Apple no longer uses complete system images for over the air updates. After so many people couldn't update their phone because of lack of storage space they went to just using diffs.
But a properly designed operating system that is meant for different hardware from different manufacturers like Android should be able to do modular updates. Microsoft has been able to do it for over 20 years. I don't have to wait on the hardware manufacturer to provide OS updates or even low level drivers to update the OS. Microsoft takes on that burden. When I installed Windows 7 on my 2006 Mac Mini (that Apple abandoned) it recognized all of my hardware.
You claimed that Google shouldn't have to patch WebKit because it was "third party" code. WebKit -- that Google had just as many commits to as Apple -- is much less "third party code" than the Linux kernel, but it is just as much Google's responsibility to patch security holes found in WebKit as it is the Linux kernel if it affects Android.
Since the kernel is part of AOSP, if the kernel is patched, the patches are put into AOSP.
So are you saying that it is not Google's responsibility to patch security vulnerabilities and that they should wait for someone else to do it? Should Apple have waited to patch the "goto fail" bug that was part of the open source Darwin kernel?
And for access to directions, drive times, weather, stocks, and the plethora of other information I can train Google Now to display on my lock screen whenever it might actually be relevant to me (and hide at other times)?
So being on the lock screen is a major advantage over unlocking your phone just by grabbing it, having it unlock automatically with your fingerprint and sliding down to get to the notification centers "Today tab" where you can also see drive times based on your behavior, weather, stocks, appointments, flight times based on your emails, etc.? If that's not good enough -- you can install the Google app on an iPhone and get the same notifications in the Today view....
Go ahead and insist that I must be a Fandroid, though. Ignorance in the face of repeated correction seems to suit you well.
Right, I'm the one that thought "WebKit" was a "third party library" when Google actually had more commits to the WebKit repository when the security issue was found in Google's implementation of it.
But the system images are. That's kind of the point.
What good are the "system images" if you can't update your phone with it -- unless you are one of the tiny minority that have non-Verizon Nexus devices?
Actually, that's: - Three years from when the device first became available on the Google Store - Or, 18 months after the device stopped being sold on the Google Store For how long does Apple promise to support their handsets?
So if you bought any iPhone when they were the top of the line phone, you got at least four years of support. If you bought any Nexus phone when they were the top of the line phone, do you still receive updates after four years.
But Nexus phones have never been top sellers. So most Android users aren't buying Nexus phones.
You do realize that the security hole in question is a bug in WebKit, which is more Apple's than Google's; Blink, which replaced WebKit in Android in 2013, is a fork of WebKit, and the issue has been patched there already. Google hasn't actively developed Apple's WebKit since it forked off Blink. Also, Google didn't say they wouldn't issue a patch, only that they wouldn't write one:
WebKit was not "more Apple's than Google's". Before Google split Blink from WebKit, they had just as many commits to the code base as Apple.
Even if that's not the case would you argue that they shouldn't make a security patch in Android that was found in the Linux kernel because it wasn't "theirs"?
Could Apple get away with not patching a vulnerability found in the Darwin kernel because it was actually an issue with BSD?
And the issue was with Google's implementation of the WebView that uses WebKit, iOS didn't have the same vulnerability.
Also, Google not writing their own patch for a 3rd-party library (WebKit) does not negate the 24hr turnaround I've seen on many issues since I've had a Nexus device; something, again, Apple and Microsoft literally never do.
WebKit was not a "third party" library. It was an open source library that Google committed just as much code to as Apple. The code in question was integrated in the AOSP.
Android's ability to be customized to allow for quick access to apps and information (literally tap from the lock screen, then unlock)
Huh? For access to notifications you just swipe down on a locked phone to get to the notification and you swipe right on the actually notification to do some application defined event with it.
Or the notification pop ups directly on the screen depending on how you have notifications set for the app.
You get updates without waiting for the carrier AND the manufacturer only if you own a Nexus phone - a phone a relatively few people own -- and if the carrier allows it. Verizon (the largest carrier in the US) still blocks immediate updates for Nexus phones
Most security updates aren't hardware specific. If Google pushes an update you still have to wait on both your manufacturer and your carrier unless you are one of the tiny minority of Android users who own a Nexus phone that is not on Verizin and then Google only promises updates for 18 months.
