Android’s latest update, the 4.2.2 is a failing story so far for many reasons. Firstly, it doesn’t have that many new features. There are subtle differences like a new app installation progress bar, easier Wi-Fi settings, alerts when the battery is low and longer vibration option for all kinds of notifications. Other than these, the update was only meant for minor stability issues and bug patches.
These are all useful, but not enough to make a user stop and spend those precious few minutes on the update anyway. One useful user that people will tell you about is the option to have the phone LTE-disabled. This is not true because the OS never had LTE, just a hacked version that pretended to be LTE. So really, there’s no point in trying to update to the new Android software.
And anyway, you are most likely to not get the upgrade even if you tried. This is because Google updates can’t simply be downloaded from Google, as one would expect. Android software comes to users from mobile carriers, who in turn buy it from manufacturers. This is because each manufacturer molds and modifies the software, and develops skins or apps, so as to give its phones a unique identity. Are these modifications necessary? Not at all.
But they are there, and they are making life hard for users. Because of this fragmentation, every Android phone actually runs a different version of Android. A majority are still stuck with the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and the 2.3 Ginger Bread – versions that are frustratingly clumsy and slow compared with the 4.2 Jelly Bean. But manufacturers are reluctant to upgrade because they have put their resources behind customizing one particular version.
This is a really unfortunate process, that hasn’t been seen by any operating software so far. People expect OS updates to be easily available and even free. People usually complain that they have to pay for Mac and Windows OS updates. Even so, when you walk into a store to buy a new Apple or Microsoft computer it will come with the latest operating system. Users may prefer older versions and choose not to upgrade, but that’s a different story. It is only with Android that users are definitively denied software updates unless they decide to buy devices that support these updates. And only a select few support Android 4.2 or 4.2.2.
