A (165)

There are downsides to abandon

Android, however, not least being th

that Google would lose more contro

software and how users experience

mobile operating system. At least on

analyst believes that the internet gian

continue to release its own pure vers

operating system for the foreseeable

“Google has a huge incentive to drive

of the full Android version rather than p

using the open source version,” says Be

chief of research at CCS Insight. “Gettin

on its services is the lifeblood for Googl

advertising business. It will do everything

its power to make sure the latest version

of ‘full Android’ is widely supported.

“Android One is the latest indication

of Google’s determination to get full And

supported at lower price points,” adds

Wood. “It’s interesting to see Indian make

Karbonn bring Android One devices to the

UK for Christmas.” Google’s efforts in

developing nations are another reason why

pulling back on development could end up

creating more problems than it solves for

the company – the likes of Samsung, HTC a

other manufacturers have their own apps an

portals to promote, from music services to

cloud storage lockers, and Google won’t wan

cede too much ground here.

Technology and mobiles expert at uSwitch.co

Rob Kerr also thinks that Google’s stock Androi

efforts are about keeping control – and that’s to

important to give up. “Whilst Google has deliver

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Lollipop? Let us know!

pages, refuses to connect to wireless, must
restart after that. Sometimes I feel like smashing
the tablet against the wall... so frustrating.” Plenty
of other messages expressing similar sentiments
are easy to fi nd on the web.
Worse may be to come, too: over the coming
weeks and months, Samsung, LG, Sony, Motorola
and HTC will be rolling out their own versions of
Android 5.0 Lollipop, which could lead to a whole
new set of problems for devices running Google’s
software. While developers at these companies will
be expected to rigorously test their code before
making it public, Lollipop’s track record so far would
suggest that the troubles could well linger for longer.

The end of Nexus devices?
If Google needed another reason to ditch the
Nexus programme and indeed the idea of stock
Android altogether, then Lollipop’s unsteady start
has surely provided one: the tech giant may well
consider this kind of software development and
large-scale operating system rollout as more
trouble than it’s worth and shift the
responsibility over to the hardware
manufacturers. Google already relies on them to
make and distribute Android phones, so why not
pass over the software development duties too?
Before the Nexus 6 was announced, there was
widespread speculation that Google was
considering ditching the idea of fl agship Nexus
devices running stock Android, and Lollipop’s
problems may have been enough to make its
mind up. ‘Android Silver’, a scheme where the
best Android phones are showcased by Google,
has been rumoured as a potential replacement
for the Nexus approach. If you have a Nexus 7 tablet then you might have had issueswith video playback.

How do other OS rollouts compar

iOS 6.

Scroll through recent calls

andtexts.Pressthemenu

icon on the right and select Block.

Siri got a substantial upgrade

to include Facebook, Twitter

and other services.

Google Maps was replaced

by Apple Maps, which didn’t

seem ready for primetime.

As with several other iOS

launches, Wi-Fi issues were

reported by many users.

iOS 7.

TheintroductionofControl

Centre provided a way to

manage key settings easily.

Multitasking was much

improved,bothinthe

interface and behaviour of apps.

There were widespread

reportsofexcessivebattery

drain after the update.

Dropped calls and lost

signals plagued iOS 7.1 users

even after several patches.

iOS 8.

For the first time, iOS users

could install third-party

keyboard apps.

HealthKitandtheHealthapp

marked Apple’s move into

health and fitness tracking.

Once again, Wi-Fi connection

anddroppingissueswere

widely reported.

Safari was found to be

particularly buggy, with

several issues cropping up.

Andro

The int

interac

could be hidd

Google’s

a persist

featureinAndr

Rollout to

paused w

investigated us

Lag and slu

performan

on several older

• Mode.

“My Nexus 7 is laggy, restarts and crashes randomly,

takes ages to navigate or open pages...”

A disgruntled user, Offi cial Android support forums