

Android 4.0 updates: It is all about the money - minecraftman
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/android-40-updates-it-is-all-about-the-money/6191?tag=content;feature-roto

======
untog
Was there ever any doubt that it was all about the money? If it wasn't then
what is it- suicidal malice on the part of Samsung?

The point isn't that it's "about the money"- every decision a major company
makes is. It's that it's short sighted- Samsung may yet lose money because
people don't trust them any more.

~~~
schraeds
Aren't we missing the point a bit my singling out Samsung? This problem is
much more pandemic to Android as a whole. What happened to the Android Update
Alliance?

What percentage of iPhones are compatible and upgradeable to iOS 5 release on
_day 1_ ? A very high percentage.

~~~
untog
_What percentage of iPhones are compatible and upgradeable to iOS 5 release on
day 1 ? A very high percentage._

Of course, but I'd say that it isn't a valid comparison- how many Samsung
iPhones were updatable on day one? None, because they don't exist.

Apple (and this applies to their computer business too) benefits greatly from
a totally synchronised hardware and software platform that excludes absolutely
every third party. Android is a totally different beast.

You're right though- "Mr. and Mrs. Average" might be asking these questions
because what do they know/care about the different approaches Google and Apple
take? But also, what do they care about software updates? I'm not sure what
the answer to that is.

------
Lewisham
I think it's worth mentioning that it's highly unlikely Google is deaf to
these complaints. It is, after all, why the Nexus line exists, which does seem
to be supported for updates for the two year upgrade cycle.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that if the buyout of Motorola
Mobility is approved, I think you'll see Gootorola performing updates as well.

The situation isn't dire. The handset manufacturers are going to find that
they're painting themselves into a corner.

~~~
megablast
I wonder how many people really care? I know we do, but most people don't read
blogs about ICS, and are happy to finally have a smart phone that has fb and
the real internet.

I have a nexus one, which will not be updated. I don't really care, but it is
not my main phone either.

~~~
colig
It's bad for developers when a substantial proportion of handsets are running
older versions, which slows down adoption of newer APIs.

------
pm90
Honestly? They get an OS for free (unlike Apple), and they can't even keep
their old devices updated? I understand that there are costs for porting, but
surely that pales in comparison to making your own OS

~~~
Joeri
They get free code drops, but that's probably why it's so expensive for them
to do upgrades. Samsung has to merge their customizations with each new
version, and they have to adapt the Android base code too their hardware. If
they don't customize they have no competitive edge, buy if they do they have a
harder time upgrading to new Android versions. Apple has it easier, with
developers knowing ahead of time the exact hardware their code will run on.

~~~
drivebyacct2
It's true, but I have to marvel at how slow they are or how poorly or dirtily
encapsulated their modifications must be. The CM team already has ports
running on many devices and is in progress on getting many of their features
and customizations merged in. Enough that I was shocked yesterday at several
things my phone did because of the CM9 kang I'm running. And these are all a
bunch of guys (I don't know of any CM female devs to be honest) working in
their spare time.

------
jsz0
Maybe paid upgrades are the answer?

20 million devices, $30 for the ICS update, 5% take rate = $30 million
dollars.

Considering random teenagers in web forums can produce pretty good functional
ports there's no way it will cost Samsung more than a few hundred thousand
dollars to do the development work. Maybe they have to give the carriers a cut
to cover their support costs/retraining/etc. Still a good financial incentive
for Android OEMs not to abandon their older devices as quickly.

~~~
Macha
I'd imagine that the amount of people who care enough about what version of
the OS they are running to pay $30 for an OS upgrade and lack the technical
skills to install a custom ROM is a rather small number.

And if they care that much, they may even prefer the custom ROM, without
TouchWiz.

~~~
jsz0
Even if it's only 1% that's still $6 million bucks. I suspect there are lots
of people like me who have the technical ability to flash a custom ROM but
just don't want to spend the time and effort on it. Reading through a 200+
page forum thread and dealing with the rough edges of these custom ROMS
requires an investment of time. There are also all the business/enterprise IT
departments who aren't going to touch a random custom ROM they found on the
Internet. They need some official upgrade path. Most companies don't want to
buy a new fleet of phones very 2 years.

~~~
vetinari
Most companies have no problem buying a new fleet of phones every two years.
Especially when the price is in the general area of office consumables.

Just the battery in the phone will last barely two years and you'll spare
yourself a lot of troubles by buying new phones.

------
pixie_
Reminds me of Windows Mobile back in the day. It ran on lots of devices, but
getting an update to the latest version was a crapshoot.

------
hub_
Solution:

-less models/SKU (by a multiple fold)

-less customizations (ie use stock Android)

That way you can focus on making your customers happy.

------
InclinedPlane
And Apple's reason for not updating the iPhone 3G and older models to iOS 5
is...?

~~~
lparry
Maybe because they struggled to run iOS 4 usably?

Can you name a handset that received official software updates for longer than
the iPhone 3G? Seems odd to attack what is probably the longest officially
supported phone yet... Sounds like axe grinding to me

------
oflannabhra
Android handset makers: "Yeah, we're not putting in the expense of paying our
developers to release updated versions of Android for each handset we make,
mainly because of all the crap we develop and overlay on top of the OS."

This article: "Oh, yeah guys, that makes total sense! And if you do want a new
version of android running, you can put in the time yourself! See, everything
works for everybody."

Yeah, I get that you can get what you want on your phone, but that doesn't
mean that these companies aren't doing their customers a disservice, or that
we should just give them a pass.

If this were a desktop OS, there's no way manufacturers could get away with
something like not even attempting to bring the most recent version to their
customers. (Although that's a weak comparison, I still believe Google could
take some lessons from Microsoft in how to relate to manufacturers).

