If you have ever owned an Android phone, you may have experienced a disturbing trend. It appears that, in the race to produce a phone that’s bigger, better, and faster than the previous, long-term software support often goes by the wayside. Even if you were already aware of this tendency, the above infographic may open your eyes to just how prevalent it is.
The creator of this visual tracked down every Android phone that was shipped to the US through the middle of 2010. All but two, the G1 and MyTouch, are still within their initial two-year contract periods (even for day one buyers) today. He then gathered data about the update history for all of these handsets.
We have summed up some of the highlights below, showing the percentages of the handsets surveyed and their corresponding software updates:
The chart also compared the phones to iOS. The iPhone 3GS, which is over two years and four months old already, is running the most current firmware, iOS 5. Obviously, it’s easier for Apple, who creates both the hardware and the software, to keep their annually-released iPhones up to date. But that still doesn’t change the fact that iPhone owners are running the latest and greatest, while many Android users aren’t.
Why?
Fragmentation is a word you hear bandied around a lot when referring to Android, and it’s appropriate to use it here as well. Android is, of course, the creation of Google. The open source software is then picked up by various manufacturers. Those hardware makers also often paste their own custom user interface on top of Android, which doesn’t simplify anything. Deals with carriers, including carrier-specific apps only complicate the situation further.
So while Apple is able to keep all of their updates seamlessly integrated within their walled garden, Google has little control over which Android phones receive updates. The phones that they do have some control over, the Nexus line (they develop those in conjunction with manufacturers to showcase major Android updates) does have a great track record. Yesterday’s news that the Nexus One will not be getting updated to Ice Cream Sandwich is actually the first case of a Google flagship phone being cut off from a major update.
That leaves it up to the manufacturers to stay on top of updates. In addition to the custom GUIs that they use, there is a race towards bigger, better, faster, stronger mania that the Android manufacturers are all competing in. If your flagship device from three months ago has already been trumped by four newer high-end Android handsets, then that relatively new phone is already an ancient relic in this supposed competition.
The only problem with that is that most people only update a phone every two years. If all of your resources are being poured into making sure you have the flavor of the week, then last week’s flavor doesn’t get much love. Last year’s flavor may as well be a fossil.
This is one area where the striking differences between iOS and Android tilt into Apple’s favor. I’m sure Google would love to have every Android phone running Gingerbread by now, but their open sourced, licensed approach to Android makes it nearly impossible for them to control.
I say ‘nearly’ because some would like to see Google take a harder stance on this issue with manufacturers. While Android is free for anyone to run, Google’s apps (Gmail, Google Voice, Navigation, etc.) are not. This is a key area that Google can bargain for more rigorous updating. Earlier this year, several manufacturers stood on their podiums and shouted they were going to be quicker with updates, but that has been a lot of hot air so far.
Devs to the rescue
One caveat to keep in mind here is that anyone who has rooted his Android phone is playing an entirely different ballgame. If you were to create a similar infographic which included stable custom ROMs from the development community, I would guess that Android’s update record would be much closer to iOS’. While many will never root their phones, those who do have a big-time advantage in terms of updated software. There are plenty of buggy ROMs that would provide an inferior experience, but the best work from the development community, particularly Cyanogenmod, can actually be preferable to running an official update.
I’d recommend you check out more at the source link below. The author, Michael Degusta, has done a wonderful job with this chart.
Source:http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/lack-of-android-software-support-visualized-20111028/
