I think that the manufacturers should support the devices they sell but not in they way that some people believe they should. I think they should only provide software updates to fix bugs and improve performance. I do not believe that they should offer updates to the next version of android. It takes a lot of resources and money to adapt android x.x with Sony interface and then make it work on a dozen different devices. Resources that could be put towards a better experience on newer devices. I feel that if I pay for a device with android 4.3, 4.3 is what I paid for. Not 4.3+4.4+4.5 . On the flip side I believe that when a new version of android is made available that manufacturers not be allowed to offer a device with an older version. That would take some effort from Google and the manufacturers but it would be great if all the phones that came out after Halloween already had KitKat. And let the hate commence.
Sent from my D5503 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Hardware now is at the point where a high-end phone should last a good 3 years or even indefinitely.. I mean.. do we need 8 cores and 4k screens? I would not want an environment where a producer is forced to spawn new hardware just because new software is available, I would like it to happen more organically than that.
While hardware arms-race is great at drastically improving performance in new technology, there should theoretically be a limit where hardware improvements may not outweigh the cost to the consumer, and it is at this point where software takes over. Processing power and screen resolution is at a point where anything more is redundant. At least I think that software is where the future is at. I'd take a good and useful feature, instead of imperceivable pixel-density or more CPU power.
Keep in mind I'm not saying screen resolution and cpu-core improvements are worth zero, I just think they may not be worth as much as Qualcomm is trying to make us believe. Battery performance on the other hand, gimmie -- though this is equal parts software and hardware. There are many hardware improvements that are infinitely more useful than a new android-version, unfortunately they are overlooked by the naive consumer that just want whatever the producers can most easily improve upon.
I feel that if I pay for a device with android 4.3, 4.3 is what I paid for.
Ha! You've got to be kidding, you can not possibly defend this statement? When you pay 500$ for a phone, you'd rather have Sony forget all about you and move on the next phone? A new android major-version update can be just as impressive and fun as new hardware, and if you don't want it, don't install it? I don't count bug-fixing, included in the price of a new phone, should be the promise of a bug-free and functional device.
