I don't really take sides in the Android-versus-Apple smartphone religious wars. Both platforms have their merits, and I have a hard time relating to people who get their data in a wad over this stuff.
Occasionally, though, I come across a bit of information that sheds some interesting light on the differences between the two platforms.
In this case, honestly, Android doesn't come off looking too good.
Actually, let me correct that. Android comes off fine. It's the handset makers using Android that come off looking bad.
Check out the accompanying chart. (Click on the image to get a full-size view.) Blogger Michael Degusta put it together, and I find it fascinating. Here's what he's doing:
I went back and found every Android phone shipped in the United States up through the middle of last year. I then tracked down every update that was released for each device - be it a major OS upgrade or a minor support patch - as well as prices and release & discontinuation dates. I compared these dates & versions to the currently shipping version of Android at the time. The resulting picture isn’t pretty - well, not for Android users:
The chart does the same thing for Apple iPhones up through the iPhone 4 (released in June, 2010). As Degusta notes, he stops at the middle of last year so that the handsets he lists here have enough of a history to make useful comparisons.
The first thing you'll note is that iPhones tend to get updated with the latest version of iOS during at least the first three years after they hit the market. The second thing you'll see is that the opposite is true of any Android handset released before June, 2010. (The HTC Nexus One comes close.)
Now, maybe that's relevant, maybe it isn't. Having the latest, greatest version of Android on your smartphone isn't necessarily important if the previous version still does what you need it to do.
The chart also, however, shows which Android phones get at least support updates -- including critical security updates. Degusta notes that 11 of the 18 Android phones shown in the chart stopped getting any support updates less than a year after they hit the market.
I'll say it again: That includes security updates.
Some people say this isn't a problem -- they root their Android phones and simply install whatever OS they want.
Good for them. About 10 percent of the population is willing and able to do this. For the rest of us, it's not an option. And bear in mind: Given a two-year standard contract, a lot of people are stuck with the phones they choose long after the vendors quit supporting them.
I would like to say that at least some vendors are better than others at keeping up with Android updates -- even basic updates. And it's true, in relative terms, that HTC does a better job than Motorola.
In absolute terms, though, it's a pretty grim picture all around.
(And really, is this entirely the vendor's fault? Do the carriers share the blame? It's a good question, given the roundabout way that Android updates get distributed, although at the end of the day it doesn't matter much to the users who suffer as a result.)
I don't know if this would be enough to make me avoid Android smartphones completely. It does, however, serve as a warning that Android handset vendors are more focused on pushing the Next Big Thing than they are on supporting the Last Big Thing.
Buyer beware.
