Google Trying New Strategy to Fix Fragmentation 355
CWmike writes "Google announced a new version of Android this week with some impressive new features, but it's unclear if it's done enough to solve a problem that has dogged its mobile OS: fragmentation. Even as it announced the imminent launch of Android 4.1, or Jelly Bean, the majority of users are still running Gingerbread, which is three major releases behind. According to Google's own figures, just 7 percent are running the current version, Ice Cream Sandwich, which launched last October. That means apps that tap into the latest innovations in the OS aren't available to most Android users. It also means developers, the lifeblood of the platform, are forced to test their apps across multiple devices and multiple versions of the OS. So when Google's Hugo Barra announced a Platform Developer Kit during the opening keynote at I/O this week, the news was greeted with applause. The PDK will provide Android phone makers with a preview version of upcoming Android releases, making it easier for them to get the latest software in their new phones. But is the PDK enough to secure for developers the single user experience for big numbers of Android users that developers crave? In a 'fireside chat' with the Android team, the packed house of developers had more questions about OS fragmentation than Google had answers."
Make phones like laptops (Score:5, Interesting)
It runs WinXP to Win8 (tried the DP) flawlessly, only RAM was upgraded to 4GB
Why cant phones have a similar level of stardardisation/compatibility across generations?
I should just be able to load a version of Android/Windows phone/Symbian onto a memory card, pop it into my phone and install it like I do on a PC
I don't know if this will fix it or not. (Score:5, Interesting)
7% is even more pathetic than it sounds. Let me back up and start with a different observation...
I keep reading that 80% of iOS users are on the latest release, and it seems too high to me that 80% of users would upgrade. Well, they didn't. iOS sales are growing at about 100% per year. Which means that at any point in time, approximately half the units ever sold were sold in the past year. So 50% of iOS devices run the latest version because they were bought since it came out. Now, only 60% of the remaining 50% have to actually upgrade--and I haven't accounted for old devices that are no longer in use and therefore no longer show up in these stats, and therefore increase the proportion of newer devices.
Well, guess what? Android device sales have been growing even faster than iOS. More than 50% of units shipped in the last year. But only 7% of units have the version that was released 1.5 years ago??? This means the device manufacturers are doing a unbelievably bad job of keeping up to date. If this continues, then only 7% of devices will be running Jelly Bean by about the beginning of 2014. Now there are certain things about the way that Android is distributed which mean that new versions will necessarily spread slower than iOS to some degree, and this announcement is an attempt to change that. But given the current spread of new OS versions, I think it's pretty obvious that the handset manufacturers (and carriers) don't even care and are not even trying AT ALL. Given that, I'm not sure that making it easier for them will be enough.
I don't know how google solves this, but they sure need to! This is a good (and necessary) step, but I worry that device manufacturers will not be sufficiently motivated to take advantage and stay as up to date as they should...
Re:How about... (Score:2, Interesting)
It's that brain-damaged style of thinking that infects some sectors of the global economy, and holds the rest of the human race back.
No, the brain-damaged style of thinking that is holding the human race back is exemplified by the fact that you claim to care about upgrades but you would buy a device without knowing if you will be able to upgrade ahead of time. You're not thinking ahead and you're blaming others for your problems.
Re:Addresses one issue but not the other (Score:4, Interesting)
A 2 year old used Nexus One is still selling for more then budget Android phones sold outside the subsidized market of North America. Just because your Porsche 911 is 10 years old doesn't put it in the same racing category as a 2012 Kia Rio.
Re:How about... (Score:4, Interesting)
You don't need to rule the world, just the U.S.
In Europe, everything is GSM and folks can buy new phone with no contract willi-nilli, just swap in their SIM card and off they go.
Re:I don't know if this will fix it or not. (Score:5, Interesting)
I keep reading that 80% of iOS users are on the latest release, and it seems too high to me that 80% of users would upgrade.
I have an iPhone, and I don't have a hard time believing 80% of users would update.
