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

[Shanghaichica]

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.

I don’t think it’s that simple. If you are someone like Samsung or Huwawei, you have so many differ t devices with your own skin on top. It will take Samsung/Huwawei a long time to optimise each software release for all their different handsets which is why updates take so long and are staggered. Also you have to factor in the carriers as they have to approve the updates and push them out. Due to the nature of android it’s not logistically possible to have everyone get their updates on the same day like iOS. Even pixel phones have staggered releases over several weeks, they don’t get it on the same day like on iOS.

 

[torana355]

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 ?

Imagine having almost every feature you could ask for already in Samsung's Version of Oreo. . Point being is you don't need to be on the latest version of Android when it already does everything you could ask of it, My S9+ is literally perfect other then the battery size.

 

[Morgenland]

Keep in mind the "current install base" chart is world wide. US installs are MUCH higher. I have 20k users on my app and 64.1% are on Oreo and 26% are on Nougat.

What's your statement? Apple's figures are also collected worldwide.
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If Apple didn't make it so difficult for people to choose not to update or gave users the option to downgrade, I bet the number on iOS 11 would be well under 50%. The people I know that are on iOS 11 wish they didn't upgrade.

"The people I know that are on iOS 11 wish they didn't upgrade."
Sure. LOL

 

[Sackofnickels]

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.

My iPad mini II can't run Fortnite (Wont't let me install it), can barely run War Robots, almost unusable. Is the cause iOS or hardware?

 

[Michael Scrip]

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.

Fanfare or not... the developers aren't going anywhere. They wouldn't leave 2 billion potential Android users. That would be insane.

Besides... why would a developer get excited about a particular version of Android that... after one year... only gets installed on 12% of all Android devices?

Or worse... after three years it tops out at only 30% ?

So no... I don't think developers put much thought into these yearly dessert Android OS versions.

But developers do care about API updates... which almost every Google Android™ user gets automatically with Google Play Services updates. Or however that works.

Most developers code their apps to be compatible with the last few API levels anyway. So an app will pretty much work on phones that are a few years old or more.

I can't think of any apps that were built specifically for Oreo... for instance. That wouldn't have been the best idea considering this news today.

 

[Heineken]

Well this gets defensive pretty quickly

 

[cracksoup]

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.

Android 5 Lollipop was released in 2014.
iOS 5 was released in 2011.
How is that a fair comparison?

Android 5 was released in the same time period as iOS 8 and I can assure you that iOS 8 runs perfectly well til this day and is compatible with most apps on the AppStore.

 

[narcolpetic-haze]

It's probably already been mentioned, but I have the Essential phone and the update is already available!

 

[where is it]

They should produce a happiness pie chart. That would be interesting.

I know so many people that were forced to upgrade, knowingly/unknowingly (due to ability) to versions of iOS they didn't really need or want. iOS 11 in particular which removed older 32bit versions of apps they loved.

It's not always good thing to be on the latest version of an OS. Especially when it's not spelt out to you what you are upgrading to. Sometimes it's just good to be able to stick with what you know, especially if it does everything you already need.

 

[BigMac?]

Imagine having almost every feature you could ask for already in Samsung's Version of Oreo. . Point being is you don't need to be on the latest version of Android when it already does everything you could ask of it, My S9+ is literally perfect other then the battery size.

So sad that you think about software updates this way. Software is always a work in progress.

 

[IGI2]

There are reports of Pixel 2 slowing down after a few months of use. MKBHD complained about it, too.

Yes, and this is that episode:

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To be fair Android's version was announced before Apple's screen time

And yet, by the end of the year, 90% of iOS users will have it, while on Android, a maximum of 0.5% users will have Android Pie, even though it is released over one month earlier.

 

[dazzer21-2]

Rather a lot of "similar to iOS..."

 

[BigMac?]

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, too many QA issues with Apple major OS releases in the last number of years.
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Must be some cache files for how AI/ML works or maybe something else for Google to send anonymous data back to HQ. Or maybe some offending app like Facebook.

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.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Imagine having almost every feature you could ask for already in Samsung's Version of Oreo. . Point being is you don't need to be on the latest version of Android when it already does everything you could ask of it, My S9+ is literally perfect other then the battery size.

Agreed. There isn’t any need really to get the latest updates if you have a Samsung flagship because there are so many features backed into the Samsung experience. Lots of which end up being part of stock android years later.

 

[BvizioN]

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?

What you are saying is subjective. I personally see nothing work on these names and I think they are more appropriate to be used on technology.
You being so defensive for Android (having read your posts for years here) on an Apple fan oriented site is kind of cute.

