What more do you expect Google to do with the Galaxy Nexus when Texas Instruments has closed up shop, fired their employees, and is no longer in the Mobile SoC business ?
I just found out my Nexus 7 isn't getting Kit Kat 4.4 for several weeks. Uh, why? I know it's not the end of the world, but this seems odd. It's not as if it's a carrier-modded device. It's a stock Google Nexus device after all.
I don't know what that has to do with devices that have already been manufactured and are out in the wild. Phones that are, even today, still being actively sold by carriers.
But, I suppose the Nexus One (21 months), Nexus S (22 months) and the Galaxy Nexus (22 months?) are enough history to know one thing now. Buying a Nexus gives you roughly two years of support. That's better than Google's committed 18 months, I suppose.
Of course, the decentralized nature of the OS, especially for newer devices like the GNex and N4, make this much less of an issue than it is on iOS.
And if they keep up their Nexus releases every year with the awesome hardware baseline they started with the N4 and kept going to the N5, I don't think anyone here would really complain about having to shell out $350 a year for the latest and greatest Nexus phone.
That is sad.
Now it is a race- who gets Kitkat first my S4 or N7?
Edit:
And I don't get the 512 RAM optimization thing. Any 512MB device got dumped with Jellybean. No OEM is gonna go "Lets update this thing from ICS or GB or 4.4!!" It seems like a feature that only helps those with old phones and third party ROMs. I might upgrade my Nook Color from GB for example.
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/android-kitkat-on-nexus-4-and-nexus-7-in-weeks-says-google-50012642/
That is sad.
Now it is a race- who gets Kitkat first my S4 or N7?
Edit:
And I don't get the 512 RAM optimization thing. Any 512MB device got dumped with Jellybean. No OEM is gonna go "Lets update this thing from ICS or GB or 4.4!!" It seems like a feature that only helps those with old phones and third party ROMs. I might upgrade my Nook Color from GB for example.
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/android-kitkat-on-nexus-4-and-nexus-7-in-weeks-says-google-50012642/
Google is thinking about the devices that will fight with the Lumia 520/525 in the <120$ segment of the market. Arguably Nokia was/is offering a better value in that segment.Edit:
And I don't get the 512 RAM optimization thing. Any 512MB device got dumped with Jellybean. No OEM is gonna go "Lets update this thing from ICS or GB or 4.4!!" It seems like a feature that only helps those with old phones and third party ROMs. I might upgrade my Nook Color from GB for example.
To be honest I am not overly suprised by the delay for N7. I have a feeling that something didn't go quite to plan on this release. It seems to me that Google was under a lot of pressure to deliver here and likely focused solely on the phone in order to meet this "deadline" - KitKat on N7 probably isn't finished yet. I'd bet it runs a 4.4.x instead of pure 4.4.
A feeling that there will also be an OTA bugfix update to 4.4 bringing it to 4.4.x in the coming weeks... but... just a feeling. Not an expert.
That is sad.
Now it is a race- who gets Kitkat first my S4 or N7?
Edit:
And I don't get the 512 RAM optimization thing. Any 512MB device got dumped with Jellybean. No OEM is gonna go "Lets update this thing from ICS or GB or 4.4!!" It seems like a feature that only helps those with old phones and third party ROMs. I might upgrade my Nook Color from GB for example.
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/android-kitkat-on-nexus-4-and-nexus-7-in-weeks-says-google-50012642/
The advantage there is that -- in theory at least -- a broader range of old smart phones can be updated to the latest version, instead of wallowing with an out-of-date operating system.
Google is not even supporting it's own Galaxy Nexus on 4.4, and that has 1GB.
Google is thinking about the devices that will fight with the Lumia 520/525 in the <120$ segment of the market. Arguably Nokia was/is offering a better value in that segment.
In short 4.4 wants to kill the competition in the low end.
I don't know what that has to do with devices that have already been manufactured and are out in the wild. Phones that are, even today, still being actively sold by carriers.
