Phones selling with old Android Systems

neyney Posts: 12,516
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Why is it some new phones still come with Android 4.0 or 4.1.
You would think most new Android phones would come with at lest Android 4.2 or 4.2.2.
Ideal World has been showing a new smartphone and it only has Android 4.0 on it. QVC had a phone other week and it came with Android 4.1..
My sisters friend got a Sony Xperia SP 5 weeks ago and it came with Android 4.1 but has since had an update to Android 4.2.

Darren

Comments

  • Richard_TRichard_T Posts: 5,159
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    Its one of androids ( few) weaknesses against Apples iOS .
    There are Hundreds of thousands of different android devices out there from lots of different manufacturers, and each manufacturer has to approve test and spend time on an official update to a newer version of android for an older product.
    If the device is a budget android device then the software support form the manufacturer usually ends when you take it out of the box.

    apple control both the hardware and the software and as a result updates can be pushed out faster and easier than with android and the vast amount of devices on the market.
  • finbaarfinbaar Posts: 4,818
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    Because the majority of people don't care and the phones will work just fine. Of course we are bothered about updates but we are not the norm.
  • neyney Posts: 12,516
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    Glad I now have a Nexus 4 as it will get updates for the next year or two. So will my just over 14 month old Nexus 7 tablet.
    I had an HTC Desire S for just under 2 years up until nearly 10 weeks ago and was never a full 100% happy with it due to signal Issues now and again.
    I know someone that's got the HTC One running an old Android 4.1.2 and say the signal issues on older HTC phones seems to have been sorted on the HTC One.

    Darren
  • TerryHTerryH Posts: 1,063
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    finbaar wrote: »
    Because the majority of people don't care and the phones will work just fine. Of course we are bothered about updates but we are not the norm.
    Agree with this.

    Most people don't care what version of Android (or any other OS) their phone has as long as it does what they want it to do when they buy it.

    I like getting the latest updates but as long as my phone works like it did when I bought it, any update with extra features is a bonus.
  • konebyvaxkonebyvax Posts: 9,120
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    finbaar wrote: »
    Because the majority of people don't care and the phones will work just fine. Of course we are bothered about updates but we are not the norm.


    100% agree with this. It's only obsessives like us that worry about having the latest OS on their phones.
  • swordmanswordman Posts: 6,679
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    Even the latest updates is sometimes overplayed I mean if you take say the Galaxy s2 against the Galaxy nexus is the functionality of the s2 any less than the Nexus after all this time.
  • jabbamk1jabbamk1 Posts: 8,942
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    ney wrote: »
    Why is it some new phones still come with Android 4.0 or 4.1.
    You would think most new Android phones would come with at lest Android 4.2 or 4.2.2.
    Ideal World has been showing a new smartphone and it only has Android 4.0 on it. QVC had a phone other week and it came with Android 4.1..
    My sisters friend got a Sony Xperia SP 5 weeks ago and it came with Android 4.1 but has since had an update to Android 4.2.

    Darren

    Without Googling it. Tell me exactly what 4.2 can do that 4.1 or 4.0 cant do?
  • BKMBKM Posts: 6,912
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    Without Googling it. Tell me exactly what 4.2 can do that 4.1 or 4.0 cant do?
    There are sometimes changes to the UI but what is most valuable is any improvements to the power management - these tend to be scattered around the OS and can lead to significantly better battery life!
  • soransoran Posts: 1,644
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    A lot of the cheap PAYG Android phones still run 2.3 Gingerbread with low res 480 x 320 screens, but they still make calls, send texts, have apps, and access the internet. For the vast majority of people this is all they need.
  • Zack06Zack06 Posts: 28,304
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    Richard_T wrote: »
    Its one of androids ( few) weaknesses against Apples iOS .
    There are Hundreds of thousands of different android devices out there from lots of different manufacturers, and each manufacturer has to approve test and spend time on an official update to a newer version of android for an older product.
    If the device is a budget android device then the software support form the manufacturer usually ends when you take it out of the box.

    apple control both the hardware and the software and as a result updates can be pushed out faster and easier than with android and the vast amount of devices on the market.

    It's not a weakness at all. Especially now that Google have made core Android services and components separate from the OS and instead updateable via Google Play.

