If you haven't noticed already, EE are quite biased towards Apple. As long as iPhone users have a good experience, that's the main thing. Us 'droid folk pick up the scraps!

It's hardly bias that the whole Android OS system in regards to supporting carrier features is a complete mess.

Carrier updates for iPhones make supporting new features much easier.

Android still has the feeling of something that's still in Beta sometimes !

I don't think we want to start an Android vs iOS debate in here. Otherwise the next 500 pages will just be about that!

Android has so many variants and skins, it's definitely confusing at times - for people who own multiple devices or swap regularly. For most people, who have one phone, it's whats it is and people get on just fine.

800 seems to be out there as I have been connected to band 20 since the supposed release date.
However it's only when I'm downstairs and doesn't seem strong.

Although I'm on o2 (Band 20) I find, when I'm at home, it connects to 4G fine-once I'm in my bedroom it falls back to 3G.

That will be from one of the VoLTE unrestricted sites. All devices can currently connect to these. You'll generally only see it indoors though where it sometimes manages to get a little further than 2G. Probably when you go upstairs the higher priority of 2G/3G/4G1800 overrides it.

O2's 4G800 isn't run on full power as it needs to CSFB to either G/U900 or U2100.

Picked up some "new" 800 yesterday which wasn't previously on cellmapper, so either there are some sites gone "properly" live, or it's another testing one

It's not a mess though. We've been through this so many times here: Android has had the same kind of carrier update system as iOS since about version 5. For some unknown reason the carriers just can't be bothered to use it.

As I've said a load of times now. It's more than just carrier settings on Android. There needs to be extra code, drivers in effect, on the device. Once that's done, the settings may as well as be installed in the ROM anyway.

Google isn't providing an IMS stack, rather the manufacturers are doing their own. It's a stupid situation because it means the code may work for Three, not not EE, or vice versa. And networks have to test each handset out, whereas if it was just part of native Android, it could test one phone and assume they'd all work (yes, still testing needed but no likely surprises and a much shorter process).

You cannot currently just send some text to an Android phone and set it up for VoLTE. Maybe you will one day if the industry bashes heads together and says 'enough is enough' but this is something where Apple has no such problems.

Indeed, even Microsoft can manage VoLTE better because of the way it does things.

It's also been said that it's not as easy as that.

It doesn't matter what Android technically can do, the reality is VoLTE and WiFi Calling support on Android is ridiculous.

Where's I can just buy an iPhone from any retailer and it just works.

Of course what Android doesn't have is the Church of Scientology dictating the networks' script in the background...

The Pixel shows how VoLTE and WiFi Calling can be done but as above, Android is just awful for unified anything. It all really comes back to the fragmentation issue which Google could have sorted but instead they've just gone with the Pixel instead.

Why isn't Google up for providing an IMS stack? Is it out of wariness of stepping on the manufacturers' toes?

Nothing to do with Apple. Just a coincidence. This thread title will come true now..

Is that a next week launch now??

Manufacturers seem to want to develop and 'own' their own. I guess there could be native Android code that some of the smaller companies could use.

Some Chinese-made phones support VoLTE (although not always in the UK, but rather places like India) so perhaps there is off the shelf code available. But the big companies still want to do things themselves.

Apple only has its own devices, so can't really be compared.

It doesn't though as volte on three isn't supported

Extra text on http://ee.co.uk/help/phones-and-device/4g-calling (expand "How to switch on 4G Calling"):


So confirming what people are reporting above.

The delay was nothing to do with Apple, iPhones or new IOS versions. They can roll out a carrier update independently to new iOS updates and can force the phone to ask the user to upgrade, at any time.

It is and was working on provisioned phones with the latest iOS and latest carrier update.... no issues.

I see Georgie-boy is still losing his sh*t over on the EE community forums...

I hadn't realised he was on there too. He's probably causing the hold up now!

It's about time Google limited Android customisation to apps that bolt on to stock Android.

Surely it can't be too difficult for OEMs to have their dialers, contact apps, photo apps etc be distributed via the Play Store. So that all Android phones are running the same base OS, this would also make it easier for OEMs to release updates as they don't have to mess with so much Android code?

Maybe Goggle could add theming API's so OEMs can keep their custom looks.