Nexus line to blame for slow OS upgrades on other Android devices?

[pyroscott]

I was reading this article, and the following quote caught my attention and got me thinking:

For the most hardcore Android users, this isn't much solace, and they will always continue to cry out about getting slow upgrades. Although, it is always curious when people cry about a lack of/slow upgrades, but don't purchase Nexus devices or complain directly to carriers. It would make sense that manufacturers losing sales to Nexus would be motivation to push upgrades faster, and complaints are the only way to get carriers to move faster on pushing them out to users.

 

Anyone else think this a viable theory? Are the sales of Samsung's Galaxy S series, HTC's One + EVO lines, etc showing manufacturers that prompt updates are not that much of a priority to smartphone buyers? I know the Nexus line may not be as appealing to some because it is usually released several months after the aforementioned flagships hit shelves, with roughly the same hardware components, so is it fair for the OEMs to devalue software upgrades on the reasoning that the Nexus line is not outselling their flagships?

[themuffinman]

I was reading this article, and the following quote caught my attention and got me thinking:

 

 

Anyone else think this a viable theory? Are the sales of Samsung's Galaxy S series, HTC's One + EVO lines, etc showing manufacturers that prompt updates are not that much of a priority to smartphone buyers? I know the Nexus line may not be as appealing to some because it is usually released several months after the aforementioned flagships hit shelves, with roughly the same hardware components, so is it fair for the OEMs to devalue software upgrades on the reasoning that the Nexus line is not outselling their flagships?

 

For the most part only an extremely small fraction of android users can come straight out and tell you what version of android they are using, so basically I agree with this statement. The average consumer really don't care, they just want it to work.

[pyroscott]

For the most part only an extremely small fraction of android users can come straight out and tell you what version of android they are using, so basically I agree with this statement. The average consumer really don't care, they just want it to work.

 

Yeah, I see that with the wife. She chose her last phone because it was running the same version of Android, even though the GNex was released at the time and she could have gone to ICS. I guess I spend too much time in the nerdery...

[Feech]

It's a good theory but I think it's flawed. The problem with the Nexus line is that it hasn't had an identity. The original idea was that Google would have a way to push its services without carrier interference. The problem with that was the US customer its not used to the non subsidy model.

 

Then Google decided to abandon that and go the carrier route. The problem with that is they decided to do a stagger thing with the carriers and couldn't get the Nexus on the carriers at the same time.

 

I think the issue now is the manufacturers have no incentive to compete with the Nexus because they are competing with themselves..HTC and Samsung have both made Nexus devices but with weak hardware compared to what they came out with months later. It's going to be interesting to see what Motorola does going forward. They may have said the Nexus line will be open to competition but that doesn't have to stop Motorola from making a device stock with kick ass hardware

 

One other thing too since this is a Sprint related site. There is more than one way to gain customers besides pricing and network. This segment of customers who are dying for stock Android and faster updates are currently not being targeted in anyway by the carriers, and it's a way Sprint could exploit. How many customers could Sprint gain with unlocked bootloader and stock Android on board with timely updates? Think about all the XDA users they could tap. The developer community is large and loyal. Something to think about.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[themuffinman]

It's a good theory but I think it's flawed. The problem with the Nexus line is that it hasn't had an identity. The original idea was that Google would have a way to push its services without carrier interference. The problem with that was the US customer its not used to the non subsidy model.

 

Then Google decided to abandon that and go the carrier route. The problem with that is they decided to do a stagger thing with the carriers and couldn't get the Nexus on the carriers at the same time.

 

I think the issue now is the manufacturers have no incentive to compete with the Nexus because they are competing with themselves..HTC and Samsung have both made Nexus devices but with weak hardware compared to what they came out with months later. It's going to be interesting to see what Motorola does going forward. They may have said the Nexus line will be open to competition but that doesn't have to stop Motorola from making a device stock with kick ass hardware

 

One other thing too since this is a Sprint related site. There is more than one way to gain customers besides pricing and network. This segment of customers who are dying for stock Android and faster updates are currently not being targeted in anyway by the carriers, and it's a way Sprint could exploit. How many customers could Sprint gain with unlocked bootloader and stock Android on board with timely updates? Think about all the XDA users they could tap. The developer community is large and loyal. Something to think about.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

I do agree with the first part of your post, google got it a little wrong when it came to getting the nexus into peoples hands but I really don't think they were aiming for record sales with nexus devices anyway. Why would they push nexus devices when all these other devices are all running android in some form anyway, so its a win win for them. Also this large and loyal hardcore community you speak of pails in comparison to the overall population of your standard everyday consumers; not only that but not every hardcore user wants a pure android device, so at the end of the day the market for pure android devices is way to small. You have to cater to your main audience first, thats why these OEM's are putting so much work into custom feautures and custom UI's. When customers walk in, they see all the eye candy from touchwiz/sense...etc. then they look at the nexus and go "thats just too plain looking", not to mention less features out of the box and end up buying a gs3/onex/evo/iphone. I mean seriously, the one and only advantage of owning a nexus is timely updates but that same advantage is on the bottom of the priority list when it comes to the average person buying a phone.

