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Chart of iOS vs Android OS Support

Yeah, some phones are released an update or two behind the current version. Hell, I'm not even sure what the current version is ... I had 2.3.5 on my EVO; 2.3.4 on my SGSII; and I've heard that 2.3.7 is out for some devices.
 
r.j.s said:
Yeah, some phones are released an update or two behind the current version. Hell, I'm not even sure what the current version is ... I had 2.3.5 on my EVO; 2.3.4 on my SGSII; and I've heard that 2.3.7 is out for some devices.
Click to expand...
Anything above 2.3.4 is for hardware specific features like NFC and BT 4.0.
It makes no sense to go beyond 2.3.4 if your phone doesn't support these new features.

My current phone (Atrix) was released with 2.2. Really sucked, but Moto quickly bumped it to 2.3.4 (4 months after release).
But many Android phone makers simply want you to buy a new phone, so they drop support pretty quick.
I like that Google is now requiring all new Android phones to be supported for at least 18 months after release and to be on the most current version by the time that 18 month period is up.
Google really needs to enforce this as it is getting flat out stupid at all the different versions out there right now.
 
What is worse than how quickly support is dropped is how slowly they are supported. If google releases a major revision, then even the quickest phones won't get it for another 3 months or so.
 
I'm not all that familiar with Android releases so it's interesting to hear about it from you guys.

It really is no different than what Apple does - it's just exacerbated by the fact there are multiple hardware manufacturers doing it for multiple pieces of hardware. It's nice to hear Google's new rules - as long as Google enforces them.
 
That sucks for android users. Unless you're willing to hack, you're not going to get to take full advantage of the OS.
 
ppilone said:
It really is no different than what Apple does - it's just exacerbated by the fact there are multiple hardware manufacturers doing it for multiple pieces of hardware. It's nice to hear Google's new rules - as long as Google enforces them.
Click to expand...

It is entirely different from what Apple does.

Apple releases updates straight to consumers.

With android, Google releases updates to manufacturers, who releases them to carriers before it gets released to consumers.
 
r.j.s said:
It is entirely different from what Apple does.

Apple releases updates straight to consumers.

With android, Google releases updates to manufacturers, who releases them to carriers before it gets released to consumers.
Click to expand...

Sorry - my post wasn't clear. What I meant was it's similar to what Apple does when they drop support for an older device or offer new features in an OS only to new models. But since Apple controls all of those things it ends up being much better for the consumer.
 
I never understood this preoccupation with OS versions, especially since the upgrade concept doesn't really parallel between iOS and Android, and Apple doesn't fully update older devices anyway. They're also starting from totally different base capabilities.

For example, almost any Android phone will be able to add in a deep Siri-like voice assistant, whereas Apple has made sure that only their latest phone has it.

Any Android phone has multitasking, whereas the first couple of years of iOS devices are not allowed by Apple to "upgrade" to that.

Ditto for folders, notifications and other things Android has no need to update for.

Android updates after 2.1 are not that significant, unless you count extra built-in support for Flash, for which of course iOS has none.

The more useful and important Android updates are with individual apps such as Google Maps, Navigation, YouTube etc... which unfortunately require an OS update on Apple devices... and iOS does not have anywhere near the latest versions of those apps.
 
rjohnstone said:
Anything above 2.3.4 is for hardware specific features like NFC and BT 4.0.
It makes no sense to go beyond 2.3.4 if your phone doesn't support these new features.

My current phone (Atrix) was released with 2.2. Really sucked, but Moto quickly bumped it to 2.3.4 (4 months after release).
But many Android phone makers simply want you to buy a new phone, so they drop support pretty quick.
I like that Google is now requiring all new Android phones to be supported for at least 18 months after release and to be on the most current version by the time that 18 month period is up.
Google really needs to enforce this as it is getting flat out stupid at all the different versions out there right now.
Click to expand...

I am hoping with Google buying Motorala they use that to help force other manufactures to updates quicker by having those phones updated in a fairly timely manner.
 
OMG they can't update to having folders????? Wait, they already had folders. How about notifications? Cut and paste? Multitasking? See this would mean something if it wasn't a little known fact that apple lags behind the rest in their implementation of even the most menial things.


See I think this whole, ZOMG they don't update like apple is really a meaningless crutch for iOS users and people in general who must, in their own minds, have the latest. If not their world may come crashing down. I have gingerbread 2.3.4, if there is something new out there, what does it add to my phone. I could careless that it's 2.3.5 or whatnot, the difference isn't likely to make any impact on my phone or my use. In fact 2.3.5 addresses BT issues with certain phones, I don't have any issues with BT. So what is the latest and greatest gonna give me besides a warm fuzzy feeling inside?
 
It's not Android's fault. It's the manufacturers. Each version of Android has a requirement of hardware. Google tells the manufacturers the requirements and then they release it to phones that meet those requirements.

So don't blame Android or Google, blame HTC, Samsung, LG, etc.
 
Google specifically gave up this control to entice manufacturers. Now that they have manufacturers beholden to google software, they are trying to get that control back. I can definitely blame google.
 
BoxerGT2.5 said:
...the difference isn't likely to make any impact on my phone or my use. In fact 2.3.5 addresses BT issues with certain phones, I don't have any issues with BT. So what is the latest and greatest gonna give me besides a warm fuzzy feeling inside?
Click to expand...

