Let's take a moment to think about how Google can change its versioning policy Android. Already now, information appears on the Web about what's new in Android 11. And new features are always good, but one of the Reddit users offered a very interesting idea, with which I agree and would like to reveal it in this material in more detail.
Android could be better
The essence of the proposal is to stop the release of new versions Android by analogy with how Microsoft did it with the release Windows 10. The company no longer releases new versions of its operating system, but only modifies and updates the current version Windows. This step is correct in terms of software quality. The release of major updates always means a lot of testing is needed and usually leads to new bugs and problems. This is not good, and Microsoft understood it. You can see how Winows 10 is getting better and better every day, it freezes less, its interface is gradually becoming more pleasant. And such a gradual improvement in the capabilities and quality of the system makes Windows 10 an amazing operation on the market, which simply has no analogues.
The same tactic, in my opinion, should be followed by Google. Let's assume there is Android X coming out in 2020 and it will be the last one. The company will then only marginally and continuously update the system as needed. For example, if a team proposes a function, Google will release it instantly, focusing only on optimizing that very function. Thus, the user will receive a trending function not in a year, but right now, and it will be well optimized.
Many may argue that manufacturers have to adapt Android to their shells, and it takes a long time. But here, too, manufacturers benefit. They can also, like Google, introduce new features all the time, thereby becoming a kind of Update Bus, in which the device never stops updating.
Why do you need this at all?
The point is, if you look at the market, we have a strong fragmentation. If Google decides to abandon major updates in favor of supporting only one version, this will make this problem irrelevant. And what Tim Cook so often condemns at the presentation Apple Android will no longer be a reason for condemnation.
Another point is the speed of getting new features. How does smartphone update work today? Google has many development teams working on various features Android. There are also Open Source features that may be included in the final version of the system. Suppose one team developed a feature almost immediately after a new one Android was released. It turns out that users will have to wait a whole year until this function appears in the next version Android. Such a slowdown in updates, in my opinion, negatively affects the relevance.
Some people believe that smartphones after some time will not be able to support the next updates Android due to the obsolescence of the hardware. And this has its own truth, but what prevents the manufacturer from choosing which phones will receive the minor update and which will not. On the contrary, this approach to updating the system will make the updating process itself more flexible. Let's assume that dark theme is too heavy a feature for budget devices, but they are capable of supporting other features. Why not give cheap phones the functionality they can support? Of course, in this case, manufacturers and Google need to think about how to make the system modular, because the difference in functions on different devices can negatively affect the optimization of the system, errors will appear. I propose to discuss this in Telegram.
Therefore, another option may be simply refusing to update some devices after a while. Even so, the fragmentation and release rate and update rate issues will be resolved. It is interesting to know what our readers think about this. Share your opinion in the comments to this material.