Openness has always been Android ’s ravisher and its curse . Google ’s mobile operating system is available to any manufacturer that wants a slice , meaning you see it everywhere ! It ’s also historically been a place for ironware specialists and carriers to bend their software musculus , lead to custom alterations — skin — that often leave an elegant smartphone solution ugly , unusable , or both .
in conclusion , that ’s about to change . Thank goodness .
concord to Bloomberg , Googlehas spent the last several monthstightening the reign on its Android collaborator . They ’re having licensee sign “ non - fragmentation clause ” that give Mountain View final say over the program tweaks that can lame a perfectly good phone . The OEMs are up in arms , obviously , but they should n’t be . Because what Google ’s doing is making sure consumer know incisively what they ’re acquire . They ’re making “ Android ” mean something again .
The heavy problem often is n’t the skins themselves . Many people find HTC Sense to be a welcome improvement over stock Android , while others — someone out there , I ’m sure — may stab Motorola ’s societal - savvy Motoblur . But the more aggressively companies manipulate Android , the longer their customer have to expect for firmware update that bring crucial services . Some handsets end up never being updated at all . No , really … it’sbad out there .
Even worse , handset manufacturer continuouslyrelease ware with outdated versions of Android , either because ofinternal foot - drag or carrier demand . Anyone who bribe the Dell Aero last August may have technically been buying an Android telephone set , but at the time it was a three - contemporaries old version of Android .
https://gizmodo.com/please-stop-making-new-phones-with-old-firmware-5620828
So if Google wants to keep its partners in crinkle to undertake a logical substance abuser experience , so be it . It ’s their platform , and their rightfield to plant some much - needed calibre control . It ’s the firmware version of the brain-teaser Microsoft face up with Windows Mobile , when an absence of hardware requirements resulted in an ecosystem so messy they had to junk the whole thing and embark on over with WP7 .
Yes , there are some concerns that Google could overplay its paw , as with report that they ’re blackmail Verizon to strike down Bing from some phones . But the core issue — that consumers deserve an Android label that means something — is one that Google ’s long overdue in address . well late than never . [ Bloomberg ]
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