ComputerBox34
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2003
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http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013...oems-step-aside-google-is-defragging-android/
With Google Play Services, it looks like Google as largely worked around the issue of "fragmentation" - they simply built into Android a closed source delivery platform where they can drop whatever they want onto your phone, whenver they want with no consultation from carriers, users, or OEMs. Pretty ingenious. OS updates seem to be nothing more than kernel updates at this point - making the OS run smoother (project butter) and UI tweaks.
I wish tech blogs would stop looking at Android as being the same exact thing across all devices like iOS is - it's not. Every OEM has it's own skin, specific features and gimmicks, and different UI. Android is merely an ecosystem now, all tied together with Google's services and the Play Store.
This gets even more interesting when you consider the implications for future versions of Android. What will the next version of Android have? Well, what is left for it to have? Android is now on more of a steady, continual improvement track than an all-at-once opening of the floodgates like we last saw with Android 4.1. It seems like Google has been slowly moving down this path for some time; the last three releases have all kept the name "Jelly Bean." Huge, monolithic Android OS updates are probably over"extinct" may be a more appropriate term.
With Google Play Services, it looks like Google as largely worked around the issue of "fragmentation" - they simply built into Android a closed source delivery platform where they can drop whatever they want onto your phone, whenver they want with no consultation from carriers, users, or OEMs. Pretty ingenious. OS updates seem to be nothing more than kernel updates at this point - making the OS run smoother (project butter) and UI tweaks.
I wish tech blogs would stop looking at Android as being the same exact thing across all devices like iOS is - it's not. Every OEM has it's own skin, specific features and gimmicks, and different UI. Android is merely an ecosystem now, all tied together with Google's services and the Play Store.