 4G and the Echo and she finally caved for the Epic 4G just to get rid of her BlackBerry. So yeah I can understand her frustration missing out on the Nexus S, EVO 3D, Photon 4G and now the iPhone's debut on Sprint.
I don't understand at all. New phones come out all the time. There will ALWAYS be a better phone released within months. ALWAYS. It's common sense.
I don't understand at all. New phones come out all the time. There will ALWAYS be a better phone released within months. ALWAYS. It's common sense.
I don't understand at all. New phones come out all the time. There will ALWAYS be a better phone released within months. ALWAYS. It's common sense.
I don't understand at all. New phones come out all the time. There will ALWAYS be a better phone released within months. ALWAYS. It's common sense.
I don't understand at all. New phones come out all the time. There will ALWAYS be a better phone released within months. ALWAYS. It's common sense.
this is why the only phone that has a chance of taking my away from the iphone is the galaxy nexus. google phones or nothing as far as im concerned.
That's how I am for the most part. But I do support having multiple flavors available for different price ranges.
Third that. Only Android device I'd buy is the Nexus line and I'm becoming sour on that thanks to Samsung's crappy hardware (former NS4G owner and I had LOTS of issues).
Maybe one day I'll consider another Nexus provided someone not Samsung produces the hardware.
No android phone could take me away from my iphone. Even the nexus phones are pretty bad in construction and specs. Why would they have a 5mp camera on the galaxy nexus when even apple has updated to 8mp. Then their processors don't transfer into actually performance, the processor that's in the sgs2 gets smoked by the A5 in all the test. It's kinda sad.
wow another pixel moron. More pixels ONLY means CRAPPIER pictures than less pixels better lens, shutters, etc.
Secondly, the new nexus is written to utilize both cores. Honeycomb and Gingerbread weren't. So fail post essentially. Good work.
another thing that your talking is about A5 processor which even apple does not make, it is manufactured by samsung, also take into consideration the 1 year old OS that is using, gingerbread, came out in 2010, and now the GS2 still pretty fast considering also bigger screen more things, like browser have to display more things, and the GS2 beat the IP4S in all browser tests, now i'm not saying that apple is a bad product, they make awesome hardware. People like you need to educate yourself, seriously get yours facts straight before commenting,
@mario First apple creates the A5 samsung manufactures it. Second the screen size has nothing to do with the loading speed of the browser. The 4s has to work harder because all of the pixels. Finally the iPhone 4s has destroyed the gs2 in broswer test. As seen on slash gear, thisismynext and other sites. So do some research.
But you forget they added another lense. Made the openning wider to add more light. Also pixel density matters when you blow up the picture.
Also ios is written to utilize both cores. That's why the iPhone 4s blows the other dual cores out of the water.
Finally even Vlad from the verge said the galaxy nexus still lagged.
Vlad retracted his statements after trying the non-dev version.
I'm a REAL photographer, megapixels mean nothing, it's a scam to get people like you to buy stuff every year. It's always been about the processor which is why the old Nikon's were wicked better than Canon's in the beginning with half the Megapixels. ANd no, it doesn't matter if you blow the picture up, still the same.
What ever you say mr real photographer. The facts show though that the 4s has the best camera on a phone.
Sorry @ballastatuz, Nokia still holds that title.
I'm glad you are a real photographer, and not a fake photographer...that would just be unfortunate. But megapixels do matter, at least in a specific range they do. Yes it would be great to have a Hasselblad with 50 megapixels, but unless I'm taking pictures for an NYC billboard, its not really necessary whatsoever. The few extra megapixels is nice to have, however, in the difference from the the Nexus to 4S in the case of blowing it up a bit to send to a friend or possibly print. 5 megapixels is very limiting no matter how good a lens is. Anyways the only phone with optics even with mentioning is the new WP Nokia Lumia.
Lmbo. Someone pull his balla card. Haha. Blowing up....mwah!
ALright douches (plural?) lol, I meant, I am a photographer, like shoot for a living, have cameras, lenses, lights, etc. Not someone who posts a few pics to a site on my camera phone then proceed to "know" all about photography. I still use a 20D because when blowing up to 16x20, no one can tell the difference from an 8mp camera to a 12or 16mp camera because the 20D processor was a rock star, has nothing to do with the pixels.
