Why would they? The feeling that you're now running old hardware on an old OS almost certainly drives a fair few people to upgrade. More cash in their pocket while saving money by taking an eternity to develop new ROMs.
Android O
- Thread starter glenimp617
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Why would they? The feeling that you're now running old hardware on an old OS almost certainly drives a fair few people to upgrade. More cash in their pocket while saving money by taking an eternity to develop new ROMs.
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Yep, there was an article written about this a few months ago. They delay software upgrades to entice users to their latest models.
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Nokia are differentiating themselves on this specific point. If lots of people buy their phones, Samsung might do something.
It is interesting, as Apple talk about this all the time and even the average iPhone user knows when there's a software update out. So it is surprising Samsung don't try and compete on this.
It is interesting, as Apple talk about this all the time and even the average iPhone user knows when there's a software update out. So it is surprising Samsung don't try and compete on this.
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I'm not liking all the issues on the google forums. To be honest, I can't ever remember an android release as buggy as this one.
Can't comment on the youtube ones as I've yet to use it in anger.
Can't comment on the youtube ones as I've yet to use it in anger.
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As I said, I don't think this is the final release...
So far the reason given for Samsung being slow about updates is an economic one. Samsung sells millions of low priced, low margin phones and while they might like to see the end to this update issue, they rely on the carriers/operators to also complete the update loop. If the carrier and OEM both have low margins, they will be reluctant to spend additional money to update old phones and instead put their money into getting users to buy new ones with the latest features. I think Project Treble from Google is a step in the right direction here but more can and should be done by Google too.
If the update can be more automatic (which Google has begun to address) and not interfere with the overlay/some say crapware that the OEMs put on their phones, perhaps we will see updates come faster. So while the bloat will still be there, the OS will be more up to date.
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You managed to slip Google in there despite this being about Samsung and having nothing to do with Google. Amazing.
The only way for faster updates in Android in general and in Samsung devices in particular is for Google Project Treble to get traction. I cannot see the OEMs or carriers really doing much about it otherwise. There is just not an economic incentive for them to do it because their margins are too tight.
Soldato
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Wouldn't the amount of time and resource to update devices (whether you are the manufacturer or network) be entirely correlated to the amount of devices you have on the market? I can imagine updating the hundreds of different models Samsung releases is a real PITA for everyone concerned but updating 8 iPhone models (which covers the period 2013 to present) is much much easier.
If a manufacturer/network has to prioritise the top 8 Android models and the top 8 iOS models, that results in a huge disparity in terms of how long your device is supported.
Interestingly, the 8th latest iPhone model is the 5S, released in 2013. In comparison, the 8th latest Samsung model is the Galaxy J3, released in June 2017. That highlights the update issue very succinctly.
I might have to look those up, as it's working perfectly fine on my Pixel so far.
While I am not as familiar with iOS devices as I am with Android, I believe that you touch upon the fundamental and philosophical difference between Google's approach to Android and Apple's approach to iOS. Apple runs a closed ecosystem, a so-called walled garden where only Apple can use iOS on its devices. Therefore, Apple can send an OTA to its users without any interference of note from the carriers (there is only one OEM, namely Apple). Hence Apple's latest OS update is on the vast majority of its handsets.
Google created the Android Open Source Platform alliance with many, many OEMs and carriers and tech companies to make Android widely distributable. It is open-sourced (AOSP partners can contribute source code and take source code) and hence easy to use. It is therefore no surprise that Android globally is now on more than 85% of all handsets while iOS is on perhaps 12 or 13% of all handsets. Android is on thousands of handsets, tablets and other devices as it is open-sourced. For example I read that the rumoured Google Assistant powered headphones expected to be launched by Google reveals source code that would allow other Android partners will be able to build their own versions of the smart headphones. Contrast this with Apple: No one but Apple can contribute source code to iOS so there is no such thing as partners, consumer choice created by other contributors, but no significant delay in getting an OS update out to handsets immediately.
If getting updates out to Android handsets rapidly were easy to do, Google would have figured it out a while ago. They are finally addressing this issue more seriously and if you care to learn more, suggest you look at Project Treble, announced a few months ago. They realize that getting say Oreo out to just a few percent of all Android devices capable of using Oreo is really not satisfactory.
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Soldato
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Soldato
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That Pixel (other carriers) image is what I have on my Pixel from the OTA update having been on the beta programme.
Soldato
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Is it stable?
Soldato
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I haven't had any crashes at all and it's very fast.
As mentioned a little while ago though, I do find that the battery isn't doing as well as when I wasn't on the beta.
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The android team have reached out to me to do some troubleshooting and bug reporting. Quite ironic and I'm getting a sense of dejavu here.
Testing bugs after the beta program. Don't hold your breath on this one.
Testing bugs after the beta program. Don't hold your breath on this one.
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If you would be willing to share your findings on the google thread linked above. It may help speed up the fixing of issues for those users who have them.
If you have any bluetooth connected devices, please list them as working.
Associate
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Bluetooth in car (2016 VW Golf GTE (non CarNet)) is working fine, streaming and calls all ok. Don't really have anything else BT to test with.
Just tried, but it says I don't have permission - oh well.
Only device I use is a Sony SRS-X33 speaker, I've not yet paired it with my Pixel since the update, so interesting to see if there are issues...
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I was on DP3 then DP4 then Final.
Decided to flash the image through fastboot for a 'clean' start. SO far no major issues. I'll try out the BT headphones and speaker later, although i never experienced issues on the Developer Previews.
Decided to flash the image through fastboot for a 'clean' start. SO far no major issues. I'll try out the BT headphones and speaker later, although i never experienced issues on the Developer Previews.