Samsung Reconsidering Android 4.0 On the Galaxy S

ghostoftiber writes "The original Galaxy S was the redheaded step child of the Samsung device line. ... Samsung announced over Christmas that the original Galaxy S was done, leaving its faithful fans in a position of having another year on their contracts with no upgrade path. Users were predictably incensed, and it looks like Samsung changed their minds. There's also the Samsung Vibrant development forum if you want Ice Cream Sandwich running on your Vibrant right now." The original source is bit iffy and implies that the release will not be fully featured (probably due to hardware constraints). Business Insider contacted Samsung directly and an official response is expected today.

Comments

It's the business model

[Overly Critical Guy]

It's possible but unlikely. The Android phone business model guarantees that updates will be a mess. Putting Android updates on older phones decreases the likelihood that people will buy new phones, and it costs them support and engineering to put out an update.

Carriers don't want you to buy a new phone; they want you to pay a monthly bill. Android gives the carriers control over your phone. This is part of the problem with the argument that Android is about freedom and choice. For contrast, note that the 2 1/2 year old iPhone 3GS can run the latest version of iOS because Apple maintains strict control over the hardware platform to the benefit of the customer, and Microsoft has similar control over Windows Phones to align third-party devices with an OS roadmap.

Android has greater total marketshare due to an abundance of budget phones, but marketshare isn't what drives business; it's profits and customer satisfaction, and the iPhone is the top-selling handset because of the control Apple enforces on its platform as well as the one making the most profit. The narrative is not Android versus Apple, as if Android is some big company--it's Apple versus Samsung versus HTC versus Motorola versus Acer versus Asus verus Coby versus Coby vs. Sony-Ericsson versus Fusion Garage versus RIM versus HP versus Archos.

Seamless experiences always win out over time. We saw it when gaming shifted from PCs to consoles, and now the industry is shifting from desktops to mobile devices. Fragmentation is a huge for users.

Re:It's the business model

[Anonymous Coward]

Fragmentation is a huge for users.

Actually, it's a huge tired talking point for the anti-Android contingent. Ask Stacy Valley-girl how much Android "fragmentation" effects her life and she will look at you like you've grown another neck. Why? Because she as well as 95 percent of Android users either don't freaking care or they don't want upgrades. Many Android users are first time smartphone buyers. Why should they go to sleep with one version and then wake up with something completely different? They are getting to understand their phone and actually feeling kind of cool and you want to pull the rug from beneath them? Why? So the less than 5 percent of nerds that care will stop whining? NEWS FLASH: Normal users don't care and normal users are who buy all the phones.

Re:It's the business model

[Overly Critical Guy]

It's bizarre for anyone to accuse Apple of deprecating perfectly working hardware/software (note that you don't give a single example) when there are about 150 Android handset models released per year, and phones that are only months old and won't get Android 4.0. Meanwhile the 2 1/2 year old iPhone 3GS can run iOS 4.0, yet you're accusing Apple of the worst planned obsolescence? So what if iOS 4.0 doesn't perform as well on the 3GS--it still runs on it if the customer chooses to install it. The carriers' business model is dependent on new phone models, so they don't want you to get upgrades.

Citing Cyanogen as a legitimate solution is absurd. Normal people shouldn't have to root their phones. Also, I don't care who you think I am or if you don't like to see Google get bashed. What does Google have to do with this?

Re:It's the business model

[idobi]

Nothing requires you to update your 3gs to iOS5 - but you can if you want to. As opposed to an update not being available at all... Aside from providing an upgrade path, is Apple also suppose to hold back features that highlight their new models in an effort to prevent performance issues in older models?

Re:It's the business model

[tripleevenfall]

The carriers' defense against that is "early upgrades" are available 18 months into your 24 month contract. (AT&T openly advertises this on the website you sign into in order to pay your bill)

Most of the people you refer to will take the "early upgrade" (with a new 2-year commitment) at 18 months, rather than wait 6 more months to switch to a competitor. Thus, they never allow the customer to hit the open market, at least not without an early termination fee.