Contrast that with IOS. When Apple pushes an update, all iOS users worldwide regardless of carrier can get the update within 24 hours. Apple is currently supporting every phone that has been released since 9/2011. How many Android phones are getting support that far back?
Last year when Apple patched the goto fail vulnerability around February. it released an update for not only iOS 7 that supported phones released since 6/2010, it also patched iOS 6 to support the 3GS that was released 6/2009. How many Androif devices received a security patch 5 years after they were released?
Now tighten up your manbun. I agree, both "ecosystems" have their flaws. there's a start difference between IOS and Android. IOS is a walled in garden, closed source, and you have to PAY to be a developer.
Android is open source - except for the large part that is Google Play Services, and Google apps, and many of the hardware drivers, and the third party apps that most OEms and carriers put on their phone.
Parts of iOS are open source (Darwin). It's a distinction without a difference.
You don't have to pay to be a developer, you can download XCode for free and install any apps you create with it on your own devices.
You have no choice as to your "app store" without jailbreaking your device. This was done to "protect" it's users with a secured, walled in, app store. Clearly this failed Android is open source, and while you are selling a bit of your soul to google, you can EASY strip any remnants of google from your device and still have a perfectly functional smart phone.
Except for the fact that many apps depend on API's that are part of the closed source Google Play services....
You can decide where you get your apps from, and you can download the SDK and start building apps for free, RIGHT NOW.
And you can download XCode for free RIGHT NOW....
Both app markets are full of garbage, for every 1 good app there's 30 rip offs of varying quality and functionality. Both market places have had infected apps hosted on them.
The big differences are that iOS has better sandboxing that was able to keep even the infected apps from doing any real damage and when there is a vulnerability and Apple releases a patch, every IOS device worldwide released in the last four years can be updated that day without waiting on your carrier.
The difference is, on android you have the ability to view the code and see what's going on, not ever app releases it's code or even in a human readable form, but the source code for android is out there, with thousands of eyes on it
Except for the large parts of the code that encompasses Google Play Services, drivers, OEM and carrier installed apps.....
The Stage Fright vulnerability didn't involve installing software from shady app stores.
The Android security model is a sad joke. For instance just for an app to be able to lower its volume when a phone call comes in, you have to give it permission to monitor your phone calls and to know the details of the call. You also have to give an app all requested permissions at launch for it to work and you can't turn permissions off for an app after it is installed. When you install a third party keyboard on Android, you are basically installing a key logger. With iOS when you install a third party keyboard on iOS, you have to give it explicit permission to access the network.
Apple's review process does little to prevent security vulnerabilities. They have a static code analyzer that keeps apps from using non public APIs but that's about it. Security on iOS is a function of the operating system sand boxing apps and a better permission system. I don't have to trust the package.
If a security vulnerability is found in the OS. It can be patched and at least right now, pushed to every iOS device worldwide introduced since 2011.
I can uninstall any crapware that is on a Wndows PC - or I can avoid crapware entirely by buying PCs from Dell's or HPs business units.
I can also install the newest version of Windows without waiting for the manufacturer. I was even able to stick a Windows 7 disk in an old unsupported Mac Mini from 2006 and install it.
Yes Google is able to update Google Play Services but there are parts of the low level OS they can't update.
Apple almost died in the 90s for three reasons - classic MacOS was piss poor, Motorola and IBM couldn't keep up with Intel, and they had horrible logistics.
The difference was that you needed a stylus to use the smart phones before the iPhone. You still don't need a stylus to use the iPad Pro.
The Surface running Windows 8 was poorly implemented. You couldn't do basic stuff easily with the Surface without a keyboard. Even Office worked better on an iPad without a keyboard than it did on Windows tablets.
As far as smart watches before the Apple Watch, they were horrible geeky looking things that were far from fashionable.
So the only way that you don't get malware and get OS updates (for maybe two years) is by buying the phone from the same company that makes the OS. That sounds like a wall gardened to me
But then you said you don't install any apps. That's more like a walled desert.
The difference with a PC is that when a security vulnerability is found on a Dell running Windoes and Microsoft releases a patch, you don't have to wait for Dell and Best Buy to hopefully allow you to update your PC.