@ballastatuz I think you need to do some more research on the browser test the 4s loses almost every time. Its funny that the iphone's browser will say its done loading a web page but if you look up at the top of the page its acctually still loading. Dont get me wrong its a great phone but the sgsII is the fastest phone on the market in real life conditions! That's why they have sold close to 30 million units.....not to mention its beautiful
Actually the iPhone was finished loading each time. I've seen many videos. The Sgs 2 isn't even faster than the new Nokia wp7.5. I have seen many videos. Check for yourself and it has the benchmarks to back it up.
Also in sales that's not impressive. The iPhone 4s was AT&T and sprints best launch ever. The verizon iPhone was Verizons earlier this year. The sales of the iPhone 4s will easily pass 30mil. I mean even the 4 is selling like hot cakes and the free 3GS are flying off the sleeves is what AT&T said.
@ballastatuz Actually, the Galaxy S II outsold the iPhone 4 internationally in the same timespan. In the US, I haven't heard #'s but I doubt it be the 4s.
@ballastatuz Provide some links to this "proof" to help your case.
Here's a little proof! Im not gonna put up 50 different links anyone who has used them both side by side knows the real truth haha its funny how we're all so protective over our phones/OS. By the way benchmarks don't mean shit! They can all be faked and should be taken with very little validity as it pertains to day to day use. It should also be noted that a lot of the browser test you will see make no mention about flash and for a fair test flash should be turned off. (the last one is just funny)
http://www.youtube.com/pocketnowvideo#p/u/30/bphZoV8VrLc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUkbUfQTKXM http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/10/iphone-4s-drop-test-vs-samsung-galaxy-s2/
why? have you not seen reports that not even the first nexus one is getting an ice cream sandwich update?
http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/26/nexus-one-denied-ice-cream-sandwich-becomes-official-relic-of-a/
WOW did you know that the first iphone didn't get iOS 4 or 5!? shit happens.
No but what is supported for 3 Years. Sorry bro no phone that cost $100+ with a two year contract should come without support. They charge a premium price, lock you in for two years a premium contract and in the least you should get promised support for the life of that contract simple as that. My sister should not be stuck on 2.1 when she got what was still considered a premium phone that she paid a premium for.
Really? I paid over a hundred bucks for the original iphone. It only has ios 3.1.3. Where's the support?
Bottom line if you were aware you should have warned her to get a nexus phone if she wanted the latest updates.
also that's sprints problem for giving up support. Not android.
also that's sprints problem for giving up support. Not android.
also that's sprints problem for giving up support. Not android.
also that's sprints problem for giving up support. Not android.
also that's sprints problem for giving up support. Not android.
@Chris Franzen Nexus S didn't come to Sprint later and it wasn't Sprints fault it was Samsung they sucked at updating last year they were hated by many.
@Chris Franzen Nexus S didn't come to Sprint later and it wasn't Sprints fault it was Samsung they sucked at updating last year they were hated by many.
When did you buy the Original IPhone? Like 4 or 5 years ago!! There are Android phones that are less than a year old using droid operating systems from 3 years ago!!
Iphone 4 took what close to a year & a half for a major update?.....When you pay 100+ for a phone you should be able to make a call without dropping said call and your support should be more than "hold it this way".
you obviously don't understand android. Keep living the same boring ios life.
It's the secret to Android success! While Apple adds "new" features (oftentimes available on other devices), Android instead decides to make your phone obsolete shortly after you buy it. Then when the next shiny Android comes along, you're all ready to put more cash down.
I'll stick with Apple, thanks.
So you think they load up the software the day before they ship? No, it takes months to finalize the complete package, thus why some phones are launched with months-old versions.
WOW, did you know the original iPhone was released in 2007 and stopped being supported in 2010? And that the Nexus One was released in 2009 and isn't even being supported until the end of 2011?
one should also take into account that i-os releases or updates weren't really major at all. they would update from i-os1 to 2 by adding multi-media messaging.. that's not really major.. i-phones have the best hardware over all hands down.. but the software, as cleanly put together as it is, has always lacked in cutting edge functionality.. and is only recently starting to catch up to the capabilities of the android software.. so while this study is cute.. the freedom of android will always win for me.. the people that complain about not receiving an update for an android phone really aren't worthy of owning one, as they have no clue what it means to have android device.. (xda-dev baby!!!!).. so those brain dead people should probably join the mindless masses and cop the new i-phone... one of the amazing things about android is the multitude of phones that the software is available for.. and that it can be modified to run on just about anything.. winner winner in my book.. mindless drones by i-phones...