Re:It's the business model

[Overly Critical Guy]

Actually, it's a huge tired talking point for the anti-Android contingent. Ask Stacy Valley-girl how much Android "fragmentation" effects her life and she will look at you like you've grown another neck. Why? Because she as well as 95 percent of Android users either don't freaking care or they don't want upgrades.

She'll care when she sees that her friends have iPhones that can do things that the version of Android on her phone can't do, or when she can't run an app that needs so-and-so version (and possibly so-and-so hardware feature). You're acting as if fragmentation isn't already an issue for both developers and users. The iPhone tops Android smartphones in every customer satisfaction survey. Seamless experiences always win out in the end.

Why should they go to sleep with one version and then wake up with something completely different? They are getting to understand their phone and actually feeling kind of cool and you want to pull the rug from beneath them? Why? So the less than 5 percent of nerds that care will stop whining? NEWS FLASH: Normal users don't care and normal users are who buy all the phones.

I'm sorry, but this is dumb. You're making an argument against operating systems upgrades. Android 4.0 is supposed to deliver major performance enhancements and features that improve the performance of the devices it runs on. But heaven forbid we "pull the rug from beneath them" when they're "actually feeling kind of cool."

Re:It's the business model

[NicknameOne]

Aside from providing an upgrade path, is Apple also suppose to hold back features that highlight their new models in an effort to prevent performance issues in older models

Not at all. I was just responding to the OPs point that Apple's latest OS versions runs fine on two and a half year old hardware as opposed to Android. He is wrong because it doesn't.

Re:It's the business model

[chrb]

Seamless experiences always win out over time.

Actually I think you'll find that "cheap and good enough" wins over time. See, for example, fast food, supermarkets, shoes, clothing, housing etc.

Re:It's the business model

[MrMr]

Around here you can get an early upgrade from a competitor: get a new phone and finish your old contract...

Re:It's the business model

[dbcad7]

Had two brothers and a niece and nephew in town for Christmas.. They all have Android phones (as do I), as part of breakfast conversation I asked them if they were on Gingerbread.. none of them knew what that was, or what Froyo was, or what Eclair was., or that Ice Cream Sandwich was released and should be coming soon., We had four different models on 3 different carriers (2 different EVOS, Fascinate, Sensation).. there was nothing someone else had app wise that any of us could not get if we wanted.. In truth, although we all used our phones at times, other than directly asking to see their phone none of would have known what the other had.. no one said they liked anothers phone better than theirs.. there was more talk of the carrier differences than there was about phone models.. The reality of fragmentation is that it's not a big deal that some people would make it.. I also have a phone on Froyo that I assume will never go beyond it, but I got my 2 years out of it, and it is in a drawer as a backup phone.. Now the iPhone crowd car harp on the 3GS getting updates beyond the 2 and a half years, but the same type of enthusuuast, that would care, would also upgrade within that time. My 2 year old phone in the drawer had the same number of updates as the 3GS.. The Galaxy S that this article is about, has also had the same number of updates as the 3GS, and in over a year less time.

Re:It's the business model

[BasilBrush]

How do I know that Apple isn't intentionally making ios 4 run slowly on the 3GS so they'll make people upgrade?

How do you know there aren't fairies at the bottom of your garden?

With such weak-minded questions have stupid people convinced themselves of what they want to believe since time immemorial.

With Android I would know for sure - because the source code is available.

No you wouldn't know for sure, because it takes hours even to compile. You'd have to code review it all to be sure there are no intentional slow downs, and even in the vanishingly unlikely possibility that you had the breadth of expertise to understand it all, you don't have the time to properly review that much code.

Re:It's the business model

[wzinc]

Coming from what I know - because I own a 3GS - iOS 5 is great.

Also, coming from what I know, since I was forced to do Android dev work, is that, other than Nexus phones, the official upgrade path is non-existent. Of course, yes, there is always Cyanogenmod. Which would be fine; I'll even say that I would probably be happy with an Android, since I could do Cyanogen. However, a lot of these consumers couldn't even program a VCR, let alone install custom firmware. Most don't even know Cyanogen exists.

Android would be a lot more effective in the long-run if the Nexus phones were the only official models.

