Apple is preparing to launch iOS 9, possibly along with new iPhone hardware in the fall. With the debut of a new operating system and new phones, many smartphone owners, especially those on competing platforms, may be considering a switch to iOS and Apple’s hardware. One compelling reason to shift to the iPhone is Apple’s software update policy that pushes out new versions of iOS to a wide range of new and older devices at the same time.
Apple is known for its software updates that are pushed directly to the user’s handset without intervention by a third-party company or wireless carrier. Apple ensures the update is compatible with carrier networks, releases the new version and expects its developer ecosystem to adapt to the new version of the mobile operating system. With major releases such as iOS 9, Apple provides the operating system to its developers in advance, giving them time to prepare before the next version of iOS is released. When a major iOS version is released, it is a festive occasion with everyone receiving the new software at the same time along with app updates to ensure a smooth transition to the latest iOS version.
Besides regular and timely updates, Apple also releases its software to as many iOS devices as possible. With iOS 9, the latest version of Apple’s iOS software will run on all new hardware such as the rumored iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. It also will support the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s/c, iPhone 5 and even the four-year-old iPhone 4s, which was first sold in 2011. As an iPhone owner, you can expect your phone to receive updates for a several years in a row.
Besides regular and timely updates, Apple also releases its software to as many iOS devices as possible. With iOS 9, the latest version of Apple’s iOS software will run on all new hardware such as the rumored iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. It also will support the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s/c, iPhone 5 and even the four-year-old iPhone 4s, which was first sold in 2011. As an iPhone owner, you can expect your phone to receive updates for a several years in a row.
Android, on the other hand, is crippled by its ecosystem that involves OEMs (Android hardware makers such as HTC, LG, Sony and Samsung) and wireless carriers. For an update to land on an Android phone, it must first be released by Google, modified by the OEM and then approved by the wireless carrier in a drawn-out process that can take months to complete. In some cases, updates never make their way to a phone, leaving a two-year-old phone stuck using an older version of Android. Android 5.0 Lollipop which was released last year, is only on 18.1% of devices, whereas the adoption rate of iOS 8 is 86%.
Apple’s method of releasing updates is so efficient that it has persuaded well-known security journalist and fervent Android user Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai to abandon Android and switch to iPhone.
“Google still has very little control over software updates, and Android users are basically at the mercy of their carriers and phone manufacturers when it comes to getting updates or new operating system versions”, writes Franceschi-Bicchierai. “For example, it took Sony more than six months to push Android 5.0 Lollipop to its new line of Xperia Z phones, despite the fact that it had promised for a much shorter turnaround after Lollipop was released by Google. Just for comparison’s sake, when Apple released iOS 8 in September of last year, it immediately became available for all iPhone users, even those with an 2011 iPhone 4S.”
Do you look forward to each iOS update and appreciate that everyone gets it at the same time? Would you find Android’s method of passing updates to a hardware maker and wireless carrier frustrating? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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