
Buy a Pixel if you want timely updates Oh wait - khc
https://www.androidauthority.com/buy-a-pixel-if-you-want-timely-updates-oh-wait-1068303/
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panpanna
So the Android release works like this:

1\. Google releases the new version.

2\. Recent pixel phones get it around the same day. At this point it's
extremely buggy. For example, your phone may not be able to make calls or
acess Internet. It may crash twice a day

3\. 3-6 months passes

4\. By this time Google has fixed some of the more urgent bugs.

5\. Only now Samsung and the rest start working on a proper release

6\. 0-3 months passes

7\. Samsung issues an OS update that is polished and mostly free of bugs.

Some companies try to be faster. But that requires a huge team of developers
to fix and maintain a moving repo. But as much as we consumers complain about
updates, no one is actually buying phones from these companies, so this will
not continue forever.

TL;DR: Googles first release is just a beta by anyone elses standard

~~~
Doxin
The problem isn't so much how long it takes for a release to make it to your
phone, though that's a problem too. A way more serious problem is the large
amount of phones _never_ getting any new releases.

~~~
panpanna
I don't believe this is true anymore.

Samsung has been updating S and Note series mark 9 & 10 to A10, which I assume
is 80% of the US market?

------
cmurf
Meanwhile, there are a bunch of Android One phones still running Android 9.

~~~
panpanna
The Android One releases from Google turned out to be less than stable. OEM
realized they need a lengthy testing period to ensure proper quality.

(Writing this on and Android One phone on A10 beta program)

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RandomException
And in my experience, when you do finally get the update, it sometimes ends up
breaking a lot of existing features. Pixel users have reported multiple times
about degraded battery life after an update, and my last experience with
Android 10 release was that the software was full of small but annoying bugs.

I've been an Android user since 2.2 and have favored Google products (Nexus
phones and now Pixels) exactly because of the vanilla experience and in my
case quick updates. I just bought my first iPhone because of the frustration
that the recent updates have caused me with Pixel 2. I feel like Android is
taking huge steps back in refinement and that is really sad. Even the latest
Pixel products look the same as two years ago and have taken steps back in
battery life. I wouldn't have believed if someone told me a couple of years
back that I would by an Apple product this year.

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FussyZeus
It blows my mind that a company the size of and with the resources of Google
can't get this right, even after all this time. It reeks of apathy to me. And
even though I've been a dedicated iPhone user since the 6 Plus, I'd genuinely
hoped Android would get better eventually since it's much more open and I
enjoy customization, but as it stands, I have no compelling reasons to leave
Apple's walled garden.

It seems lately that the only time Google can be deigned to do anything
radical to solve problems is when it has one regulatory agency or another
breathing down it's neck. It's genuinely disheartening to see a company that,
when it started, looked to be ready to change how business was done succumb to
the same forces that grind up so many others.

~~~
EricE
Google is first and foremost an ad company. Everything else is a distant
second.

Having been the primary POC for Google corporate account things have improved
a little - they at least pretend to care now and you can occasionally get a
human if you are persistent enough.

If you have to deal with them in a professional capacity the underlying
message is pretty clear - ad's and search that drives ads are their main
focus.