    Because of this, you don't need to be on the latest version to have the most up-to-date services and features as most of these are updated via Google Play and not an entire system update.

    This also makes newer features available to more Android users faster. Where iOS users have to update their entire OS version, an Android 4.x user simply has to update their apps in Google Play (which can be automatic) to get the latest features, save for the under the hood improvements found in the newer versions.
  • TheSlothTheSloth Posts: 18,708
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    I wouidn't have it any other way.

    It's identical to PC vs Mac - the former has several versions of the OS floating around depending on how long the system has been in the retailer's/user's possession. Added to that, the variety of hardware configurations is almost endless. Despite all the driver, compatibility and update issues, many PC users like the flexibility, choice and customability.

    Newer versions of the OS bring new features but also, inevitably, make more demands of the hardware - so several generations of software to support equitable generations of hardware.is a good thing but it also gives the users the choice to upgrade should they wish to (eikther offiically or through flashing a custom ROM in Android's case).

    My Galaxy S was fine running Froyo and then Gingerbread but then official firmware updates stopped. As time went on, I felt left behind so flashed a custom Jelly Bean ROM and it breathed new life into relatively (in phone terms) old hardware. That was mainly thanks to improvements Goofgle had made to the maturing Android OS (e.g. Project Butter introduced under 4.1).

    I don't want to be anchored to a specific set of hardware and/or software. I want to upgrade both my hardware and software when I want to, not when someone else wants me too.

    The open source aspect is also contributing as fixes and innovations are nudged along by a thriving support community. That why I believe Android has caught up with and now surpassed (in my opinion) iOS as a mobile OS.

    I hope the Nexus 5 is as good as it sounds (for the money) as that will, as others have said, means a longer official update timeline (not to mention vanilla Android as it should be).
  • kidspudkidspud Posts: 18,341
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    Zack06 wrote: »
    It's not a weakness at all. Especially now that Google have made core Android services and components separate from the OS and instead updateable via Google Play.

    Because of this, you don't need to be on the latest version to have the most up-to-date services and features as most of these are updated via Google Play and not an entire system update.

    This also makes newer features available to more Android users faster. Where iOS users have to update their entire OS version, an Android 4.x user simply has to update their apps in Google Play (which can be automatic) to get the latest features, save for the under the hood improvements found in the newer versions.

    I've heard this theory banded around a few times but I'm not convinced. Could you give me an example of this in action? What core features (as oppose to just a app update) has been released on the play store, and how do I know my phone is meant to have it.
  • tdensontdenson Posts: 5,773
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    Without Googling it. Tell me exactly what 4.2 can do that 4.1 or 4.0 cant do?

    A couple of things come immediately to my mind because I was waiting for them on my HTC One - User accounts and triple tapping with one finger to globally zoom the display.
  • finbaarfinbaar Posts: 4,818
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    jabbamk1 wrote: »
    Without Googling it. Tell me exactly what 4.2 can do that 4.1 or 4.0 cant do?

    Really? Right 4.1 introduced Google Now with voice search and project butter. 4.2 introduced lock screen widgets that 360 camera and multiple accounts if you have a tablet.
  • Zack06Zack06 Posts: 28,304
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    kidspud wrote: »
    I've heard this theory banded around a few times but I'm not convinced. Could you give me an example of this in action? What core features (as oppose to just a app update) has been released on the play store, and how do I know my phone is meant to have it.

    Google Play Services, Google Search and many more are all services that Google have been breaking away from the system and making them updateable via Google Play.

    The device will usually alert you of apps on the system that need to be updated, if you haven't set apps to update automatically, so there is minimal input required by the user.
  • enapaceenapace Posts: 4,303
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    4.3 is a more important update then 4.2 in my opinion. 4.2 was good though for the quick toggles.
  • cnbcwatchercnbcwatcher Posts: 56,681
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    soran wrote: »
    A lot of the cheap PAYG Android phones still run 2.3 Gingerbread with low res 480 x 320 screens, but they still make calls, send texts, have apps, and access the internet. For the vast majority of people this is all they need.

    Yeah mine has Gingerbread and as long as I can use the apps I want on it I won't upgrade until I need a new phone again.
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