[Bob Newhart]

I mean seriously, the one and only advantage of owning a nexus is timely updates but that same advantage is on the bottom of the priority list when it comes to the average person buying a phone.

 

I disagree.

 

The huge advantage over a nexus device is that they lack all the bloatware that both the phone manufacturer and the cell company install on there.

 

I equate Android on a nexus to technical Lego and Android on anything else to Duplo Lego.

[themuffinman]

I disagree.

 

The huge advantage over a nexus device is that they lack all the bloatware that both the phone manufacturer and the cell company install on there.

 

I equate Android on a nexus to technical Lego and Android on anything else to Duplo Lego.

 

I really don't consider this a huge advantage for the simple reason that the type of person that is gonna complain about bloatware will more than likely root and remove said bloatware anyway. If there was no way to remove bloatware from lets say a gs3 or an evo lte then I can see the huge advantage. Also keep in mind that bloatware are apps/software that you absolutely have no use for but that in itself can differ from user to user so what is bloatware for you may not be bloatware for me.

[Feech]

 

 

I disagree.

 

The huge advantage over a nexus device is that they lack all the bloatware that both the phone manufacturer and the cell company install on there.

 

I equate Android on a nexus to technical Lego and Android on anything else to Duplo Lego.

 

The timely updates was cool until the Nexus with Sprint.. It took forever for that update to come. Is the Galaxy Nexus with Sprint have ICS or JB yet?

 

The reason I chase hardware instead of software is because I know the community will get root and stock on my device which is what I really want.

[pyroscott]

I really don't consider this a huge advantage for the simple reason that the type of person that is gonna complain about bloatware will more than likely root and remove said bloatware anyway. If there was no way to remove bloatware from lets say a gs3 or an evo lte then I can see the huge advantage. Also keep in mind that bloatware are apps/software that you absolutely have no use for but that in itself can differ from user to user so what is bloatware for you may not be bloatware for me.

 

The problem with this is that the manufacturers do not release AOSP for the devices, making it difficult/time consuming for developers to build a ROM from scratch, so you end up with modified OEM software or software that has "quirks." You can go Cyanogen (if available for your device), but that still has "bloat", but they do a really good job of adding a lot of features and additional controls.

 

It is difficult to unlock some non-nexus devices, and some of them lose functionality when the bootloader is unlocked. Of course Sony and Samsung are unlock-friendly, HTC is somewhat unlock-friendly (as long as you use their method.)

 

There is no arguing with the fact that if you want to unlock/root/load custom ROMs with the least risk to bricking your handset, Nexus is the way to go. If you want to stay away from the development community, and still get great software support and timely upgrades, Nexus is the way to go. If you want a manufacturer skin, or to try your hand at the few decent ROMs out there for a given handset, you go OEM.

[twospirits]

Speaking of such things, whatever happen with Samsung hiring Steve Kondik. has anything beared fruit from that hiring?

As much as i like CyanogenMod, it seems that most of the phones I've bought just can't use their roms. Something is always not working like I lose 4G, or the camera isn't working well etc etc.

 

TS

[pyroscott]

Speaking of such things, whatever happen with Samsung hiring Steve Kondik. has anything beared fruit from that hiring?

As much as i like CyanogenMod, it seems that most of the phones I've bought just can't use their roms. Something is always not working like I lose 4G, or the camera isn't working well etc etc.

 

TS

 

I have not seen anything. I'm sure he feels like a fox working in the hen house.

[centermedic]

I disagree.

 

The huge advantage over a nexus device is that they lack all the bloatware that both the phone manufacturer and the cell company install on there.

 

I equate Android on a nexus to technical Lego and Android on anything else to Duplo Lego.

 

I really don't consider this a huge advantage for the simple reason that the type of person that is gonna complain about bloatware will more than likely root and remove said bloatware anyway. If there was no way to remove bloatware from lets say a gs3 or an evo lte then I can see the huge advantage. Also keep in mind that bloatware are apps/software that you absolutely have no use for but that in itself can differ from user to user so what is bloatware for you may not be bloatware for me.

I agree with Mr. Gumdrop Belly Buttons. The same type of user who could not tell you what version of android they are running is the same type that does not even know what bloatware is. I think we tend to assume that most people are knowledgeable when the reality is most are not.

[koiulpoi]

Most Android users may not know what version of Android they're on, but they usually know the difference. "Why can't I download this app?" "Why does my phone run so much slower than new phone X?" Or, my favorite, the LG Optimus S had a bad update to 2.3, so Sprint rolled them all back to 2.2... leading to complaints from people about wanting the "new technology" back.