one should also take into account that i-os releases or updates weren't really major at all. they would update from i-os1 to 2 by adding multi-media messaging.. that's not really major.. i-phones have the best hardware over all hands down.. but the software, as cleanly put together as it is, has always lacked in cutting edge functionality.. and is only recently starting to catch up to the capabilities of the android software.. so while this study is cute.. the freedom of android will always win for me.. the people that complain about not receiving an update for an android phone really aren't worthy of owning one, as they have no clue what it means to have android device.. (xda-dev baby!!!!).. so those brain dead people should probably join the mindless masses and cop the new i-phone... one of the amazing things about android is the multitude of phones that the software is available for.. and that it can be modified to run on just about anything.. winner winner in my book.. mindless drones by i-phones...
@Isreal Smith
"...the people who complain about not receiving an update for an android phone really aren't worth of owning one, as they have no clue what it means to have an android device..."
This is potentially of the most conceited pieces of mindless drivel I've ever heard. People who want an update on their phone's operating system but don't get it because Google and/or the phone's creator don't deserve it? Does this mean you're advocating for Android to be a geek niche product? I suppose they should pull them all from the shelves and only with a secret passcode at your local phone carrier store will you be able to get the ever-so-wonderful Android product. eyeroll
The iPhone will continue to sell well because most people AREN'T nerds who want to hack their phones to pieces. Most just want them to work. To get calls, texts, emails, and surf the web. They don't care that the platform is "open". In fact, most don't even realize Android is open. And there are plenty of geeks who like the Apple platform. I could certainly do a bunch of modifications to my phone if I really felt like it, but I'm content with iOS and what it provides. You can go be cool with your Android buddies and your secret "deserved" club.
@hittrj01 hardly... i-phone will always sell.. and the comparison between i-phones and android phones really makes no sense overall.. as there is a single line/manufacturer of i-os devices and countless lines/manufacturers of android devices..
os to os there really is no comparison.. android all day.. but for the masses of mindless i-followers, i can understand the attraction.. "i don't want to have to think, i just wanna use my phone...".. i totally understand that... i know plenty of these folks.. doesn't mean that i'd like to conform to that train of thought..
but whatever works for you..
@hittrj01 hardly... i-phone will always sell.. and the comparison between i-phones and android phones really makes no sense overall.. as there is a single line/manufacturer of i-os devices and countless lines/manufacturers of android devices..
os to os there really is no comparison.. android all day.. but for the masses of mindless i-followers, i can understand the attraction.. "i don't want to have to think, i just wanna use my phone...".. i totally understand that... i know plenty of these folks.. doesn't mean that i'd like to conform to that train of thought..
but whatever works for you..
You're the biggest idiot on this site. The orginal iPhone got support for 3 years. The nexus one got support for a little over a year. The graph even shows this.
dude thats over 2 years out. I dont hold onto my phone for longer than a year and a half.
So a 2 year old phone does not get the latest update and that's reason enough not to get the latest phone?
That's like me not getting an iphone 4s because of what apple failed to do to my iphone 3g.
3G iPhone is pretty old at least 3GS getting updated. Not many android phones that older can get updates the way apple does. iPhone is superior. My 4S should last me 3 years. Maybe 4. Now that's quality.
3G wasn't that old last year. That's the context of my comment. Sorry for not stating such.
Superior is relative. Glad you found what works for you.
Oh and yes...that is VERY quality and why I love Apple, just not the iphone.
The 3G's initial update to iOS4 virtually bricked the phone -- it was so slow it was unusable. Apple eventually ironed out most of the problems, but that "upgrade" was anything but.
My 3GS-toting friends tell me Apple did not drop the ball in that way with the iOS5 upgrade, though.
Think about it like this John. The 3G got 2 years of updates. The nexus one came out early last year and isn't getting a new update. Which is pretty impressive on the iPhones part. It was updated to the point that everyone who bought one would be out of contract by the time it lost support. Also Ios is so flexible that it can work perfectly over different sizes of ram and processor power. I have an iPhone 4 on iOS 5 and it's even smoother than iOS 4. My sister mom and dad have the 3Gs and it's even smoother than before. That is brilliance. They are going to update to the 4s. Or I might use one of their updated Because they are happy with their phones now.
