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

[haruhiko]

A fun read.

 

[jigar7]

I guess the only way Android can compete with Apple is if Google starts enforcing the Android One program with all of its smartphone manufactures. This is one of the reasons why I stick to Apple, even though they have been throttling devices with newer builds and the releases have been buggy (Android is no different), at least they provide updates for 3-4 year old devices. I'm so glad iOS12 has a switch to turn off automatic updates that Apple pushed down our throats. Users should have been empowered with that long ago. Finally I won't have to use other methods to avoid OTAs.

 

[pika2000]

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.

This is false. I have a Vivo v3 released in 2016 running lollipop, and there are starting to exist more and more apps requiring at least MM.

In contrast my iPad mini 2 released in 2013 are still fully supported on iOS 11 and then 12. My unsupported iPhone 5 (released in 2012!) running iOS 10 can also still run most apps in the App Store.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

Their little cutesy names for their software updates is insulting to anyone with an IQ over fifteen.

 

[pika2000]

I guess the only way Android can compete with Apple is if Google starts enforcing the Android One program with all of its smartphone manufactures. This is one of the reasons why I stick to Apple, even though they have been throttling devices with newer builds and the releases have been buggy (Android is no different), at least they provide updates for 3-4 year old devices. I'm so glad iOS12 has a switch to turn off automatic updates that Apple pushed down our throats. Users should have been empowered with that long ago. Finally I won't have to use other methods to avoid OTAs.

Google will never care. Why? Because they don’t have to. Android holds the majority share, and there is practically zero people suing google for the lack of updates nor security patches. So without any legal pressure, why should Google care? They make money from ads anyway.

 

[Radon87000]

Those who are on the older Android versions should be happy that at least Google doesn’t slow down the phone and they have an option to downgrade. iOS updates barring a few exceptions always slow down the phone.

 

[Xenden]

Umm, what? The 4k spec had been around for years before 3D TVs were released. 4k would have happened without 3d.

I didn’t mean that 4K came about because of 3D,but in order to have 4K, the TV manufacturers had to increase the pixel count on the horizontal and the vertical by 2.

To get 3D, there had to be two 1920x1080 pictures being shown at the same time. So, once the 4K panels came out, the manufacturers only had to learn how to fabricate double the pixels on the vertical.

So I stand by what I said. 3D TVs helped move along 4K.

Also, there wasn’t widespread standards agreement until the UHD Alliance came about in 2016.

 

[jamisonbaines]

ironically i have 2 android devices that are on the newest releases that i can get for them and 4 iOS devices that i don't update (two on iOS 9 and two on 10.3)

 

[fairuz]

I didn’t mean that 4K came about because of 3D,but in order to have 4K, the TV manufacturers had to increase the pixel count on the horizontal and the vertical by 2.

To get 3D, there had to be two 1920x1080 pictures being shown at the same time. So, once the 4K panels came out, the manufacturers only had to learn how to fabricate double the pixels on the vertical.

So I stand by what I said. 3D TVs helped move along 4K.

Also, there wasn’t widespread standards agreement until the UHD Alliance came about in 2016.

No, most 3D TVs show two 1920x540 images.

 

[pika2000]

IMO google should just do silent releases of Android from now on. I mean there’s no point making a big deal on a new major release when only Pixel users will be able to get it from the get go. Just do silent upgrades like Chrome and be done with it. That way, consumers are not confused. I mean there are plenty of OEMs still selling NEW devices with Nougat and MM, and even KitKat. Since Google has no interest in encouraging OEMs to do otherwise, then skip the Android version announcements and just silently updates whatever handsets (Pixel) that can be updated.

 

[BvizioN]

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?

It's not about being able to run it. Obviously, this is an Android kind of philosophy, be able to do anything. It is about how well do they run. And please don't get me started because even though I tend to stick with iOS, I have tried all sort of Android phones. Unless you running some sort of powerful flagship or one of Googles pure Android, the experience is still rubbish. But hey, apparently good enough for some.

 

[Solomani]

Financial institutes have mandatory insurance in many countries that protects clients from unintended purchases, theft, etc. Many users are oblivious to data security as well. Mac users usually don’t upgrade to the latest version until a X.1 release, some iOS users follow the same mindset. I do not blame them….

I don't normally upgrade right away upon a major Mac or iOS feature release, for example Mojave would be 10.14 …. and I don't anticipate installing it on my iMac until at least Mojave 10.14.1 came out (which would include a handful of bug fixes and refinements).

But that's still a world better (in terms of upgrade promptness) compared to the majority of Android users.

 

[elmughrabi]

OK, I have something to say about "Previous Oreo Release is Installed on Just 12% of Devices". Do you know why? because people are getting new phones! they don't stick with the old ones and don't update them.

 

[wossogststepp]

The iOS users not on the latest version is the tech-savvy who managed to stop the phone from auto-updating, or people managing to kepp older phones alive. Both iPhones and iPads are more or less useless unless (wow, 3 less in a row ) you update since Apple throws notifications at you about the same rate as youtube commercials. I think moste people update just to be able to use the phone.
When it comes to Android, even if your phone supports updates, most people never bother, and frankly, since the lifetime of a phone is about 2 years, do you really need the update?

This is pretty much all wrong.
Per Default IOS below 12 has not switched auto-update on.
You get one notification for the update that just sticks in your general settings. The lifespan of some phones in our family is already four years and they still get the latest software on day 1.

 

[pika2000]

OK, I have something to say about "Previous Oreo Release is Installed on Just 12% of Devices". Do you know why? because people are getting new phones! they don't stick with the old ones and don't update them.

