Google Releases Android 9 Pie as Previous Oreo Release is Installed on Just 12% of Devices

[Black Magic]

Apple did, the Palm Pre had rounded corners everywhere, Apple copied them... So tired of the "They Copied Everything" phrase.. in this day and age mobile phones have been around long enough where everyone has copied everyone, Apple is not the company that came up with all this themselves as much as you want to think that.

Agreed that everyone seems to copy everyone these days. To be honest, all creatives are copied and exploited for their creations so others can get rich off of. I digress.

I think what is being stated here is that Apple tends to set the bar in the smartphone arena which others tend to follow. The notch is a perfect example of this as this is now the latest trend.

 

[code-m]

A lot of my customers upgrade immediately on their Macs and are mostly fine with it ....
you make pretty bold claims based on what data set? Apples statistics show another picture, at least for iOS.

Financial institutions may have an insurance for some cases, the personal an economic harm still happens.

Always going to be people on either camp (upgrade immediately/later or not). My clients, social circle and it feels like many MR members usually don’t jump to the most recent X.#/# update as their cannot risk their business computer. I usually have to remind people on my end to update/upgrade their OS days if not weeks after release. Usually the response I receive is I cannot risk it, is this going to make things better, if it ain’t broke, etc. If you are a beta tester or developer then you are in the minority who loves testing and playing around with new features, etc. However that is usually installed on a secondary device.

Apple iOS users are nagged to upgrade, some do it not to be nagged anymore, some by accident and some looking to investigate what is new. If Apple provided a choice to roll-back, I wonder how many would revert to the previous OS version, thoughts.

Identity theft happens even without user/customer interaction, i.e. Equifax, etc. It is the luck of the draw, I have been a victim and I am pretty vigilant about my data privacy. I found out in all those instances it was my financial institute that was targeted. Nothing I can do other than monitor, as other financial institutes have also been targeted.
[doublepost=1533660626][/doublepost]

For some. Apple seems to be managing through it.

Apple can only manage the tide so long. People often forget that iOS is controlled completely by Apple and their make the devices, AndroisOS has many flavours/forks and many device manufacturers (basically Windows).

Cook & Co. will run into an issue where iDevices are handed down, are fast/good enough for basic use, secondary markets, battery replacement, prolonged device ownership, etc. Options left are increase the base price of your devices, reduce price of entry device by omitting features (fragmentation), release more products/options to stimulate growth through upgrades etc. It is going to be interesting to see where this all goes, considering average household income is barely increasing while the cost of living and to purchase Apple devices is increasing rapidly. Spells trouble for Apple as people gravitate to other devices/OS. This translates to developers heading to where more users are adopting. Compensation will hold a company afloat for only so long.

 

[ChrisChaval]

Yeah except my mothers phone running Android 5 can still run pretty much any App on Google Play. Can iOS 5 run 90% of the App Store?

This whole dig against Android is pointless unless you're obsessed with always having the latest and greatest. Older versions of Android are still good and completely usable. Probably more usable than older versions of iOS.

To me it’s all about security

I am managing more of my sensitive data on my phone than I do on my computer

And no, that ain’t porn

So I do want the most secure phone os for my needs over a longer period of time

And that is not Android

I still do own one android phone, it came with version 5, it stayed with version 5 ...

Use it for navigation, that is all it is still good for

 

[Black Magic]

Always going to be people on either camp (upgrade immediately/later or not). My clients, social circle and it feels like many MR members usually don’t jump to the most recent X.#/# update as their cannot risk their business computer. I usually have to remind people on my end to update/upgrade their OS days if not weeks after release. Usually the response I receive is I cannot risk it, is this going to make things better, if it ain’t broke, etc. If you are a beta tester or developer then you are in the minority who loves testing and playing around with new features, etc. However that is usually installed on a secondary device.

Apple iOS users are nagged to upgrade, some do it not to be nagged anymore, some by accident and some looking to investigate what is new. If Apple provided a choice to roll-back, I wonder how many would revert to the previous OS version, thoughts.

Identity theft happens even without user/customer interaction, i.e. Equifax, etc. It is the luck of the draw, I have been a victim and I am pretty vigilant about my data privacy. I found out in all those instances it was my financial institute that was targeted. Nothing I can do other than monitor, as other financial institutes have also been targeted.
[doublepost=1533660626][/doublepost]

Apple can only manage the tide so long. People often forget that iOS is controlled completely by Apple and their make the devices, AndroisOS has many flavours/forks and many device manufacturers (basically Windows).

