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Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab Won't Get Android 4.0

Posted by Soulskill on from the won't-fit-on-triangular-tablets-anyway dept.

bonch writes "Samsung has announced that the Galaxy S smartphone, which sold 10 million last year, and the Galaxy Tab tablet won't be receiving the Android 4.0 update, known as 'Ice Cream Sandwich.' Samsung claims the devices lack enough RAM and ROM to run Android 4.0 alongside TouchWiz and other custom 'experience-enhancing' software. Note that the Galaxy S runs the same hardware as the Nexus S, which is already receiving the Android 4.0 update."

5 of 333 comments (clear)

  1. This is why you buy a vanilla device by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you want upgrades don't get a phone with these extras on top. Touchwiz, Sense and Blur all suck and all prevent phones from being updated. Vote with your dollars.

    I will be getting a Galaxy Nexus as soon as it is 199 or below, I won't pay more for a phone on contract.

  2. Galaxy S i9000 Got Two Full OS updates by teh31337one · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From Éclair to Froyo to Gingerbread, and went through a total of 7 relatively major update

    That's all I expected from the phone when I got it, tbh.

  3. Re:No *official* port. by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The correct answer is then to drop touchwiz. I really wish google would demand that these frontends be nothing more than an apk if you want to use their trademarks.

  4. They are right by stoanhart · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Regarding this line:

    >> "Note that the Galaxy S runs the same hardware as the Nexus S, which is already receiving the Android 4.0 update."

    Yes, the Nexus S has ICS; I'm running it on my Nexus S, and it's fantastic. However, you can really, really feel the fact that the phone only has 512 MB of RAM. If you open a memory intensive app (web browser, for example), pretty much everything else gets swapped out; when you next press Home, you have to wait a second or two for the launcher to be restarted, or worse, for the keyboard to load.

    Since TouchWiz would add even more bloat, I can totally see how 512 MB just won't cut it.

  5. Re:No *official* port. by Tangential · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Because you obviously don't understand the point of Android. Only reason Android was developed was Google was deathly afraid that Apple would cut them out of iOS and therefore, cut them out of big mobile space share.

    Google purchased (not created) Android in 2005. The work on the product had actually been started by Android, inc in 2003.

    The first iPhone didn't released until 2007 and featured Google prominently.

    To have already figured out that Apple might cut them out of iOS in 2005 is astounding. If this is correct, then they have amazing foresight.

    --
    Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain