Is Motorola right to censure refurbish latency on hardware?

One of a remaining issues with Android, notwithstanding a Android Update Alliance that shaped in Apr of final year, is program updates. The fondness between Google and a partner manufacturers was brought together in an try to safeguard new inclination would accept updates for no reduction than 18 months after launch. With Google enormous down on customizations, we figured updates competence be faster this go around, too.

However, small has altered given before a alliance. Updates are still holding perpetually to strech new devices. New phones are still shipping with aged software. Older phones might not accept an refurbish during all. And we’re all still flattering many in a dim notwithstanding OEMs indeed vocalization adult and attempting to be some-more pristine about updates.

Easily one of a many outspoken this time around, though, has been Motorola. Just a integrate weeks before Android 4.0 was done official, Motorola announced they would make us wakeful of their refurbish skeleton within 4 weeks of a software’s launch. Like they promised, their website was updated with some indeterminate and uninformative plans. On tip of that, there were some really new inclination that went though mention. Ice Cream Sandwich refurbish skeleton from Motorola’s site reads:

“We are formulation to ascent DROID RAZR™ by Motorola, Motorola RAZR™, Motorola XOOM™ (including MOTOROLA XOOM™ Family Edition) and DROID BIONIC™ by Motorola to Ice Cream Sandwich. We will yield some-more accurate superintendence on timing after post-public pull of Ice Cream Sandwich by Google, as good as any probable additions to this list of devices.”

Take note of a confidant text, as a list apparently isn’t finished. But that is something we will hold on later.

When Motorola supposing this bit of information, they enclosed a really simple list of things that have to occur before users can suffer new program (visit a original piece for a some-more in-depth explanation):

• Merge and adjust a new recover for opposite device hardware architecture(s) and conduit customizations
• Stabilize and ‘bake’ a outcome to expostulate out bugs
• Submit a ascent to a carriers for certification
• Perform a Customer pre-release
• Release a upgrade

Nonetheless, Motorola (along with each other Android OEM) is throwing slam for vast refurbish latency and tip to bottom program customizations. Customers (myself included) are always going on about how they would rather have pure, batch program over Motorola Applications Platform or Sense UI and how these customizations are one of a incomparable reasons that program updates take so long.

That’s not wholly false, though Motorola blames a latency on hardware, not their customizations. Christy Wyatt, comparison clamp boss and ubiquitous manager of Motorola’s Enterprise Business Unit, explains:

“When Google does a recover of a program … they do a chronicle of a program for whatever phone they usually shipped. The rest of a ecosystem doesn’t see it until we [end users] see it. Hardware is by distant a prolonged stick in a tent, with mixed chipsets and mixed radio bands for mixed countries. It’s a large appurtenance to churn.”

In other words, Motorola, HTC, Samsung and each other OEM that wants to fit their inclination with a latest Android chronicle have to change a program to be concordant with their possess processors, radios and other components, that positively slows things down. Only after that do they start to request a customizations and ensue to contention a refurbish to a carriers.

I will determine with Motorola to an border – hardware is mostly a issue, as they’re simply reapplying a lot of a interface customizations. But their reason is usually a half truth. Going behind to a deficient list of inclination authorised for a Android 4.0 update, this usually covers dual of Motorola’s latest handsets. The DROID RAZR MAXX is a given, as is a DROID 4, that has nonetheless to be released. But what about a DROID 3? The DROID X2? Both of these inclination launched in 2011, still good within 18 months.

Update priority is given to a latest devices, creation business with comparison inclination feel forgotten, unsupported and mostly second-rate. But a genuine emanate here is still hardware. There is simply too many of it. Recently, Motorola – along with other OEMs – has been flattering bad about churning out phone after phone and usually changing a integrate numbers on a spec sheets. It’s to a indicate where business are on edge, starting petitions (over bootloaders and a incessant rising of phones) and vowing to never buy Motorola products again.

The law is, if Motorola didn’t have 7 or some-more identical but different inclination that they have to tweak program updates for, they wouldn’t be in such a bind. However, they now have their hands full and a flourishing reserve of inclination to update. Even if they refurbish one phone quickly, there are still several phones and millions of business in waiting.

Yeah, hardware is a issue.

• Motorola Droid RAZR
• Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
• Motorola Droid 3
• Motorola DROID 4
• Motorola Droid X
• Motorola Droid X2
• Motorola Droid Bionic