Re:It's the business model

[mwvdlee]

Actually, the article you refer to is very positive about IOS 5 on 3GS. It's the 5.0.1 update specifically that it has problems with. Wait and see what 5.0.2 or so brings.
I'm not much of an Apple fan, and don't plan to ever buy any of their products but there are some things they do right. Software updates seems to be one of them.

Re:It's the business model

[tripleevenfall]

I'm not saying you didn't hear that iOS5 is horrible on the 3GS, but I have heard the opposite - that it actually works very well.

Re:It's the business model

[NicknameOne]

Are you equating fairies to the very real possibility of planned obsolescence from Apple?

Also I tend to use common sense a lot. So if the source code is available (for Android specifically and Linux in general), I review some parts of it and I trust the community to review other parts. I also use this concept called Logic - you should try it out sometime because here is an example of something amazing that it could do - prove that I don't have to worry about Android source. Are you ready? Here we go: Logically if there is malicious code in Android, since it is open source there's a real and finite possibility that it will be found by some one at which point there will be a tremendous backlash for Google resulting in them losing a lot. So (again logically speaking) Google would probably not add any malicious code.

No such guarantees from Apple unfortunately.

Re:It's the business model

[zerojoker]

I bought a HTC Magic. The Magic was released roughly the time when the 3GS was introduced, and has comparable hardware.

I am on contract with NTT Docomo. Officially the Magic is stuck here at 1.6. By flashing Cyanogenmod, I could get up to 2.2.1. Some at XDA have made 2.3.3. available, but it is slow and unstable. Updating has the risk of bricking the device. Very like, it will never see 4.0.

Considering the price, I did not even save any money.

The update experience on Android is simply a joke. My next smartphone will be anything but Android. Windows Phone 7, iOS, heck even Blackberry will give me less trouble.

Re:It's the business model

[forkfail]

The difference between Walmart and say a high end smart phone is expectations.

When you buy a smart phone with a two year contract, you expect the functionality to work throughout the lifespan of the product, and you rather expect that it will be supported by both the telecom and by the hardware manufacturer, including updates, during the period of the standard two year contract. This includes software upgrades.

With Walmart, you know you aren't buying high end. You don't expect the tools to be Snapon quality, nor the boots to last 3++ years, nor the furniture to be handed down to your kids.

But hey - if Samsung wants to market themselves as "Walmart-esque junk that we won't support for more than a year", its their choice. Its also my choice to switch hardware vendors.

Re:It's the business model

[Anne Thwacks]

Unfortunately, a few guys running their mouths and waving their arms about conspiracy theories doesn't take the place of real evidence.

You must be new here.

Re:It's the business model

[brentrad]

I have had similar experiences with those I work with. It's only bleeding-edge specialized apps that require a specific phone to run - the vast majority of apps are written so that anyone with any Android phone can run them. It's not in the app developer's best interest to write an app that only works on one or two phones - it's in their best interest to write apps so that they run on the widest variety of phones possible.

No non-geeks have any idea about what version of Android is running on their phones. Most of them are coming from feature phones, where there are zero updates after you buy the phone, so they don't expect to get the next major version. I think this issue is being vastly overblown by the geek community - and the fact that Android phones now have over 50% of the smartphone market to iOS's 29% share seems to suggest that this is just not a concern to the majority of smartphone buyers:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/14/shocker-android-grew-us-market-share-after-q2-ios-was-static/

On the other hand, I care greatly about what new OS updates I will get on my phone - and that's why I just got a Galaxy Nexus.

Do I think fragmentation is an issue? Yes, and I would like all manufacturers guarantee at least 2 years of OS updates. Do I think fragmentation is going to have any effect in the real world on smartphone sales? Not at all, unless regular users see regular updates and get used to getting them. I don't see that happening any time soon.

Re:It's the business model

[Anonymous Coward]

Right, so let me get this straight. You're saying Apple only stops supporting phones for software updates when the hardware can't support it, but if an Android device manufacturer stops supporting the hardware for software updates it's the business model.

So this suggests either Apple is shit at business, or you're claiming Android manufacturers are more malicious and anti-consumer than Apple.