The “old” phones here can mean plenty of 2018 phones since many OEMs (even Samsung) still releases new models with Nougat.

It will be more interesting to see the breakdown of those 12% to see how many Oreo devices are devices with a Oreo out of the box or upgraded devices from Nougat.

 

[Velin]

As an Android user, I don't miss having a lot of updates. When I was an Apple user, my phone did slow down quite a bit.

A clean iOS install would fix this. Incremental updates kill performance, especially a major revision. Wipe the iPhone, do a clean install, clean install your apps, and performance will be much better.

 

[YaBe]

Internals are frequently upgraded as Android is very modular. It doesn't require a "whole OS" upgrade. So one could technically be running an older build of Android per se, but with latest internals.

Finally someone who gets it, but you should be banned from Macrumors for making too much sense!

 

[Piggie]

Their little cutesy names for their software updates is insulting to anyone with an IQ over fifteen.

I would agree if it were not for Apple being 100% worse.

Apple "Genius"
Lightning Port.
Retina Display.
Thunderbolt Connector.

Really, are these things named by 12 year olds?

 

[TimmeyCook]

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.

Ahahahah!

What you are basically saying is hat Android developers are FORCED to work with older APIs because of all the obsolete devices out there.

 

[YaBe]

Their little cutesy names for their software updates is insulting to anyone with an IQ over fifteen.

"High" Sierra.... (they even made the "joke" on stage, Craig made a hint hint....) how is that not "insulting"? I mean why when Apple does something is "good" but when someone else does it it is funny?? It is just a name, let's not make a fuss about a name.

We had a list of cat names before, how were not those insulting for anyone back then? It is not like I go around telling people I am running Oreo anyway, it is just a nick name for the OS, to me it is Android 8.

 

[Shanghaichica]

IMO google should just do silent releases of Android from now on. I mean there’s no point making a big deal on a new major release when only Pixel users will be able to get it from the get go. Just do silent upgrades like Chrome and be done with it. That way, consumers are not confused. I mean there are plenty of OEMs still selling NEW devices with Nougat and MM, and even KitKat. Since Google has no interest in encouraging OEMs to do otherwise, then skip the Android version announcements and just silently updates whatever handsets (Pixel) that can be updated.

Why would they do that? They still need to create fanfare around updates to get developers on board. If they don’t get developers on board than the OS will stagnate.
[doublepost=1533625929][/doublepost]

It's not about being able to run it. Obviously, this is an Android kind of philosophy, be able to do anything. It is about how well do they run. And please don't get me started because even though I tend to stick with iOS, I have tried all sort of Android phones. Unless you running some sort of powerful flagship or one of Googles pure Android, the experience is still rubbish. But hey, apparently good enough for some.

Not everyone needs/wants/can afford a flagship so for those people a midrange/budget android phone is good enough.

I’ve never used anything less than a flagship android phone so I can’t really say how a midrange or budget one runs.
[doublepost=1533626029][/doublepost]

I don't normally upgrade right away upon a major Mac or iOS feature release, for example Mojave would be 10.14 …. and I don't anticipate installing it on my iMac until at least Mojave 10.14.1 came out (which would include a handful of bug fixes and refinements).

But that's still a world better (in terms of upgrade promptness) compared to the majority of Android users.

It is better because you are choosing not to upgrade straight away. Non pixel users don’t have a choice.

 

[inkswamp]

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.

Okay, but why should any single customer care about any of this? At the end of the day, upgrading on Android is a bit of a crapshoot. You might get it. You might not. Or you might have to wait a few months for the vendor to get it working. Meanwhile, my wife, who is in no way tech-savvy by any stretch, can (and does) update her iPhone every time there is an update available and it's effortless. Why would anyone want that to be such a hassle?

Also you say most users are choosing for price reasons but then try to explain things away by talking about flagship models. It seems to be all over the map.

Not trying to be rude, and I appreciate your effort to explain, but it comes off a bit apologist sounding. The simple explanation is that Android is a perpetual mess when it comes to versions and upgrades and users lag for that reason. There's no reason most users shouldn't be able to take advantage of the latest versions except there's insufficient financial incentive on the part of the many vendors involved to keep everyone up-to-date and no single entity able to enforce that on behalf of consumers.

 

[Guy Clark]

Lol, if the media did not mention a new iPhone release, most people would not even know the difference unless it was drastic and were hit in the face constantly with adverts/radio and word of mouth from tech enthusiasts that hangout here.
[doublepost=1533599596][/doublepost]

IOS update, would you like to proceed with a software update...

1. Yes, immediately;
2. Yes, maybe later;
3. Yes, maybe later, however keep nagging me till I do; and
4. Yes, remind me in 5 minutes of my choices again, in the event I forgot if I had any.

Indeed and if you don't apply the update third party applications will start to become incompatible with the version of iOS you have chosen to stay with.

 

[Morgenland]

I can tell you anecdotally that nobody I know updates iOS on purpose, in fear of a slower device. Between how aggressive and naggy the iOS updates are and how it subtly auto-installs after you enter the pass code, there's a lot of unintentional updates going on.

Interesting people you know. Fortunately, my experience is a completely different one.
In addition, more recent iOS are mostly optimized internally for speed, meanwhile everything runs super fast even on an old iPhone. I am always impressed because I have several generations of devices, and therefore speak from experience.

About your "problem" with unwanted update: Just deactivate this setting, this is really not expert knowledge.

 

[torana355]

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.

You are speaking way to much sense for this site. Perfectly summed up btw.