The Case of Samsung: Why Updating Android May Always Suck (Part I)

(Image: http://cellphonequick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Android.jpg)

As an Android developer, I avoid recommending phones and tablets to people unless I am confident that the manufacturer will support the product with software updates for at least a year. Apple is very good at bringing iOS updates to all the phones in its iPhone lineup. While many expected Apple to dump the 3Gs after releasing iOS 5, Apple surprised the community when it revealed that the iPhone 4, 4s, and even the 3Gs would get the iOS 5 update. This was huge because it meant that Apple would continue to support the dated phone for at least until the next major software iteration. Remember, the iPhone 3Gs was released over two years ago! In the fast-paced world of tech, it's ancient history. Still, Apple is supporting it.

Unfortunately, no manufacturers I know of support Android as well as Apple supports iOS. Look at what Samsung (the manufacturer with the closest relationship with Google thanks to its production of the Nexus S and Nexus Prime "Google Phones") is doing to its customers! Samsung is refusing to offer the Android 4.0 update Ice Cream Sandwich for its Galaxy S customers. The Galaxy S, a flagship phone released about 1.5 years ago, is a great phone. It has nearly identical specs of the Samsung Nexus S Google Phone, a phone that is getting the Ice Cream Sandwich update. Samsung says that the Galaxy S does not have the specs necessary to run ICS optimally.

I suspect there are several reasons Samsung (and many other manufacturers) are not providing customers with reliable software updates after purchase:

1. Samsung has too many phone and tablet models in the market, and the turnover time on "flagship" devices is short.
2. As talented as Samsung is at writing software for its devices, its forte is in hardware manufacturing.
3. Android is a one-time selling point, not a long-term profit-generator.

1. Samsung has too many phone and tablet models in the market, and the turnover time on "flagship" devices is short. 

When my start-up was thinking about what platforms to develop for, we jumped on iOS because of the standard development environment offered by all of the iOS devices. Right now, all of the iPhones have the same screen size, and the iPad 1 and iPad 2 have the same screen size. You might not think it's a big deal, but screen size changes the way developers need to lay out their apps. While layout is rather simple to fix with some XML code on Android (usually), having to adjust layout for a dozen different screen sizes is simply a pain! The hardware in iOS devices is relatively standard, too. All of the iPhones have GPS, wifi, compass, and camera.

Compare this to Samsung's offering. Right now off the top of my head, Samsung has the following phones out in the "wild" available for purchase:

These numerous Samsung devices are still available and sold by carriers and big retail stores. 

-Samsung Infuse 4G
-Samsung Galaxy S2 4G
-Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G
-Samsung Galaxy Note
-Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" (Normal and Plus models)
-Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
-Samsung Droid Charge
-Samsung Nexus S (a GSM model and a 4G model)
-Samsung Slide
-Samsung Galaxy Ace
-Samsung Epic 4G

Can you say "marketing and software development nightmare?" Also, two of the phones listed above --the Infuse and Galaxy S2 --were pitched as flagship phones. And the phones came out less than 6 months apart. That means that Samsung's Infuse was top-of-the-line for hardly 6 months before they moved on and pushed the S2 as the new hot ticket.

Why should Samsung give a damn about the Infuse when they just want to sell the S2 now? And guess what --Samsung has promised Ice Cream Sandwich for the S2 but has not even mentioned the update for the Infuse.

I guarantee you that the Infuse has the hardware needed to run Ice Cream Sandwich, with flying colors. Samsung just doesn't see a reason to bring ICS to Infuse. The new flagship is the S2. While the Infuse will still sell, its sales will primarily be driven by price point and not software now that the release of S2 has forced the Infuse's price point to drop.

Apple used to have a reputation for screwing the consumer by releasing updated products and ignoring older models. Then they pivoted and started to support products for the long-haul. And as a result, consumers have more confidence in Apple's support of products. And Apple's reaping the benefits and swimming in cash.

But Apple has incentive to keep supporting their products because they are vertically integrated. They do the hardware and the software, and they profit from both. They sell an iPhone for $800 and make a ton of cash. Then, by improving the UI and improving the app store through iOS updates, they make it easier for users to keep using the phone and buying new software from the app store. Apple makes money on app store sales, so it is in its best interests to keep optimizing iOS and making the apps more and more powerful on the phone.

Samsung, as far as I know, does not make money off of the app store. The revenues in the Android app store go to the carriers, not the hardware manufacturer. Samsung, being a massive corporation, cares primarily about maximizing its bottom line --whether or not it pleases existing customers.

So if Samsung doesn't make money off of app sales, it really has no incentive to improve performance of their older phone models to boost user satisfaction and encourage increased software purchases through the app store.

Tune in next time for the conclusion of this two-part post, where I'll talk about points 2 and 3.

TO BE CONTINUED...