Alternatively, you could just be making up excuses for your pet brand whilst slagging off the brands you don't like. Which, let's be honest, is really what the situation is.

Seriously, you're being a fanboy. You can't on one hand say the companies are being twats, then make excuses for your favourite brand when they do the exact same thing. Android devices stop getting updates when it's no longer worth updating the device, just as with Apple devices. I learnt this the hard way because I was one of those whiny users who wanted his HTC Magic to get Android 2+, I whined and moaned on the Vodafone forums and eventually they gave it to us. Well guess what? Vodafone knew better after all, it made my phone run like shit.

Samsung not supporting a device that isn't capable of decently utilising a new software update is no different than Apple refusing to support iOS5 on the iPhone 3G. Sure this sort of thing happens more often on Android, but that's because iPhones are premium phones, they're more expensive devices and so the hardware remains capable for longer, whilst many Android devices are low end, and it'd be foolish to assume they can keep uptodate with the latest software as long as premium phones can. So of course phones that are only a few months old wont get Android 4, you can't expect a $100 ZTE handset to necessarily run the latest and greatest anymore than you'd expect a budget range iPhone to do the same if Apple ever released one (which is probably a good reason they don't).

It's not really rocket science, there's no conspiracy, it is what it is. Phones that can handle upgrades get them, phones that can't don't, and it doesn't matter who your favourite manufacturer is, it's the same throughout.

Re:It's the business model

[quacking duck]

iOS 4.x on the iPhone 3G was a botch job. It couldn't do multitasking, and realistically all you got was app folders and you could change the homescreen background image. For that, 3G users suffered extreme performance issues and laggy input response times. Even on the 3GS (which I had), it wasn't until later updates that mostly restored the responsiveness.

iOS5 on the 3GS was a very good update. Gained new features and actually gained a bit of speed and responsiveness back. Battery life suffered, but I was willing to put up with that in exchange for not losing responsiveness.

Re:fandroids love getting buttfuckef

[Kenja]

Vulgar insults that make you look like a child aside. My first generation Motorola Drioid has also gotten updated frequently, its all in what you buy. Oh, and hows Siri running on your 3GS? Don't pretend that Apple doesn't try to get people to upgrade perfectly usable phones.

Where is consumer protection?

[sgt scrub]

This is a big reason why OEM's should not be able to lock devices from user upgrades. If a company decides to no longer support a device, is the customer's right to continue to use the device in a secure way revoked? Having to go through a process of rooting a device that has a limited life span so it can be kept up to date weakens the user's ability to protect themselves. They should release something which allow users to maintain the device themselves.

Re:Where is consumer protection?

[MightyYar]

is the customer's right to continue to use the device in a secure way revoked?

Right to use the device in a secure way? Who granted you that right? There are probably some states that give you a little implied warranty protection for a limited duration of time, but that's it as far as rights go unless you signed a contract.

Re:Where is consumer protection?

[__aaltlg1547]

When you buy hardware, you get the right to use that hardware in any way that doesn't violate the law. That includes loading a new operating system on it, if it's capable. They should be required to provide you with a procedure to unlock any protections you want to unlock so that you have full access to the hardware. When you buy a smart phone it should also include an implied right that the service provider's system won't be changed in such a way that your phone will become incompatible with the system for some time -- at least your contract term. But it doesn't include the right to eternal support or any guarantee that the company will help you upgrade it.

Please remember

[Chemisor]

Let's all remember how companies view customers. And the screw gets bigger every year no matter what.

Re:Please remember

[phantomfive]

This is just troll. (A funny troll though). There are economic disincentives to "continually screwing the customer:" companies that do that lose all their customers (I know because I've worked for companies that tried). The only way "continually screwing the customer" works is when your business model relies on ripping people off (like this site, expect to get ripped off there), or when you have a monopoly.

Here's what I think Google should do

[Mascot]

Enforce a policy where handset manufacturers are required to offer a convenient way to optionally install vanilla Android. Problem solved, as far as I'm concerned. When "primary" support is ended, I get the option of buying a newer device to get the manufacturer added bells and whistles, or going with vanilla Android until the hardware just can't handle it.

