Google has one of the most widely used operating systems in the mobile market today and with more companies coming out with devices that are powered by it, the company reportedly bringing a new policy that will limit the amount of devices running on older software. Android releases the numbers for what Android versions are being used each month and believe it or not, Android Froyo is still out there somewhere. With that being said, a leaked document showed up online this week that suggests that Google is looking to put an end to new devices running older versions of the software.
According to one online source, Google would like smartphone makers like Samsung, HTC, LG, ZTE, Motorola and others to abide by a simple rule; if you develop a smartphone that has access to the Google Services Framework and Google Play Store, it must be running the most recent version of Android. Google has been criticized over the years for the fragmentation of the Android operating software and if this policy does go into effect, it will certainly curtail some of that on mobile devices. There is never a guarantee that it will come to a complete stop, but at least the policy is in place to follow up with.
Reports claim that Google thinks it to be unwise for companies to even release a smartphone that does not have the latest and greatest from the Android team. In the smartphone game, there is no reason to bring a new smartphone, entry level or not, to the market place, with Android 2.3 installed on it. Android 4.4 KitKat is certainly a viable option for most new smartphones and the company thinks that would be the way to go with any new smartphone.
The information that was leaked was being sent to “at least one major Android OEM partner from the Android Team.” In the leaked memo, Google states, “Starting February 2014, Google will no longer approve GMS distribution on new Android products that ship older platform releases. Each platform release will have a “GMS approval window” that typically closes nine months after the next Android platform release is publicly available. (In other words, we all have nine months to get new products on the latest platform after its public release.) The policy could only mean good things, especially for the smartphone user.
February 21, 2014 at 6:31 pm
I wish google would let vendors go crazy with the skins, features, apps, whatever. But to get the GMS distribution it must be easy and straight forward for the end user to switch to a pure google experience like the google play htc one or s4.
That way if the skin is better, great, if not the user can switch. That would provide an incentive for the carriers to not annoy users with crapware popping notifications for extra services. I had a phone that popped a notification for every local NFL game, which I couldn’t block or uninstall.