Android Policy For Nexus and Google Play Devices Updated To Excuse Carrier Delay

An anonymous reader writes: Google has quietly updated its Android update policy for both Nexus and Google Play edition devices. In short, if you bought either type of smartphone or tablet from a carrier, you may experience delays that result in waiting longer than two weeks to get the latest version. Google has tweaked the "Android updates: Nexus & Google Play edition devices" support page to add, "Based on your carrier, it may take longer than two weeks after release to get an update." It's worth emphasizing this won't stop you from downloading a given Android update directly from Google or your device's manufacturer, and installing it yourself on your device. This is mainly for over-the-air updates, which carriers can choose to delay on their own networks.

Comments

The Flaw with this model

[gizmo2199]

Having carriers be in charge of updating smartphone firmware negates any benefit you might get from having a device that often costs more than $500. This is specific to Android, since Apple made sure they had complete control of the OS and the update process on their phones.

Just to name one: security issues are constantly cropping-up in Android, and Google is constantly patching things. Except good luck getting AT&T or Verizon to provide the updates OTA. And if you're stuck with an older phone, says > 1 year. Good luck getting any update at all.

As far as the carrier is concerned, in order to update the firmware, buy a new phone. Except you've now deliberately left millions of people vulnerable to having their accounts compromised because you were too cheap/lazy to provide an update (which Google makes available, btw).

Either Google should unify Android, meaning make one version for all models (or at least models newer than 3 years) and make it available OTA or by download, or license Android to carriers on the strict condition that they provide updates to existing models at least every 6 moths.