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- Aug 20, 2006
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It has been nearly a year since the previous version of Android debuted, so it is time for the annual articles on how poor the distribution is and what Google is going to do to “fix” the update process. Recent vulnerability issues with things like StageFright certainly aren't helping.
Unfortunately, there’s no sign (beyond a little bit of psychology) that Google is able to force through a change that would improve the update situation in 2016. That alone speaks both to the weakness of Android, and the weakness of Google in the ecosystem. With more commercial pressures likely to be placed on Android manufacturers next year to reduce both the build cost and the ongoing support costs to maximise the profit in the low-margin high-volume market spaces, it’s unlikely that Android is going to improve on its ability to update itself one a handset leaves the factory.
Unfortunately, there’s no sign (beyond a little bit of psychology) that Google is able to force through a change that would improve the update situation in 2016. That alone speaks both to the weakness of Android, and the weakness of Google in the ecosystem. With more commercial pressures likely to be placed on Android manufacturers next year to reduce both the build cost and the ongoing support costs to maximise the profit in the low-margin high-volume market spaces, it’s unlikely that Android is going to improve on its ability to update itself one a handset leaves the factory.