Cook & Co. will run into an issue where iDevices are handed down, are fast/good enough for basic use, secondary markets, battery replacement, prolonged device ownership, etc. Options left are increase the base price of your devices, reduce price of entry device by omitting features (fragmentation), release more products/options to stimulate growth through upgrades etc. It is going to be interesting to see where this all goes, considering average household income is barely increasing while the cost of living and to purchase Apple devices is increasing rapidly. Spells trouble for Apple as people gravitate to other devices/OS. This translates to developers heading to where more users are adopting. Compensation will hold a company afloat for only so long.

You sound like you really aren't a fan of Apple. Now we are back to "Apple is doomed" comments after they just broke the trillion dollar mark? You do realize that Apple offers several different phones at various pricing tiers? Come on.

I'm curious as to why an Android fan would devote so much time on an Apple fan site when there are tons of Android sites to accommodate you? I'm guessing those sites fall short just like the phones.

 

[TimmeyCook]

Apple did, the Palm Pre had rounded corners everywhere, Apple copied them... So tired of the "They Copied Everything" phrase.. in this day and age mobile phones have been around long enough where everyone has copied everyone, Apple is not the company that came up with all this themselves as much as you want to think that.

Are you SERIOUSLY saying that Apple copied rounded corners from someone else?

Do you want me to post here pictures from 1984 and so on?

 

[DNichter]

Always going to be people on either camp (upgrade immediately/later or not). My clients, social circle and it feels like many MR members usually don’t jump to the most recent X.#/# update as their cannot risk their business computer. I usually have to remind people on my end to update/upgrade their OS days if not weeks after release. Usually the response I receive is I cannot risk it, is this going to make things better, if it ain’t broke, etc. If you are a beta tester or developer then you are in the minority who loves testing and playing around with new features, etc. However that is usually installed on a secondary device.

Apple iOS users are nagged to upgrade, some do it not to be nagged anymore, some by accident and some looking to investigate what is new. If Apple provided a choice to roll-back, I wonder how many would revert to the previous OS version, thoughts.

Identity theft happens even without user/customer interaction, i.e. Equifax, etc. It is the luck of the draw, I have been a victim and I am pretty vigilant about my data privacy. I found out in all those instances it was my financial institute that was targeted. Nothing I can do other than monitor, as other financial institutes have also been targeted.
[doublepost=1533660626][/doublepost]

Apple can only manage the tide so long. People often forget that iOS is controlled completely by Apple and their make the devices, AndroisOS has many flavours/forks and many device manufacturers (basically Windows).

Cook & Co. will run into an issue where iDevices are handed down, are fast/good enough for basic use, secondary markets, battery replacement, prolonged device ownership, etc. Options left are increase the base price of your devices, reduce price of entry device by omitting features (fragmentation), release more products/options to stimulate growth through upgrades etc. It is going to be interesting to see where this all goes, considering average household income is barely increasing while the cost of living and to purchase Apple devices is increasing rapidly. Spells trouble for Apple as people gravitate to other devices/OS. This translates to developers heading to where more users are adopting. Compensation will hold a company afloat for only so long.

I think that's a pretty big assumption on your part. People have been saying the same for years, yet here we are.

 

[edenwaith]

MR's recent article on Apple's presence (or lack thereof) in India seems to reflect some of these numbers we see from Android adoption. There are a tremendous amount of devices out there which are running Android, and not all of them are going to be top tier devices. This reminds me of how there were a lot of Windows machines out in the wild, but some of them were used as low level machines for POS or ATMs and hardly intended for the consumer market, yet those numbers were added to the total.

What might be a better figure would be to see what is the adoption rate in the US, or the numbers for certain apps to get a better feel for what the customers are using.

Also, there are a lot of android phones out there, and often upgrading to the latest version of Android is not financially viable for the manufacturers. If you are buying a phone for $300 you don't really care about the Android version and specs too much, you care about the price.

And this is a WORLDWIDE chart. If you look at just the top manufacturers like Samsung / Huawei / OnePlus and so on, you will find out their flagship phones - doing apples to apples comparison - are running the current version of Android or are one cycle behind.

 

[Dominicanyor]

wow why 12%? android folks don't like to update?

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I agree. This is generally why I'm intentionally one or two generations behind. I go on Swappa 2-4 weeks after a new iPhone begins shipping and I look for a last-gen iPhone with AC+ that was babbied in a case and screen protector by some OCD guy that has to have the latest and great. Usually it can be had for several hundred dollars less than when it was new. I hate cases and screen protectors, so I take those off immediately and basically have a new phone with a year or more of AC+.