1) iTunes, which they are already using, automatically checks for updates, and tells you when one is available, and asks you if you want to install it. IIRC, if you decline the update, it will repeatedly ask you to install the update every time you open iTunes. You can disable updates, but that is not the default.. so it would require action from the user.
2) if you choose not to install it, it won't be long (a few months) before you will start seeing messages like "this app requires at least iOS vX.X.X", and you won't be able to install new apps on your phone or update the apps you already have installed.
So although you could choose not to upgrade, it is very easy to update, and if you install new apps (or update your apps), then the updates are pretty much required.
The world you want is here today, in UK at least (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't know where you are, but here in the UK it's easy to buy basically any smartphone or tablet device of any level, from the basic entry-level gear up to the latest Galaxy or iPhone model, directly and with all the usual consumer protection laws applicable. Then you can get a SIM-only package, on a rolling monthly contract without any long-term tie-in, from any of the major phone networks to get the voice and/or data connectivity.
Most people don't do this, because it would force them to confront the real cost of buying that shiny new smartphone instead of mentally writing it off as part of a monthly credit agreement^W^Wcalling plan, where both the cost and the interest rate they're effectively paying for the device are mixed in with the flate rate they're paying for the network anyway. But as with most credit-like agreements, if you have the money up-front and do the maths, it's almost always cheaper over the lifetime of the deal to buy your own device, and of course it gives you a lot more flexibility to change your connectivity package mid-term as better deals become available in a highly competitive market.
I'm always slightly surprised that the usual rules we have here for advertising credit agreements (making it clear that you're tied into paying a certain interest rate, described in a standardised way) haven't been applied to the mobile phone market. If the carriers were forced to describe how much their calling plan is really costing in an easily comparable format, and to show the price of the equivalent up-front purchase and separate connectivity, I suspect the market would shift rather sharply in the average consumer's favour.
The REAL problem with fragmentation is... (Score:4, Interesting)
That manufacturers continue to release brand new devices running Gingerbread with no upgrade path to Ice Cream Sandwich whatsoever. And its not like these are devices that started development long before ICS appeared, some of them are devices that were likely early enough in their development phase that they could easily have started work on an ICS port at that point (and in some cases even potentially switched to ICS before the release)
Google already has certification requirements for a "Google" device that has Play/Marketplace, gmail etc on it.
Some things I think Google should add to those requirements that would benefit Android:
1.They should tell OEMs that after , any not-yet-released devices that want certification MUST be running Ice Cream Sandwich or at the very least have a defined upgrade path to ICS.
2.They should tell OEMs that Google must be the default search engine (after all, the search is a big part of how Google makes its money on Android)
3.They should tell OEMs that they must fully comply with the license of any and all software they are shipping on the phone (including the GPLv2 for the Linux Kernel). No more of this "its industry standard practice to release kernel source weeks/months after the binaries have shipped" BS that some OEMs *cough*HTC*cough* keep pulling again and again.
Re:How about... (Score:3, Interesting)
I wouldn't be surprised if Google is worried about such a stance increasing fragmentation. They don't want to annoy hardware vendors enough that they go the Kindle Fire route and break away from Google completely. I think they'd be especially wary of upsetting Samsung, who (last I read, which was months ago) accounted for more than half of Android sales.
Re:I don't know if this will fix it or not. (Score:5, Interesting)
your speculation that it is lower, while interesting, does not equal proof. Your guessing that half of iphone users are on the new version because they bought new devices.. An idea that is completely baseless. And you provide no evidence to support it in any way.
So how about some facts.
Here's a link to a page, from an iOS/Android app developer, showing iOS users upgrading to the latest version. Within 2 weeks, 60%+ are using the very latest version (5.1.0), and 85% are using 5.0.0, 5.0.1, or 5.1.0.
http://david-smith.org/blog/2012/03/10/ios-5-dot-1-upgrade-stats/ [david-smith.org]
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)