I'd actually call it 1.5 updates seeing as iOS 4 was severely limited, considering multitasking [and a few others: Game Center, wallpaper, AirPlay, etc] wasn't present and the performance was horrendous for 3 months until 4.1 released.
Getting the update is great but the 3G was on crutches. So..."work perfectly" isn't exactly true.
Cool on your family enjoying their 3Gs phones. They are good devices.
Google had the chance to upstage the iPhone 2 years ago when the first Nexus came out. They had the chance to sell something themselves exclusively and make it for all the carriers. I remember being super excited and looking forward to getting one that would run on Verizon. Instead, they screwed me and everyone else over and decided not to do it. Instead Verizon got the POS Incredible, which was anything but. Lame ass move on Google's behalf and ever since then, I've not once looked forward to an Android phone. Now that the iPhone is cross-carrier with even the super small fish carriers picking it up as well, you can bet more people will keep buying them. With the introduction of iMessage, the more people buy them, the more they'll be able to save by getting rid of their expensive text messaging plans if they want to. Basically, it's like having a BB with BBM but without the BS of RIM's NOC to keep the stranglehold on you with their outages and their POS hardware/software platform.
Let me put it another way. If Google's Android tablets can't steal the market from the iPad, their phones won't do much more. Sure, there's always an influx of new users who buy into the new Android gimmicks, but because developers write everything first for iOS, those looking for certain app needs will eventually move to iOS. When that happens and they begin to invest into the app base, especially if they've already cross-polinated it into the iPad tablet side of things, they'll see having to pay for similar apps again just to have an Android phone as a loss to their pocketbook. Why pay twice when you already have a cross-device app you've already bought. Futhermore, enterprise admins are more likely to certify an iPhone for use nowadays instead of an Android device anyway. Less crap to deal with and easier control with something like Good and even the simpler iPhone Config Utilities.
To date I still have yet to hear an Android user say anything beside "Well, my phone has Flash..." Yeepy... how's your battery? They all complain about that part on Android.
Android tablets took 27% marketshare in their first year: http://www.androidcentral.com/androids-share-tablet-market-grows-27-one-year
Android phones are top dawg in marketshare.
As for my battery, it sucks but not because of Flash.
I never said the battery sucks just because of Flash... it might have been written right after the Flash part, but it's not just because of that. Bottom line, battery support sucks on Android right now. The hardware and software just sucks it down very quickly. As an example, last night I had used my iPhone4 for 5:40 minutes, it was in standby for 16:xx hours and I still had 20% left on it. That's much better battery life than I've seen on Android devices.
Cool on Flash/battery.
I don't think the iPhone 4s gets that sort of love.
http://www.tipb.com/2011/10/16/poll-hows-iphone-4s-battery-life/
Granted, ODMs have done a terrible job at battery management but not Android itself, per se. Rene [or Gruber, one of them] stated their Nexus One gets good battery life.
You may think Android is not innovative and just full of gimmicks but look at their ios 5 compared to Android. Apple is following Google's footsteps. Sure the iPhone 4s has customizable vibrations and siri but are those not gimmicks as well?
Also I don't know if you noticed but the oems of Android such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Panasonic, Dell, etc have products that they can conjoin with Android so device connectedness is going to be rolling with Android as well. And not to mention the Android tablets are taking more market share as they go.
By having a bunch of manufacturers with different hardware and most importantly, different interrations of the OS, Android is causing its own problems. Like I said in another story's post, you cannot pick up two Android devices and expect them to have the same config behavior because of the really bad OS equality. At least with iOS, you know everything will work the same and from an administrative aspect, you can expect it to for the idiot users as well.
Just a few months ago, Verizon released an Original Droid OS patch that broke ActiveSync to an Exchange server. It took them a couple of months to fix it. Meanwhile, several users with the handset that blindly updated were left without email in the field. They were in turn expecting me to fix their crap... no skin off my nose... go buy a more controlled handset or prepare to do your own research on what OS updates you should or shouldn't apply for the myriad of Android handsets out there. The only other company that's worse in OS support and update processing is RIM.
I've used and tested dozens of android devices and the interface differs only when it comes to themes between manufacturers. You always swipe down from the top to get to the notification bar, home button always takes you home, settings options are always the same etc etc..I think your opinion about android differing manufacturer to manufacturer is a load of crap. Please provide examples.