I hope I've never sold a phone to you. You expect me to take care of a device when you refuse to.

 

[DNichter]

wow why 12%? android folks don't like to update?

Some do, some don't, most can't.

 

[Swift]

This isn't the reason for such a low install base for Android. The biggest reason is that most of the non-flagship phones see very few future updates. Heck, there are brand new Android phones that will never see Android 9 be able to be installed on them.

Guarantee you that the $0 phones they give away with prepaid plans will never see an update.
[doublepost=1533663897][/doublepost]

For people who don't know how Android works:

Once a year Google releases a major Android update. But the issue is that is an update for STOCK Android.

For example, my Galaxy s9 is running a Samsung Experience version of Android, which means that Samsung will need to make sure its modified version works well with the updated Android version, so I won't be seeing the update for a couple of months after the release. The same applies to most other manufacturers which have to put quite a bit of effort to make sure their custom android versions function properly.

Also, there are a lot of android phones out there, and often upgrading to the latest version of Android is not financially viable for the manufacturers. If you are buying a phone for $300 you don't really care about the Android version and specs too much, you care about the price.

And this is a WORLDWIDE chart. If you look at just the top manufacturers like Samsung / Huawei / OnePlus and so on, you will find out their flagship phones - doing apples to apples comparison - are running the current version of Android or are one cycle behind.

Yet the big worldwide number was the one used for years to show how Android had already won the phone battle. Now, what does Google get on the bare-bones phones? Nothing. They do, however, get all those searches and ad opportunities.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Guarantee you that the $0 phones they give away with prepaid plans will never see an update.

There are even some Android phones that cost a couple hundred dollars available right now that don't come with the latest version of Android and will never see an update.

Android works much differently than iOS. Once Google releases it, the carrier must then choose to do their thing to it, certify, and ship it. If they don't the update never gets released to their users. So you can have one phone model that may get updated on Spring but not on Verizon.

 

[Black Magic]

There are even some Android phones that cost a couple hundred dollars available right now that don't come with the latest version of Android and will never see an update.

Android works much differently than iOS. Once Google releases it, the carrier must then choose to do their thing to it, certify, and ship it. If they don't the update never gets released to their users. So you can have one phone model that may get updated on Spring but not on Verizon.

The carriers have no incentive to do updates as they want you to buy the updates essentially. New updates are the cost of a new phone.

If I was an Android user, I would only buy Pixel phones. No extra bloat and I can get some updates.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Yes because you should also get all the same features on your budget phone as any android flagship. How dare Samsung not put their best displays and dual lenses into your $200 phone.

You are conflating software to hardware features, the discussion is pertaining to software and not hardware like screen and camera.

The differentiator in the Android phone world is hardware and thus the price, software is not and is perceived to be free for those who cannot afford the software costs.

Smart phone saturation or peak demand is near if not already here.

Smartphone innovation has already peaked, we are far beyond the scaling phase and well into the maturity phase of innovation, curve has been flat for past few years.

Next innovation is on the horizon, but who knows what that is.

 

[oneMadRssn]

I hope I've never sold a phone to you. You expect me to take care of a device when you refuse to.

I don't expect anything. I pay you for a phone that was well taken care of, and then I can do with it as I please after I own it because that is what ownership means. Isn't that the whole point of third-part sales?

Some people look at it as being able to always have the latest and greatest for only ~$300/yr (buy an iPhone for ~$800, sell it for ~$500, repeat every year). Some people look at it as being able to get an almost new iPhone for way less than new. When those two people meet, magic capitalism happens.

 

[spacemnspiff]

I agree. This is generally why I'm intentionally one or two generations behind. I go on Swappa 2-4 weeks after a new iPhone begins shipping and I look for a last-gen iPhone with AC+ that was babbied in a case and screen protector by some OCD guy that has to have the latest and great. Usually it can be had for several hundred dollars less than when it was new. I hate cases and screen protectors, so I take those off immediately and basically have a new phone with a year or more of AC+.

I bought my 128GB iPhone 7 Plus like this in November for $550, when I new one cost $870 a year earlier, and a new one that day cost $770. So that's 29-37% off, depending on how you count it.

I took prefer a bargain Vs chasing the newest device. I have a 64GB 6s that I bought from ATT when they last offered contracts for $300. It doesn't feel slow with iOS 11, so I am going to keep it for another year and replace it with a 7 or an 8, most likely from Swappa or Craigslist.