But, I suppose the Nexus One (21 months), Nexus S (22 months) and the Galaxy Nexus (22 months?) are enough history to know one thing now. Buying a Nexus gives you roughly two years of support. That's better than Google's committed 18 months, I suppose.
Of course, the decentralized nature of the OS, especially for newer devices like the GNex and N4, make this much less of an issue than it is on iOS.
And if they keep up their Nexus releases every year with the awesome hardware baseline they started with the N4 and kept going to the N5, I don't think anyone here would really complain about having to shell out $350 a year for the latest and greatest Nexus phone.
As was stated maybe have something to do with the fact that is uses a process that is not supported by its manufacturer(TI killed the omap).
I am guessing KitKat may use features that the older drivers may not support(and Google doesn't want to do a hack job at it).
So in this case ram has nothing to do with it!!
Looking back, 4.1.2 ran the best on GNex, 4.2 was just horribly slow, and 4.3 was better than 4.2 but not as smooth as 4.1.2. So since I bought the GNex last summer, I haven't really gotten an update that was as good as the 4.1.2 it shipped with. It has been downhill, and now Google has foreclosed on any opportunity to redeem itself in my eyes. I will keep the GNex till it dies, but it could be my last Nexus, since without guaranteed OS update support they don't have much else going for them. I may give iPhone a chance after that.
Why is it my problem? Ti is still around, it's not bankrupt. Google should have contractually obligated TI to support their chips even if they decide to not sell them anymore, and if they haven't, then they need to take care of it, not make it my problem. I bought a phone from Google, not TI.
Looking back, 4.1.2 ran the best on GNex, 4.2 was just horribly slow, and 4.3 was better than 4.2 but not as smooth as 4.1.2. So since I bought the GNex last summer, I haven't really gotten an update that was as good as the 4.1.2 it shipped with. It has been downhill, and now Google has foreclosed on any opportunity to redeem itself in my eyes. I will keep the GNex till it dies, but it could be my last Nexus, since without guaranteed OS update support they don't have much else going for them. I may give iPhone a chance after that.
Given the support GNex got, I don't think any Google device is a good bet anymore.Hopefully you got that Galaxy Nexus used or at ridiculous price.
That phone was already a year old and running on hardware that was old even when launched. The Nexus 4 is now is a much better bet than the Galaxy Nexus was a year ago.
LOL buddy, it sure as hell is your problem now and not Google's.
I dont even think google cares if you bought another device from then again.
Edit:// This phone is built by Samsung...not Google and they are the one I would think would be negotiating for support when they made the phone.
I dont think such a small order of chips from TI(for the Galaxy Nexus) would get them to pour years of support into it either. There is not financial gain there but financial loss.
I bought it from Google Play. Google I am Google's customer, not TI's or Samsung's. TI may have made the chip and Samsung made the phone, but Google is the one who sets the requirements for Nexus devices, it signs off on everything. If Google demanded longer chipset support, either TI would have agreed to it and had to keep enough people to support it, or they wouldn't and a different company's chip would have been used in the GNex. In any case, Google failed to get in writing from suppliers things that it was implicitly promising to its customers. Galaxy Nexus was sold until less than a year ago, so there are customers who won't even get the promised Nexus OS update support for a year.
Well lets see how this is played out. The worst case scenario is that you get a cyanogenmod rom(which certainly isn't bad).
If its any consolation. I don't get KitKat for another few weeks so we are in similar boats until then
Nexus One - 5 January 2010; Android 2.3.6 released 24 September 2011
I paid for Google's official support, not Cyanogenmod ROMs.
FTFY, with source:
http://www.androidcentral.com/nexus-one-updated-android-236-grk39f
Otherwise, I don't know what the point was other than to have the EXACT amount of days. I think rounding to months is usually pretty acceptable.
Dude. Complaining to us about it isn't going to fix anything. We get it, you are pissed.
Isn't Google's official support period 18 months? That means you got what you paid for, move on.
Wrong. The Galaxy S2 got supported for longer than any Nexus. So, I think, will the S3.And that is the best update situation on Android