When Google releases a patch for Android, you have to hope that you phone manufacturer and your carrier push the patch to you.
You don't have to "convince" the device of anything. If you just want to store a file and transfer it, iOS doesn't need to know what kind of file it is. But really how often are you really without Internet access where you need to transfer a file to someone else? If I need a file on my device to use without Internet access, I would load it into one of the shared folder solutions (iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) and make sure it's on my phone.
If I just had to get the file off of of my phone to a computer with a wired connection. I would have to install iTunes or a third party file browser.
All of those services let you keep a copy of the file on your device and in the cloud (ughhh I hate I just said that). How do you "interact" with a file if you don't have anything that can read it? All you can do with it is send it somewhere else and store it. You can do both with iOS without a viewer for the file? You don't have to have an Internet connection to use a file in DropBox if it's on your device. I can open a word file that's in DropBox with Word on the iPhone without an Internet connection.
As I've already posted. Marco is not exactly a poor developer struggling to support his family. He made a few million at least when Tumblr was sold to Yahoo from his equity stake being the first developer for Tumblr.
Marco Arment had no such issue with worrying about losing ad revenue.
1. The Deck ads that he uses are very tasteful, not intrusive and what good ads should be.
2. He is already rich - he was the first employee at Tumblr and made out pretty well from his equity when it was sold to Yahoo.
3. He also made some money from selling Instaper to another company after it was one of the early successful apps for IOS.
4. He created one of the most popular podcast apps for iOS - Overcast - and he posted his first year's income.
5. He has one of the most successful Apple related podcast (80,000 unique listeners) - Accidental Tech Podcast - it's only three people involved and going rates for a podcast with that number of listeners is at least $2500 per spot with four spots per episodes.
If he said he didn't feel morally right about it. I believe him.
You can drop arbitrary content onto iOS without using iTunes. You can copy files to DropBox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, Box, etc. from your computer and have full access to those files. You can download any file from Safari into one of those services. With iOS 9 you can attach a file from any of the cloud storage providers into an email. You only need an app to view files that are not natively supported by iOS. Yes iCloud Drive is a separate app in iOS 9 that works like DropBox
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When there is a security vulnerability found on Windows, I can download the patch without waiting for Dell no matter how much crapware Dell installs.
Amazon Video by AMZN Mobile LLC
https://appsto.re/us/LB_GG.i
Apple no longer uses complete system images for over the air updates. After so many people couldn't update their phone because of lack of storage space they went to just using diffs.
But a properly designed operating system that is meant for different hardware from different manufacturers like Android should be able to do modular updates. Microsoft has been able to do it for over 20 years. I don't have to wait on the hardware manufacturer to provide OS updates or even low level drivers to update the OS. Microsoft takes on that burden. When I installed Windows 7 on my 2006 Mac Mini (that Apple abandoned) it recognized all of my hardware.
If I have 6 Apples and you have 5 Apples
1. I have just as many Apples as you do.
2. I also have more Apples than you do.
Those two statements are not mutually exclusive.
That's just like the old kids riddle "how many months have 28 days?"
You claimed that Google shouldn't have to patch WebKit because it was "third party" code. WebKit -- that Google had just as many commits to as Apple -- is much less "third party code" than the Linux kernel, but it is just as much Google's responsibility to patch security holes found in WebKit as it is the Linux kernel if it affects Android.
So are you saying that it is not Google's responsibility to patch security vulnerabilities and that they should wait for someone else to do it? Should Apple have waited to patch the "goto fail" bug that was part of the open source Darwin kernel?
So being on the lock screen is a major advantage over unlocking your phone just by grabbing it, having it unlock automatically with your fingerprint and sliding down to get to the notification centers "Today tab" where you can also see drive times based on your behavior, weather, stocks, appointments, flight times based on your emails, etc.? If that's not good enough -- you can install the Google app on an iPhone and get the same notifications in the Today view....
Right, I'm the one that thought "WebKit" was a "third party library" when Google actually had more commits to the WebKit repository when the security issue was found in Google's implementation of it.
What good are the "system images" if you can't update your phone with it -- unless you are one of the tiny minority that have non-Verizon Nexus devices?