 

[Applemaniac7]

They copied everything, eg notifications where rectangles, now they are rounded rectangles, switches on their "control center" are also now round buttons like iOS. Copying for the sake of being equal.

Imagine if Apple did the same...

This is hilarious and the irony is

One of the main reasons I would not want to go back to android. Imagine owning an S9 stuck in Oreo for the next eight months after P is released. No thank you.

Can you imagine every iPhone back to 5S will be getting a speed increase when iOS 12 is released shortly ?

Speed increase. Lol, how slow must they be if you consider a flashy brick as a speed increase once you upgrade..

 

[tf_dc]

Except iOS copied pull down notifications.
Notifications on the lock screen.
Almost every feature you mentioned was available on Android through Nova Launcher.
Google more copied launchers than Apple.

I wish Apple also copied multiple user accounts, real file manager, the ability to run wifi analyzers (as AirPort utility will be gone soon) and to read your very own ARP table, bluetooth profiles for file transfer, notification lights and some other things I'm too lazy to enumerate here.

Frankly speaking, Android outruns iOS in flexibility and functionality quite far.

It has only one, but fatal, shortcoming. It is a spyware.

 

[Applemaniac7]

Is it just me, or does Google give Android versions these stupid codenames so as to mask just how much behind their installed base is?

The alphabet is beyond your comprehension then? . Really... it's not hard to figure out...

 

[forerunnerg34]

One of the main reasons I would not want to go back to android. Imagine owning an S9 stuck in Oreo for the next eight months after P is released. No thank you.

Can you imagine every iPhone back to 5S will be getting a speed increase when iOS 12 is released shortly ?

My reasons are different:

iPhone 5s was also unusable after iOS11, iOS12 is not increasing speed, it is restoring part of the performance Apple took away. On every new iOS release Apple slowed down old phones, with iOS12 they are trying to go easy on old devices for the last time.

I have a S8, it has Android N, then it was updated to O and was faster (something never happened with iOS). I hope Samsung updates S8 with P, 8 months is fine for me since is also the same amount of months you should wait to install a new iOS until is stable.

 

[inkswamp]

I really don't understand the appeal of this platform, its fragmented and a data-mining tool.

That last one is what would stop me from moving to Android. I migrated off all Google products (except email... damn if their email isn't hard to beat) several years ago and never looked back. Also installed several browser plug-ins to kill Google tracking scripts. For all the good things Google has done, their incessant user tracking and data-mining is one of the most insidious things in technology. I'm amazed at how passive people are about it too. If the government were doing that, there would be rioting in the streets. But hey, it's Google so... cool.

I have a S8, it has Android N, then it was updated to O and was faster (something never happened with iOS).

Maybe in your experience but I've often seen better performance on older iPhones after iOS updates. To each his own but I've only had one bad experience with an iOS update and that was fixed with a wipe/re-install of the OS.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I don't think the issue is about running new(er) apps, it is how secure the devices are. Are the older OS versions actually receiving security patches? If not, this fragmentation should be worrisome (and has been pointed out since the very early days of Android).

Most use facing applications interact with the Google Play Services for just about every API, so as long as you've upgraded the Google Play Service (which is an auto-updating non-deferrable update) you are using the latest secure code. A while back, there was a vulnerability in the Android OS for decoding images. Google's fix (since they couldn't update every phone) was to move that API to the Google Play Service. As long as you have an android phone with the Google Play store on it, you're OK. The problem is with no-name Chinese manufacturers or anyone using Android without Google (e.g. Amazon).

 

[Shanghaichica]

You are conflating software to hardware features, the discussion is pertaining to software and not hardware like screen and camera.

The differentiator in the Android phone world is hardware and thus the price, software is not and is perceived to be free for those who cannot afford the software costs.


Smartphone innovation has already peaked, we are far beyond the scaling phase and well into the maturity phase of innovation, curve has been flat for past few years.

Next innovation is on the horizon, but who knows what that is.

The poster I replied to has stated on many occasions that they don’t believe in paying top dollar for an android phone because they are getting all the flagship features in a phone that costs $200.

 

[FFR]

The poster I replied to has stated on many occasions that they don’t believe in paying top dollar for an android phone because they are getting all the flagship features in a phone that costs $200.

Did you pay full price for your s9?
Many don’t.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Did you pay full price for your s9?
Many don’t.

I did because I bought it sim free.