 

[architect1337]

The choice seems to be:

If you don't care about updates or security fixes, buy a low to mid range Android device. Nothing will change.
If you do care about updates and security fixes buy an iPhone or Pixel device.

Most consumer users will buy the first choice. As we know these devices are old and unpatched, I wonder how many of them have actually been compromised in the real world.

 

[BigMac?]

Ok

Agreed. There isn’t any need really to get the latest updates if you have a Samsung flagship because there are so many features backed into the Samsung experience. Lots of which end up being part of stock android years later.

okay okay I got it not more sarcasm please my belly is hurting - to much laughing!

 

[cosmichobo]

Does the Android OS continually ask you to update from earlier versions like iOS does?

Both my tech savvy son and not so so wife have inadvertently ended up upgrading their iPad / iPhone's OS due to the pop up window that prompts the user to upgrade.

Maybe that's how Apple does it...

 

[fat jez]

The choice seems to be:

If you don't care about updates or security fixes, buy a low to mid range Android device. Nothing will change.
If you do care about updates and security fixes buy an iPhone or Pixel device.

I have a mid-range Android device (Nokia 7 Plus). As an Android One device, it's guaranteed two years of updates and security fixes and as it does not have all the customisation that some manufacturers use, it should get those updates quickly.

 

[architect1337]

Does the Android OS continually ask you to update from earlier versions like iOS does?

Both my tech savvy son and not so so wife have inadvertently ended up upgrading their iPad / iPhone's OS due to the pop up window that prompts the user to upgrade.

Maybe that's how Apple does it...

Typically Android is far less intrusive. It basically doesn't bother to update you at all. No pop ups, no nag screens, no updates. Simple for the average person. Security wise? Maybe not so great.

That being said - some manufacturers of the higher end devices do provide updates once stock has been released by Google and you'll get a similar pop up to iOS; each manufacturer uses Android differently though so each device will offer updates depending on the manufacturers whims.
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I have a mid-range Android device (Nokia 7 Plus). As an Android One device, it's guaranteed two years of updates and security fixes and as it does not have all the customisation that some manufacturers use, it should get those updates quickly.

Good to know. How often have updates been rolled out since you bought it? Do you get monthly updates?

 

[alexgowers]

I do like the android os model. Make an OS for all then let manufacturers customise reduces the friction Apple has with hardware specific OS.

It’s a downside that the latest OS is not always available but the apps on android are more like OS features too. It’s a different model and I prefer apples walled garden but it’s an excellent alternative with its own advantages too.

My biggest complaint about iOS is that it’s not available on any other hardware. This is cool when phones are what you want but Apple has been churning out 4 yrs of the same design and then the x was rushed with no size options effectively putting a stop to people upgrading for now.

 

[mingravity]

Keep in mind the "current install base" chart is world wide. US installs are MUCH higher. I have 20k users on my app and 64.1% are on Oreo and 26% are on Nougat.

the app percentage u mentioned doesn't make sense to the argument. it only means more Orea users installed the app than Nougat but not necessarily that there are more Oreo users overall.

 

[Piggie]

What you are saying is subjective. I personally see nothing work on these names and I think they are more appropriate to be used on technology.
You being so defensive for Android (having read your posts for years here) on an Apple fan oriented site is kind of cute.

I don't love Android or anything.
I very much like the way Apple do things.
I am just frustrated as Apple won't make the machine I and millions of other want, and would sell like crazy, and COULD dominate a current sector of the market, if Apple really tried, but they won't as it's not their direction.

I hate the mess Android is in, and I wish Google was more like Apple, actually take control. Stop others messing up Android, lay down the law, the rules and clean it up.
But again they won't.

It's more my frustration than any love or hate.

I do find Apple names cringy though.

Oh this new port is as fast as lightning! despite it being only USB2 speed when launched.

And also the I'm a GENIUS... really? That's so bad.

But perhaps this is very American, and hence why it's a bit cringy in the UK.

MagSafe, yeah, happy with that. Magnetic and Safe if pulled out.

I love many aspects of many machines of many makes.
I also despise many aspect of many machines of many makes.

So many companies need their MD's to get a good slap and told to stop making bad decisions and sort themselves out.

I mean, why are Samsung launching a Bixby Home speaker? The product no-one wants.
And as for the god ugly Pixel 3 that's coming.

 

[BigMac?]

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.

No, that’s not universally true.
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Useable, but vulnerable.

Useable because developers hesitate implementing/desiring the latest APIs.
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The thing that is wrong about the way iOS upgrades are issued is that there is no way to rollback should you want to for whatever reason.

That’s not true. For some days you can roll back until Apple stops signing the older version.

 

[MacBH928]

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