I stopped paying attention when you said Google screwed Verizon out of the N1 and 'got' the Incredible instead. You do know that carriers choose what phones to sell on their networks?
Also, this last sentence of yours about flash affecting battery life is a load of shit. I use flash every now and again and it has zero effect on my battery whatsoever. See, the cool thing I can do with it is set it to ON DEMAND so the browser loads flash only when I tell it to. Did I mention my browser is also html5-compliant like yours?
I think the chart is slanted by the fact that just because Apple releases an iOS update for a device does not mean that it has any of the major features. At the time that iOS 4 released, the iPhone 3G had just stopped selling, and it did not get any of the major features (multitasking, wallpapers, etc). The difference between Android 2.2 and 2.3 is minimal as far as the developer side is concerned, because while it added features, it did not make many changes to the way apps run.
You're right. This is exactly why I left my iphone 3g for Android. The 3g was slighted.
How soon that was forgotten!
While you are right, it did allow anyone with a 3G to still use and buy newer apps that required 4.0, therefor making developers lives easier while also giving them a larger user base for their apps.
While all this is true, the vast majority of cellphone buyers buy a pretty phone, get the few apps they like, use the browser, and could care less about the phone changing or becoming better. The less they know, the better they feel. This is why cellphone companies can get away with doing this stuff so long as there is service in the first month or two.
Apple's approach is very clean and builds customer loyalty, but I'm not entirely sure many average users (and that means none of use who read blogs and news feeds like this) really care. What they like about Apple is that the phone is less fussy and they don't have to think too much about it. I personally think this is good. Works for me, anyway.
BTW, isn't the infographic wrong about the iPhone 2G and 3G? I think the 2G is stuck on an early iOS3 version, and the 3G on something below 4.
That's pretty much why you gotta get the Nexus phones, because those are supported by Google like how Apple supports the iPhone. But the Nexus class phones suffer the same issue that they iPhone once did. It's only on certain carriers.
The first Nexus was on T-Mobile, then went to AT&T but only at the unsubsidized price, it was supposed to be on Sprint and Verizon but that never happened. Then the Nexus S came out on T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint but not Verizon. Now the Galaxy Nexus is coming to Verizon only.
It's very weird on how they're handling the Nexus class phones. I thought that the iPhone was going to meet the same fate when it hit Verizon because the AT&T iPhone was getting the newer updates. But that feeling of dread when away with iOS 5
I was just coming here to post this to you Rene but I forgot you read daring fireball too.
To be fair, Apple does the same thing. I bet everyone with a first or second gen ipod touch or an iphone 3g would love to have ios 5, oh wait THEY CAN'T!!! Apple only has the iphone, and only a few different versions of if so of course they are going to be able to keep them all updated. The more devices you have the harder it gets.
However the main difference is that Apple controls their own software updates where as the carriers control Android updates. It would be awesome if you could plug an Android phone into a computer, go to your Gmail account and it was like "Hey, Google has a new update available, click here to update now"
This sounds a lot like RIM and their Blackberry OS policies...
I'm confused with that chart, is it saying that the iphone, the iphone 3g and the iphone 3GS are all running the latest ios version (ios5)???
that part's technically wrong.
it should have the oldest two devices as not current just like with android
Read the chart again, it says that all iphones are still updated 3 years after release.
When does he make the chart for custom ROM support on that list of phones, including the iPhones?
this is the only difference you can infer
so far with each model, if you buy the newest model of iphone, the flagship model, in the first few months it's out, you get updates to the newest OS for longer the entire 2-year contract period and then some.
with android you don't. you're not assured of getting the current OS release on the first day the phone is available if ever nor updates. if you do get an update it may be to a version that's already old when it's released
as a consumer with a smartphone you want apps that use the newest features. as a developer you want to have you app usable by the phones which means only supporting the common set of features several versions back.
what this means for android is developers have less incentive to develop for 4.0 only features compared to iphone developers pushing out ios 5 features. one group gets the OS pushed out over months as companies see fit and with new phones coming out in the future. the other group rushes to upgrade millions of devices so fast that people have problems even connecting to update servers
This article is a blatant lie. Nothing but the 4S is getting FULL iOS5. To get bits and piece so of iOS5 doesn't count. Got Siri? Nope? Then give it a rest. The original iPhone got updates for roughly 3 years. The original N1 got has gotten every update for roughly 2 full years. For anyone who actually cares about the ICS update, they will be on a rooted n! and will get ICS no matter what as we've already seen a leaked version on the phone in videos. most people don't need these updates, the people who do, the tech nerd have no life so we post on cell phone site dorks like us care and we get what we want by rooting or jailbreaking.......and my penis is bigger than yours.