 

Which, for security reasons alone, I think device manufacturers need to get on the ball. Said Optimus S will never be updated past 2.3.4, and there are occasionally people who start new Sprint contracts or upgrade to it. Twenty months on buggy, insecure Gingerbread? Ew.

[pyroscott]

Most Android users may not know what version of Android they're on' date=' but they usually know the difference. "Why can't I download this app?" "Why does my phone run so much slower than new phone X?" Or, my favorite, the LG Optimus S had a bad update to 2.3, so Sprint rolled them all back to 2.2... leading to complaints from people about wanting the "new technology" back.

 

Which, for security reasons alone, I think device manufacturers need to get on the ball. Said Optimus S will never be updated past 2.3.4, and there are occasionally people who start new Sprint contracts or upgrade to it. Twenty months on buggy, insecure Gingerbread? Ew.[/quote']

 

They still sell the optimus s? The only thing that phone is good for is crime deterrent

[Sgt. Slaughter]

Speaking of such things, whatever happen with Samsung hiring Steve Kondik. has anything beared fruit from that hiring?

As much as i like CyanogenMod, it seems that most of the phones I've bought just can't use their roms. Something is always not working like I lose 4G, or the camera isn't working well etc etc.

 

TS

 

Well seeing as how cyanogenmod just dropped support for exynos devices going forward till samsung starts providing proper documentation.....I'd say not much as of yet...

 

Saw this posted around earlier the other day, honestly cpuldnt believe it. Saying Samsung though fast on source code, they release crap code for exynos devices compared to Qualcomm.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[pyroscott]

 

Well seeing as how cyanogenmod just dropped support for exynos devices going forward till samsung starts providing proper documentation.....I'd say not much as of yet...

 

Saw this posted around earlier the other day' date=' honestly cpuldnt believe it. Saying Samsung though fast on source code, they release crap code for exynos devices compared to Qualcomm.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2[/quote']

 

Interesting, considering the ties back to cyanogen mod and Samsung being as development friendly as they are (I always saw Samsung being right behind Sony for being easy to unlock and being friendly to developers)

 

I guess cyanogen mod is trying to flex their collective muscle and convince Sammy to straighten up. Not that it will make a huge dent in sales if they end support, but sales are sales, and it doesn't take much to release the code...

[koiulpoi]

They still sell the optimus s? The only thing that phone is good for is crime deterrent

Heh, I like that ad. My favorite part is that it implies through saying "on the Sprint Power Vision network", while off-network or roaming, your phone loses the "crime deterrent" functions like the rest... making it somehow incapable of being thrown.

 

And, yes, the Optimus S was on sale up until a couple months ago. There's probably a few retail stores that still have stock, giving it away for free on a new/up.

[9erHater]

The Nexus line also has some limitations like no MicroSD slot, which is a blocker for me. The great thing about Android is that there are choices.

[pyroscott]

The Nexus line also has some limitations like no MicroSD slot, which is a blocker for me. The great thing about Android is that there are choices.

 

Yeah, it does kinda suck. I really haven't missed the MicroSD card, except in the Nexus 7. Thank goodness for USB OTG.

[strung]

Pre-Paid is the new rage

 

ting.com and Straight Talk.

 

People are more willing to buy devices since the plans don't include a "phone on layaway". Hopefully this will propel the Nexus line

 

And lots of people are buying iPhones full price to use on T-mobile. So it's turning around in the US that people are getting used to the idea

[Mondays In Flames]

Pre-Paid is the new rage

 

ting.com and Straight Talk.

 

People are more willing to buy devices since the plans don't include a "phone on layaway". Hopefully this will propel the Nexus line

 

And lots of people are buying iPhones full price to use on T-mobile. So it's turning around in the US that people are getting used to the idea

 

I don't really see how Pre-Paid is the "new rage" when companies has more post paid customer bases than Pre-Paids. Many of the people that I know that use iPhones on T-mo they do it throught trades or craigslist, etc,. I know of very few people who would sheel out close to $600 for a phone, let alone to use the phone on only 2g network speeds.

 

 

-Luis

[strung]

post paid has more base. but pre paid has more growth

[Mondays In Flames]

post paid has more base. but pre paid has more growth

 

Don't companies that operate on Pre-paid also have the highest customer loss?

[hescominsoon]

I really don't consider this a huge advantage for the simple reason that the type of person that is gonna complain about bloatware will more than likely root and remove said bloatware anyway. If there was no way to remove bloatware from lets say a gs3 or an evo lte then I can see the huge advantage. Also keep in mind that bloatware are apps/software that you absolutely have no use for but that in itself can differ from user to user so what is bloatware for you may not be bloatware for me.

I'm a nexus owner and frankly i specifically chose the galaxy nexus so i wouldn't have to root to remove the bloatware.

[dedub]

Everything that can be downloaded from the market, but can't be removed from the phone, is bloatware.

 

Anything that is carrier specific and can't be removed from the phone, is bloatware.

 

Just because some people some where may use something at some time, doesn't make it not bloatware.