Lets look at history:
iPhone 3GS
-release 6/2009
-discontinued 6/2011
-last update 2/2014
iPhone 4 -
-released 6/2010
discontinued 6/2013
- dropped support with iOS 8 (9/2014)
iPhone 4s
-released 9/2011
-discontinued 9/2014
-still receiving updates
iPhone 5
-released 9/2012
-discontinued 9/2013 still receiving updates
iPhone 5c
-released 9/2013
-discontinued 9/2015
-still receiving updates
iPhone 5s and later are still being sold
So if you bought any iPhone when they were the top of the line phone, you got at least four years of support. If you bought any Nexus phone when they were the top of the line phone, do you still receive updates after four years.
But Nexus phones have never been top sellers. So most Android users aren't buying Nexus phones.
WebKit was not "more Apple's than Google's". Before Google split Blink from WebKit, they had just as many commits to the code base as Apple.
http://appleinsider.com/articl...
Even if that's not the case would you argue that they shouldn't make a security patch in Android that was found in the Linux kernel because it wasn't "theirs"?
Could Apple get away with not patching a vulnerability found in the Darwin kernel because it was actually an issue with BSD?
And the issue was with Google's implementation of the WebView that uses WebKit, iOS didn't have the same vulnerability.
WebKit was not a "third party" library. It was an open source library that Google committed just as much code to as Apple. The code in question was integrated in the AOSP.
Huh? For access to notifications you just swipe down on a locked phone to get to the notification and you swipe right on the actually notification to do some application defined event with it.
Or the notification pop ups directly on the screen depending on how you have notifications set for the app.
You get updates without waiting for the carrier AND the manufacturer only if you own a Nexus phone - a phone a relatively few people own -- and if the carrier allows it. Verizon (the largest carrier in the US) still blocks immediate updates for Nexus phones
Most security updates aren't hardware specific. If Google pushes an update you still have to wait on both your manufacturer and your carrier unless you are one of the tiny minority of Android users who own a Nexus phone that is not on Verizin and then Google only promises updates for 18 months.
Contrast that with IOS. When Apple pushes an update, all iOS users worldwide regardless of carrier can get the update within 24 hours. Apple is currently supporting every phone that has been released since 9/2011. How many Android phones are getting support that far back?
Last year when Apple patched the goto fail vulnerability around February. it released an update for not only iOS 7 that supported phones released since 6/2010, it also patched iOS 6 to support the 3GS that was released 6/2009. How many Androif devices received a security patch 5 years after they were released?
As far as Google patching security holes faster:
http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/01/google-wont-fix-bug-hitting-60-percent-of-android-phones/
I've never once had to wait on Dell (my PC manufacturer) or whatever computer store I bought my computer from to patch my Windows PC.....
Android is open source - except for the large part that is Google Play Services, and Google apps, and many of the hardware drivers, and the third party apps that most OEms and carriers put on their phone.
Parts of iOS are open source (Darwin). It's a distinction without a difference.
You don't have to pay to be a developer, you can download XCode for free and install any apps you create with it on your own devices.
Except for the fact that many apps depend on API's that are part of the closed source Google Play services....
And you can download XCode for free RIGHT NOW....
The big differences are that iOS has better sandboxing that was able to keep even the infected apps from doing any real damage and when there is a vulnerability and Apple releases a patch, every IOS device worldwide released in the last four years can be updated that day without waiting on your carrier.
Except for the large parts of the code that encompasses Google Play Services, drivers, OEM and carrier installed apps.....
So does that "freedom" come with the ability to update the OS the day a new version is released?
Without waiting on the carrier?
And the manufacturer?
For up to four years after you bought the phone?
There are plenty of apps that compete with everything that Apple sells on the App Store.
Sources?
For the highly publicized Stage Fright vulnerability?
For the fact that on Android you have to give apps all of the requested permissions or you can't run it?
For the fact that Android has no built in facility to turn off permissions granularly once you install it?
For the fact that a third party keyboard has full network access and can hypothetically send every keystroke over the Internet?
The Stage Fright vulnerability didn't involve installing software from shady app stores.