Well Siri isn't iOS 5 it's an added feature of buying the iPhone 4S. Maybe if you keep your "big penis" out of your own mouth you could see better.
Then I feel bad for everyone non-iphone 4S user out there who just got the three year old Android update. Notifications? Non-tethered updates and syncing? That's a big update? hate to break it to you man, but Siri was the only thing making that update interesting.
U mad bro? First u say that bits and pieces don't count and then u say n1 will have ics via rooted?! Siri will also be available for JB so, u're just free trolling!
Mad? It's a cell phone, of course I'm not mad. I just get annoyed when instead of furthering cell phone tech and dialogue we have fan boy jackass' who waste our time with fervent fan boy propaganda instead of posting stuff that makes our area of interest grow, like how we can make Android and iOS better by competing instead of trying to make the other non-existent. So let's drop the Jr. High "U Mad Bro" World of War Craft bullshit and make our cell phones better. It's 2011, why isn't my car flying already? "U mad Bro" is why.
And the fact that you used "U mad bro", "rooted", and "trolling" means you aren't an idiot, but someone deeply familiar with the internet and tech. Quit acting stupid, I know you aren't.
Hmm, u're only answering what's convenient for u. Anyway, the comparison is legit, it's one thing to get updates for ur device (even when they aren't complete) for 3 years (IN THE SAME TIME) and a totally different thing when ur device launches with the previous version of the os and u may have a chance to get the current ver, and absolutely no chance for the nex one (take the atrix as an example... it was top-of-the-line 3-4 months ago). Even the vanilla android devices get the updates (when they do) months later.
I thought we were talking about battery life.
What the graph forgets to mention is that any iPhone upgraded to + 2 is basically useless. While effectively upgraded and displayed in green in the graph, it is rendered unusable. I remember there was a lawsuit on that when iOS4 rendered 3G phones unusable.
The Gingerbread update on the EVO was full of bugs. I will come back to this discussion after the first OS update for the iPhone 4S. So far, so good. Takes Android Carriers forever to update phones and some don't get them. And yes, if I was buying an Android phone, it would be a Nexus. How long before Google's Motorola unit is the one making all of the Nexus phones? Makes sense. keep it all in house. The Nexus phones already have the advantage over all the other Android phones in getting the latest OS and latest updates before the others. That and none of the ridiculous UI overlays, makes for a better Android user experience, if you must have Android.
I guess in the end Android users don't care because their so called hate for Apple is stronger than the love for their own time and money. Which happen to be two things i hate to waste. I owned one Android phone and i learned my lesson no more phone envy because my friends phone got an update first, no more waiting for updates to be pushed to my phone, and no more stupid dessert names for updates.
The problem of Android devices lacking updates definitely does not rest primarily with the OS. The OEMs are to blame largely due to the fact that they insist on adding their own custom "skin" on the OS. They then have to re-write the OS updates to be compatible with these skins. With the OEMs competing against one another they are constantly release new and better devices they tend to delay development for their "older" devices. Apple has the advantage of 5 phones running iOS and they have complete control.
The Nexus One is not going to get ICS (from Google). Honestly though from iOS 1.x - 3.1.3 was not even close to the major OS overhaul and vast feature improvements that the jump from Android 2.1 - 4.x is. Of course the original iPhone got them because it doesn't take hardware improvements to add features like an App Store, copy/paste, and MMS capability (the Nexus One can do all of them BTW). Also thanks to the openness of Android I am sure the Nexus One will see some form of ICS on the device. Android has some amazing developers who port versions of the OS just for fun.
I like how the maker of this chose some of the low end phones to place in this info graphic. Yeah let's not use the big boys that were released during these times. Biased much?
iPhone vs. Android phone update-ablity
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Thats what made Apple special. I had owned a Sony Ericsson x10 , couple of samsung devices and im PISSED on those upgrading thingy. Also i'm kinda regret or wasting my money on these devices. The latest firmware is already out there, the phone's hardware is compatible but yet they don't allow us to upgrade. Have to wait for ages and centuries for the official launching, pissed off