GRAPH: Android Users Get Terrible Support Compared to iPhone
Android has the potential to take on the mighty iPhone, with decent reviews, plenty of apps, and competitive pricing. Oh, but that operating system…
A recent blog post shows that while iPhones receive updates constantly, almost all Android phones are left years behind the current OS; many are never even sold with an up-to-date OS.
Michael DeGusta at The Understatement researched every Android phone released in the U.S. through mid-2010. He then tracked what OS updates (if any they recieved), and color coded whether a phones OS at any given time was current, or how behind the current OS it was. The literal resulting picture wasn’t pretty.
DeGusta makes some scary observations based on his findings. Seven of 18 Android phones “never ran a current version of the OS,” and several ran one for only a few weeks after their release. More than half stopped getting any support updates less than a year after their release.
Meanwhile, every single iPhone every sold has an up-to-date OS and support.
As a result, Android users get a worse smartphone experience, more frustration from app designers (who can’t raise their minimum requirements), and compromised security.
So before you think you’ll save some cash by going for a more affordable Android phone, consider the long-term investment costs, and if you’ll have to scramble for a new model before your contract is up.
What do you think? Do Android’s pros still outweigh its cons?