The Android security model is a sad joke. For instance just for an app to be able to lower its volume when a phone call comes in, you have to give it permission to monitor your phone calls and to know the details of the call. You also have to give an app all requested permissions at launch for it to work and you can't turn permissions off for an app after it is installed. When you install a third party keyboard on Android, you are basically installing a key logger. With iOS when you install a third party keyboard on iOS, you have to give it explicit permission to access the network.
Apple's review process does little to prevent security vulnerabilities. They have a static code analyzer that keeps apps from using non public APIs but that's about it. Security on iOS is a function of the operating system sand boxing apps and a better permission system. I don't have to trust the package.
If a security vulnerability is found in the OS. It can be patched and at least right now, pushed to every iOS device worldwide introduced since 2011.
I can uninstall any crapware that is on a Wndows PC - or I can avoid crapware entirely by buying PCs from Dell's or HPs business units.
I can also install the newest version of Windows without waiting for the manufacturer. I was even able to stick a Windows 7 disk in an old unsupported Mac Mini from 2006 and install it.
Yes Google is able to update Google Play Services but there are parts of the low level OS they can't update.
Apple almost died in the 90s for three reasons - classic MacOS was piss poor, Motorola and IBM couldn't keep up with Intel, and they had horrible logistics.
The difference was that you needed a stylus to use the smart phones before the iPhone. You still don't need a stylus to use the iPad Pro.
The Surface running Windows 8 was poorly implemented. You couldn't do basic stuff easily with the Surface without a keyboard. Even Office worked better on an iPad without a keyboard than it did on Windows tablets.
As far as smart watches before the Apple Watch, they were horrible geeky looking things that were far from fashionable.
So the only way that you don't get malware and get OS updates (for maybe two years) is by buying the phone from the same company that makes the OS. That sounds like a wall gardened to me
But then you said you don't install any apps. That's more like a walled desert.
The difference with a PC is that when a security vulnerability is found on a Dell running Windoes and Microsoft releases a patch, you don't have to wait for Dell and Best Buy to hopefully allow you to update your PC.
When Google releases a patch for Android, you have to hope that you phone manufacturer and your carrier push the patch to you.
You don't have to "convince" the device of anything. If you just want to store a file and transfer it, iOS doesn't need to know what kind of file it is. But really how often are you really without Internet access where you need to transfer a file to someone else? If I need a file on my device to use without Internet access, I would load it into one of the shared folder solutions (iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) and make sure it's on my phone.
If I just had to get the file off of of my phone to a computer with a wired connection. I would have to install iTunes or a third party file browser.
http://www.verizonwireless.com...
http://www.att.com/cellphones/...
http://shop.sprint.com/mysprin...
All of those services let you keep a copy of the file on your device and in the cloud (ughhh I hate I just said that). How do you "interact" with a file if you don't have anything that can read it? All you can do with it is send it somewhere else and store it. You can do both with iOS without a viewer for the file? You don't have to have an Internet connection to use a file in DropBox if it's on your device. I can open a word file that's in DropBox with Word on the iPhone without an Internet connection.
As I've already posted. Marco is not exactly a poor developer struggling to support his family. He made a few million at least when Tumblr was sold to Yahoo from his equity stake being the first developer for Tumblr.
Marco Arment had no such issue with worrying about losing ad revenue.
1. The Deck ads that he uses are very tasteful, not intrusive and what good ads should be.
2. He is already rich - he was the first employee at Tumblr and made out pretty well from his equity when it was sold to Yahoo.
3. He also made some money from selling Instaper to another company after it was one of the early successful apps for IOS.
4. He created one of the most popular podcast apps for iOS - Overcast - and he posted his first year's income.
5. He has one of the most successful Apple related podcast (80,000 unique listeners) - Accidental Tech Podcast - it's only three people involved and going rates for a podcast with that number of listeners is at least $2500 per spot with four spots per episodes.
If he said he didn't feel morally right about it. I believe him.
You can drop arbitrary content onto iOS without using iTunes. You can copy files to DropBox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, Box, etc. from your computer and have full access to those files. You can download any file from Safari into one of those services. With iOS 9 you can attach a file from any of the cloud storage providers into an email. You only need an app to view files that are not natively supported by iOS. Yes iCloud Drive is a separate app in iOS 9 that works like DropBox