> The poor state of Android updates is no one’s fault but Google’s.
I don't know if I would go that far. That problem comes from the way Android is organized. It's open, and it invites third party involvement. That in turn makes it nearly impossible for Google to control the OS lifecycle. You can argue that they should have kept it closed, like Apple. But if that were the case, they'd be in even worse anti-trust waters than they already are with the device.
More likely, they'd simply have failed. They had the software know how, but in no way had the expertise to build out a new type of device. It seems unlikely anyone else could have bankrolled a realistic challenge to Apple's dominance. So we would probably be in a situation where there was iPhone, and a bunch of shit phones from random manufacturers.
In light of all that, I think Google made the best decision possible. Maybe that's what you mean -- that Google made a good decision and that, despite that good decision, there are tradeoffs. But to me it sounds like you think Google failed in some way by making the choices that have led us to the current state of affairs w.r.t. updates. I don't think that's a fair read on the subject. At least, when I see someone doing the best they can, and there are flawed aspects to the performance, I don't say, "It's nobody's fault but yours that there's a flaw in this work." I would phrase it differently.
It seems unlikely anyone else could have bankrolled a realistic challenge to Apple's dominance. So we would probably be in a situation where there was iPhone, and a bunch of shit phones from random manufacturers.
It would have obviously been Microsoft. They already had a mobile operating system and companies would have had no choice but to use it.
But if that were the case, they'd be in even worse anti-trust waters than they already are with the device.
Microsoft never got in trouble for having a closed operating system. And despite all of Rubin’s BS about the “definition of open”, everything that makes Android,Android outside of China is closed source and controlled by Google.
I don't know if I would go that far. That problem comes from the way Android is organized. It's open, and it invites third party involvement. That in turn makes it nearly impossible for Google to control the OS lifecycle. You can argue that they should have kept it closed, like Apple. But if that were the case, they'd be in even worse anti-trust waters than they already are with the device.
More likely, they'd simply have failed. They had the software know how, but in no way had the expertise to build out a new type of device. It seems unlikely anyone else could have bankrolled a realistic challenge to Apple's dominance. So we would probably be in a situation where there was iPhone, and a bunch of shit phones from random manufacturers.
In light of all that, I think Google made the best decision possible. Maybe that's what you mean -- that Google made a good decision and that, despite that good decision, there are tradeoffs. But to me it sounds like you think Google failed in some way by making the choices that have led us to the current state of affairs w.r.t. updates. I don't think that's a fair read on the subject. At least, when I see someone doing the best they can, and there are flawed aspects to the performance, I don't say, "It's nobody's fault but yours that there's a flaw in this work." I would phrase it differently.