Are you saying that android updates are largely meaningless?
 
good read.

this couldn't have been said better

"It appears to be a widely held viewpoint that there’s no incentive for smartphone manufacturers to update the OS: because manufacturers don’t make any money after the hardware sale, they want you to buy another phone as soon as possible. If that’s really the case, the phone manufacturers are spectacularly dumb: ignoring the 2 year contract cycle & abandoning your users isn’t going to engender much loyalty when they do buy a new phone. Further, it’s been fairly well established that Apple also really only makes money from hardware sales, and yet their long term update support is excellent (see chart).

In other words, Apple’s way of getting you to buy a new phone is to make you really happy with your current one, whereas apparently Android phone makers think they can get you to buy a new phone by making you really unhappy with your current one. Then again, all of this may be ascribing motives and intent where none exist - it’s entirely possible that the root cause of the problem is just flat-out bad management (and/or the aforementioned spectacular dumbness)."
 
This chart is highly inaccurate.

The iPhone and iPhone 3G are running iOS 5? That's news to me.

And I don't know about the original iPhone, but the 3G was severely hampered in terms of performance with the release of iOS 4...and also throw out there that it wasn't given key features of iOS 4. So to say it's CURRENTLY FULLY supported with the "current major version" is quite a joke.
 
Many people forget most of the android OEMs are the same terrible and lazy companies which stagnated before google gave them the android operating system after iPhone came out. They are all hardware makers. They used to do this in dumbphone days, they are doing the same now in smartphone era. Flood the market with similar phones with a couple changed features and then that's it. Buy a new phone every 3 months or start learning to flash custom ROMs which should not be a requirement as it is now.

Android has potential and while using it i can see how good it could be, but it isn't. Google is not doing a good job by making it completely open source to the OEMs and carriers (which cripple and close down parts of it afterwards for the users). Instead they should just develop a hardware division and build products and sell them. Oh and that motorola acquisition is just for patents, they are not exclusive hardware makers for google.

But google won't care because they are an ad company. Their customers' (advertisers) and their own interests lie in flooding the market with the OS and make money off the ad shown on every device imaginable. The original company which developed android was bought by google and from there the r@ping of android started.
 
I dislike this about Android, but you can always root your device. I'm sure they are aware of this. I'm willing to bet you that SG2 users get Ice Cream Sandwich before it is "officially" released for the device. Devs will create roms for it.
 
aztooh said:
This chart is highly inaccurate.
The iPhone and iPhone 3G are running iOS 5? That's news to me.
So to say it's CURRENTLY FULLY supported with the "current major version" is quite a joke.
Click to expand...

Chart shows three years history following release date for each phone.

So the iPhone 2G line shows 6/9/07 through 6/8/10, and iphone 3G line shows 7/11/08 through 7/10/11. The chart doesn't show either as "currently supported"

I think I remember the iOS4.1 update fixing the iOS4.0 issues on 3G's, but don't have personal experience.

To your other point, I agree the chart doesn't really talk to the feature differences between different models for the same iOS release. It would probably be helpful if it did.
 
kdarling said:
I never understood this preoccupation with OS versions, especially since the upgrade concept doesn't really parallel between iOS and Android, and Apple doesn't fully update older devices anyway. They're also starting from totally different base capabilities.

...
Click to expand...

I agree - Apple has a bad habit of adding features into an updated OS but only for a new device. Sometimes for hardware reasons but sometimes for enticement to upgrade.

I don't think that's the major takeaway from this chart - there is still a difference between limiting features in an update versus completely dropping support for a device almost immediately.
 
aztooh said:
This chart is highly inaccurate.

The iPhone and iPhone 3G are running iOS 5? That's news to me.

<snip>
Click to expand...

"You are not reading it right"

It just means that the first iPhone could run the latest iOS version available for it's first 3 years of life.
 
rickdollar said:
The iPhone data is correct. You're reading wrong. I read it wrong at first, too.
Click to expand...

deeddawg said:
Chart shows three years history following release date for each phone.

So the iPhone 2G line shows 6/9/07 through 6/8/10, and iphone 3G line shows 7/11/08 through 7/10/11. The chart doesn't show either as "currently supported"

I think I remember the iOS4.1 update fixing the iOS4.0 issues on 3G's, but don't have personal experience.

To your other point, I agree the chart doesn't really talk to the feature differences between different models for the same iOS release. It would probably be helpful if it did.
Click to expand...

I was reading it as currently supported...my mistake.

I do have personal experience, with 2 3G's. No 4.x version significantly helped the 3G. I've never used anything that suffered from so much lag. (EDIT: Read the comments on the article you linked to me. They all echo my sentiments on 4.x on the 3G. Should have never let the 3G update to 4.x. This chart wouldn't look as pretty, but the phone would have been more usable. Which, with so many low end Android devices, it's probably better off that they aren't updated....so many iOS users like to talk about the "user experience"...if an update hampers that, why do it??)

And your last statement is the bigger point. I don't have much experience with Android, but as others have pointed out, the big features in iOS updates already existed on Android (folders, multitasking, wallpaper etc etc) and a lot of the little updates are hardware specific. I'd say if it's on 2.3.x, it's basically up to date...unless there's a major flaw with a particular handset and it hasn't been addressed yet.

And yeah, calling the 3G "on current version" in it's 3rd year while it's lacking a huge feature (multitasking) is hardly accurate. Definitely needs to be more of a breakdown. A very heavy iOS lean with this "article".
 
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