
Is there anything Google can do to solve the problem of slow Android updates? - evo_9
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/131749-is-there-anything-google-can-do-to-solve-the-problem-of-slow-android-updates
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vibrunazo
The best they could do, they're already doing. Which is decouple functionality
from the core into updatable apps. And develop the backward compatibility
libraries for developers. In other OSes you usually have to wait for a whole
system update to get small new features. But google is often pushing updates
to important apps. iOS users have to wait for the new iOS to get the new maps
app. While android users are getting new updates even if they have old 2.x
devices. So at the end of the day, how does it matter if the version number on
your device is low, if you're getting the latest features? Of course, there's
still a lot to improve in this area. More apps to decouple. With ICS they
decoupled the browser for the first time by launching Chrome Beta. This is
huge for future versions since the browser is the most important app on the
phone. And developing websites for android 2.x suck. So they get the idea,
hopefully they'll keep improving in that direction.

That said, can't google offer a service for OEMs to update their device
drivers using google's own engineers? Say google charges X to have it's
engineers drop not only the newest version source code on github at realease.
But also your device's updated drivers at your company's repository, by the
release of a new android update. Would that work?

~~~
jonhendry
Perhaps Google could pay the all or part of the wages of one or more engineers
at each sizable OEM, with them dedicated to getting new versions running and
shipped.

Give them special training and support, maybe require the OEM to provide
additional engineers who would work with and be mentored by the Google-paid
engineer(s).

It'd probably be worth the expense in the end.

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kephra
> This brings things full circle to the original question of what Google can
> do to solve the problem of slow Android rollouts, and the answer might be
> “nothing.”

There is one simple thing Google could do. Disallow hardware vendors to lock
the kernel, and provide an Debian/apt-get like infrastructure that allows end
users to upgrade their phones themself.

Google should start with Motorola, who is one of the most evil cases, where
its impossible to install an own kernel. E.g. all Motorola Defy+ ship with
insecure kernels. They are ready for the trashcan at the date of delivery from
security standpoint.

~~~
philwelch
This is a great solution for individual hackers to get upgradeable phones.
This is a shitty solution for fixing the platform fragmentation problem. As an
Android developer, less than 1% of your potential customer base are going to
know what to do with a solution that looks even remotely like apt-get.

The correct answer is to close down the platform with a stricter licensing
agreement and provide over-the-air system updates from a central source.

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kogir
The elephant in the room that nobody ever talks about is the linux kernel's
lack of a stable ABI. Windows and OS X drivers don't need to be recompiled
every time the kernel is updated, whereas in linux it's nearly always
required.

If the same drivers would continue to work, Google could just update the
software like happens regularly on Windows and OS X.

Oh, and to head it off: Yes, it would be magical if all the device drivers
were open source and contributed back to the kernel proper. But that's not
happening now, and likely never will. Linux is under no obligation to provide
a stable ABI, but Google's choice to use it now has consequences.

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Groxx
> _What they reveal are cold, hard facts — such as, just 7.1% of active
> Android users are currently sinking their teeth into ICS..._

s/users/carriers/

Seriously, carriers have _zero_ incentive to upgrade their users, unless they
wish to define themselves as "the carrier that upgrades Android devices" (I
don't know of any). Every software upgrade is a potential lost sale of a new,
very expensive, device + 2 year contract. _That_ is the cause of the
extremely-high OS fragmentation, and it won't change until Google starts
strong-arming carriers into fixing it.

~~~
nradov
Sprint upgraded the Samsung Epic 2.1 → 2.2 → 2.3 (including multiple
maintenance releases)

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pieter
It would probably help a lot if they would develop Android in the open instead
of dumping all changes once they release the OS.

~~~
wmf
Ugh, now I'm imagining phones that were built off a random git checkout
instead of an actual release.

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rfolstad
Eventually consumers will figure out what most of this crowd probably knows
already. If you want the best android phone experience with the cleanest
implementation and the most updates buy the phones produced / branded google.

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k3n
Although I'm having trouble locating it atm, I remember seeing an article a
few weeks ago saying that Google was going to become more active in the
selling of phones, so as to circumvent this very problem.

They, too, are frustrated at the big providers not only taking their sweet
time, but also that they add in all of the bloatware seeing as both of these
practices hurt Android, and ultimately, Google as well.

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trimbo
Honestly, we'll probably find out in an hour or so. I kind of doubt that
Google will leave this issue alone at Google I/O. It's a huge one.

~~~
rogerbinns
At last years event they announced the update alliance. That didn't work out
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397729,00.asp>

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greedo
Short of making it a requirement in the licensing to the carriers/vendors, I
don't see any way for Google to improve the situation. The carriers have no
incentive to provide or enable updates.

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TwoBit
I don't think most users care about this nearly as much as the tech community
thinks. All I care about is that my phone is reliable for the 2 or 3 years I
have it.

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gte910h
Sure there is: Google could pay for updates out of store revenues.

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wissler
Carriers could pay Google a maintenance fee to port Android instead of trying
to do it themselves.

~~~
wmf
Then they would just not pay and not get any updates.

~~~
MiguelHudnandez
Right -- Carriers might even resist _free_ updates from Google. It's in
carriers' interests to have their users get frustrated with their old devices
right around the two-year mark.

