Apple posted their latest iOS adoption numbers. Google posted the Android pie chart a few months ago. Here are the pie charts in question.
First iOS:
And now Android:
Both iOS 12 and Android Pie shipped late last summer, Android Pie in August 2018, iOS 12 in September. As is always the case, due to Apple controlling all the iOS hardware and the full update process, adoption of the latest version of iOS is sky high, while Android adoption is splintered, with only a small percentage of Android devices gaining the latest and greatest updates.
Does it matter?
I can’t help but think it does. Though Android has evolved ways of flowing later tech to the vast majority of its users, I can’t help but notice that the vast majority of Android devices are running Oreo or earlier. Oreo shipped two years ago.
To me, unpatched devices are a breeding ground for malware. Am I wrong? Is this no longer an issue? My Android friends, please do correct me if this is a non-issue. It is single-handedly the largest thing that keeps me from recommending an Android phone to my friends and fam.
Do a Google search for “Android and Malware”. There are hot takes, of course, but there are reasoned takes as well. Not saying Apple’s App Store is perfect, but I like my chances of keeping malware off my iPhone way better than off my Android device.
None of this stuff matters.
lol sure…. keep your insecure device
Obviously, patches for flaws should be made available. However, I would not count a lower number of updates (of whatever content) as a ground (reason or emotional “reason”) to recommend an operating system over another.
In my opinion, the ecosystems of Android and iOS serve different needs (including preferences), so an exclusive choice should show itself. (May take quite some time assessing, though.)
Me, I feel both “needs”, so I’m currently herding two smartphones with paired smartwatches and four tablets in either camp (including two vacancies for Android tablets, due to canceled back-orders).
The biggest issue with the Android is that you CAN’T update if Google, your phone vendor and your network don’t all align. Got an 18 month old phone that the vendor has decided not to update? Screwed.
Meanwhile, I can update my iOS devices for a very long time. My iPad mini 2 from 2013 JUST fell off the list at the six year mark and I can’t really complain about that. Even if I deemed it unusable (it’s not, it’s just slow), then I still got 5 good years out of it.
I think most Android OEMs are getting better about publishing monthly security updates, even if they’re still awful at updating to the latest version of the OS as a whole. It’s still obnoxious though, and it feels especially bad if you follow tech news at all. Every year at Google IO, Google announces some cool features for the next version of Android which will be available for the average person in two years when they buy a new phone.
Exactly. This is not user fault but really manifacturer that abandon its devices once they sold.
All the motorola Moto phone I bought never received a major upgrade during their 3 years lifetime. I got stuck with android 6.0 up to this year when i changed for a moto G7.
Still, that phone still only cost about 100$ per year unlocked. (about 300$ on amzon)
Combined with 20$/month tablet data plan those are perfect VOIP softphone !
You got what you pay… Quality has a price. I am jealous of Apple, but with the high price of the iPhone Xr in my country, I will pass !
I also have a iPad Mini that still receive iOS update !!!
(Bought when these hot cake were 330$ each !)
Certainly the core OS patching and updates are important. However most of the Android API’s come from Google Play now and can run on different versions of the OS.
A really good idea would be another Android chart with the versions of Google Play API’s by percentage.