Use a ROM!

[expo53d]

The power of Android Devices lies here. While these Samsung Nexus S users may not get the official upgrade, users who are tech savvy enough to care will simply install a 4.0 ROM for thier phones. I personally have an OG droid running android 2.3.5.

Not really surprised.

[forkfail]

That was the phone line that had the broken GPS that never really got fixed; it was a hardware issue that they tried to kludge together a patch for that didn't work well never went out over the air, and for which you had to take down all your firewall and virus protection to apply via Kies.

Oh, and t-mobile won't honor warranties on those $500 phones. Even when you pay $8 a month, bringing the effective total to $700 over the course of a two year contract. Unless you define the word honor as the offer of a $150 clique as a replacement.

But - I'm not bitter. Really.

You can run it RIGHT NOW on i9000 as well.

[brunes69]

Cyanogen Mod 9 Alpha 11 is out now and is rock solid. Anyone who is comfortable installing their own custom ROMs should not hesitate to upgrade to ICS. I have been running ICS on my i9000 GalaxyS now for almost a month, and have had very few issues , and have had no issues at all since Build 10. All functions and features on the device (camera,audio,video,hardware acceleration,etc.) work flawlessly now. And the ICS features such as Face Unlock and panoramic / time lapse camera also work. There is no reason to wait for Samsung to get off their butt.

Re:Wasn't the GPS issue fixed?

[forkfail]

Hard to fix a hardware problem with software.

This phone has provided me with no end of frustration. It's a $500 phone that I'm paying another eight bucks a month for warranty for over my two year contract, meaning I'll wind up paying a total of $700 for a phone that doesn't work right. And t-mobile wants to give me a $150 clique in replacement.

Some links follow.

It's a hardware problem in a number of phones:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878970

http://pocketnow.com/android/hardware-fix-for-vibrants-gps-problems

T-mobile did push out a patch:

http://pocketnow.com/android/samsung-vibrant-gps-fix-finally-being-pushed-out-by-t-mobile

But it didn't actually do the upgrade. No, you have to turn off your computer's firewall and virus protection to apply software patches to hardware problems...

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00026061&fm_seq=26229

for a patch that doesn't work anyway...

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=988076

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1661605-Vibrant-Problems-Please-post-all-here-so-Samsung-Google-Engineers-can-see-them/page4

business as usual

[roc97007]

As early adopters of the Galaxy S, my family lived the pain for a year and finally dumped them, paid the penalty, and changed carriers. Not only was the build quality terrible (some were dead in their box, others were delivered with bad gyros and nonfunctional gps -- I mean completely nonfunctional, not the haphazard functionality they had when they were working) but Samsung seemed grimly determined to avoid upgrades at all cost, apparently expecting users to do the iPhone thing and buy a new device yearly in order to get a new software capability contained within the incrementally newer OS.

And... ok fine. If that's the way they want to do business, there's no stopping them. But we don't have to buy their stuff.

Indications are, they're managing their tablet products the same way. Stylishly designed, but don't buy one expecting the next version of Android to ever be available. If it is, bonus. It's better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

But better yet, buy from a vendor with a better reputation for updates.

Mind you, there will be a time when timely updates will be less important, but Android is still on the steep end of the curve, and issues are still being worked out. (I got an answer to my bug report a couple weeks ago -- proxy settings on a network-by-network basis is available as of version 3, which will probably never make it to my phone. Sigh.) In another year or two when Android becomes less of a new technology and more of a commodity item, updates may decrease in importance. But for now, it's update or lose a customer. The Android crowd isn't the same as the iOS crowd. If we don't get what we want, we don't camp outside the store to be the first to get the next device from the same vendor. We change vendors.

T-Mobile Value Plans

[tepples]

I don't know of any carrier in the US that gives you a discount when you bring a phone to them.

T-Mobile has the "Value Plans" (formerly "Even More Plus") which separate out the device (purchased up front or financed) and the service into separate line items. Consumer Reports applauded T-Mobile for its transparency in this respect.