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Smartphone OS Upgrades: iPhone's "can" vs. Android's "can't"
TechCrunch's post shows a huge discrepancy of smartphones running the latest versions of Android vs. iOS. The numbers will surprise no one that follows mobile tech, but I believe there's a larger point that doesn't even need a chart to make. What should be discussed is how many phones it's even possible to upgrade. That's the real story.
It's well known (if not well reported) that upgrading an Android device is hit or miss. It could be because of the carrier, or the manufacturer, or a combination of both. One thing's certain: Google has no control over the process for any phones other than their own Nexus-branded models, and there's only two of those.
Recently, Computerworld examined carrier and manufacturer "trust" in terms of upgrading Android phones, and the conclusions are dismal. For manufacturers, HTC took top honors:
50 percent of its Android phones having been bumped to Froyo within 2010. Its average upgrade time is also relatively impressive, at 56 days.
Only half their phones were upgraded, but other manufacturers were worse.
Meanwhile, for carriers Verizon took the crown:
A third of the carrier's qualifying Android phones received Froyo within the software's first six months on the market. On average, it took Big Red 58 days to get those updates delivered.
Only a third of the eligible phones are upgraded, yet it's King among carriers.
If you had an HTC phone on Verizon, you had about a 17% chance (one-third of 50%) of upgrading to Froyo last year. And that was your best shot since other manufacturer/carrier combinations were worse.
For the iPhone things are easier. Put simply, 100% of current and -1 generation phones are eligible for upgrades. Apple has even made upgrades available for -2 generation phones, though some features are not available.
It's not just that these iPhones are eligible, but that the carriers have no involvement in the actual upgrade. Just connect the iPhone to iTunes and let it upgrade. That's it. Further, the upgrades are available on the day a new OS is released, not two months later, which is the best Android's manufacturers/carriers can manage.
The mobile market tends to treat their devices as semi-disposable, so it may be unrealistic to discuss models over two years old, but in Android's case "old" models aren't needed to skew the numbers. There are models only five or six months old seemingly "abandoned". This makes Apple's major upgrade to each generation of iPhone, twice, all the more impressive.
Sharp jumps into the Android fray with modern specs and an old OS
The IS03 will launch for AU KDDI in Japan, and sports an iPhone 4-matching 3.5-inch, 960x640-pixel touchscreen.… Android 2.1 will be preloaded rather than 2.2.
Yet another phone that has potential on paper until you get to the OS. Android 2.2 has been out for months, yet it still doesn't come on most new Android devices being introduced. Further, one never really knows when (or if) their Android device will ever run the latest OS.
Is 2.2 that complex? Are hardware makers too lazy to prioritize the latest OS? Is it really that difficult to get a new release on these phones? I don't know, but I do know I wouldn't buy an Android device that didn't have the most current OS on it. I want to make sure it's current out of the gate because there's simply no way to know when it'll get updated beyond that.
Unlike iOS, Android Users Play Upgrade Roulette: Maybe you get it, maybe you don't
Some of the cause for the updates is likely to be HTC, which only said 2010 phones would be updated. As such, the only HTC phones on Sprint to carry Android 2.2 are likely to be the Evo 4G and possibly the Legend. Samsung hasn't explained any of its plans for the Moment, but the company has developed a pattern of declining to upgrade phones beyond one revision.
Only phones from 2010? Only one revision? Wow. That's some harsh upgrade terms right there. And don't think other hardware manufacturers and carriers will think any different.
For all the good press Android 2.2 has received, little has been written about the tiny percentage of phones that are actually going to run it. The vaunted Evo doesn't have it yet. Even unreleased phones like the DroidX will debut with 2.1.
Notice that there isn't just one upgrade villain. Various manufacturers and carriers will have their own rules about what's happening. Too bad for the user who wants to upgrade but realizes the decision is not his.
Still, this is what Google wrought by design. Their goal is to get as many "Androids" out there as possible. Version consistency is not a priority because they all display Google's mobile ads, which is the entire point of Android in the first place.
Though disappointed by this, I'm not surprised. I've compared the Android distribution philosophy to Windows Mobile before, and this is more proof of it.
Sure, Android is better than WinMo, but saying you run "Android"—unless you're a geek—doesn't tell us much because of the many hardware/software iterations. Typical users will be running the original version that came on the phone two years later when they buy a new one because upgrading was too much trouble, or they didn't know they could, or it wasn't an option. The more Android devices sell, the more this will be true. The carriers and manufacturers are too busy with the latest spec sheet-based offering (10 megapixels, anyone?) to worry about the user who bought one three months ago.
Compare this to the iPhone. Much is made of Apple's yearly iOS introductions, with critics claiming it's all hype or they're just catching up. I disagree, but none of that matters. What matters is that every year iPhone owners get an upgrade that significantly improves their existing phone and it costs them nothing. They just plug into iTunes and click Install. Further, only with iOS 4 has Apple finally dropped a device. But that original iPhone is three years old, and was already "made new" twice; we're not talking about an HTC phone bought seven months ago.
The reason iPhone owners watch Apple's new iOS announcements closely is because they know their phone can upgrade to it. Meanwhile, Android users excited by 2.2 a month ago are still waiting, most likely to be disappointed.
Engadget on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and Flash
we found that rediscovering Flash was much like reuniting with a high school friend; at first you've so much to catch up on, but then you realize how far you've grown apart. Adobe's pre-vetted list of Flash-enabled sites do a good job of showing off the technology, but we still can't help but think the interactive elements still have a lot of catching up to do. As for video, the stream is good quality but gets fairly choppy -- especially when you check out something "not optimized for mobile viewing." Some of the HTML5 footage we've seen via the same device shows up in crisper detail and fluidity. Battery and heat are also of concern: the pre-release beta we have, according to Adobe, lacks hardware acceleration. Ergo, our beloved handset got piping hot after about 30 minutes of heavy video watching, and the battery indicator in the upper right had a sizable dent.
