I don't like Android. I prefer iOS because there is a single vendor for managing the sales and the development of both the hardware snd the software. This pro does come at a premium cost but I don't want my phone to stay on Android 2.X because AT&T does not want to release upgrade, then the only option is only going to be flashing and installing a new version on my own. That wipes my data and I probably will break my warranty worh ATT by flashing (I never checked).
iOS has bugs and performance issues too. But overall it is quite solid. The app store experience as a consumer is nice too.
If this project is aimed to bring freedom software to users on mobile with thr goal of running on phones for 10-years, great. But for mass adoption I am going to be bold: it won't happen. Firefox OS failed because (1) device spec is poor (Mozilla wanted to market it in countries where smartphone was not common), (2) not enough apps, (3) the influence and trending look of Android and iPhone.
> I prefer iOS because there is a single vendor for managing the sales and the development of both the hardware snd the software
If that's really your only reason for preferring iOS, Google has been making phones for over 7 years. There are obviously valid reasons for that preference, but the single one you've mentioned isn't.
My chief problem with both iOS and Android is far less the OS versions and far more the app update treadmill of despair that has eventually effectively bricked every single smartphone and tablet I've owned.
For if one opts out of updating those apps, either future versions require an OS update, they stop communicating with underlying cloud services and break, or they require current HW not to make the phone unusable.
If this trend continues into IoT, IMO it will be a dystopic fail whale. At some point these gadgets become appliances (with apologies to Cory Doctorow) wherein IMO their behavior should be well-defined and consistent over time.
Example: do you really want a Smart TV that has to boot and which by default communicates analytics about you into the cloud? I don't. But maybe I'm just an old fogie who remembers how awesome it was when TVs starting turning on immediately instead of having to warm up the picture tube.
The carriers do in fact have a say in the upgrade schedule. I know that (at least for a little while) they stopped being able to release updates quite as quickly once they released the iPhone for Verizon in the US.
And yes, if you buy your phone directly from Google, you'll get your updates directly from Google with no delay (other than their staged rollout process).
> then the only option is only going to be flashing and installing a new version on my own. That wipes my data
Make a backup. When you restore your phone, you also loose the data.
> and I probably will break my warranty worh ATT by flashing (I never checked).
You don't. First of all, you don't have any warranty in regards to your phone with AT&T. Second of all, you can always flash back your original firmware. Third, there are exceptions to allow these kinds of things.
> (3) the influence and trending look of Android and iPhone
Are you talking physical or on the software side? If it's the software side, it's just software and it can improve. iOS and android both have.
Most Android vendors now test and release android versions within 4-8 months of a new Android version and generally commit to 2 android upgrades for any given model.
iOS has bugs and performance issues too. But overall it is quite solid. The app store experience as a consumer is nice too.
If this project is aimed to bring freedom software to users on mobile with thr goal of running on phones for 10-years, great. But for mass adoption I am going to be bold: it won't happen. Firefox OS failed because (1) device spec is poor (Mozilla wanted to market it in countries where smartphone was not common), (2) not enough apps, (3) the influence and trending look of Android and iPhone.