Overrated OS updates

[mwake4goten]

Everytime I see a new phone release I see people debating about wether the phone will get the next major version of Android. To me, most of the time OS updates are a waste of time. I generally find you get better performance with the OS that the phone was designed to operate with... Yes yes yes the manufacturer will yell you your shiny new os update is ready for you, but most of the time it results in varying degrees of decreased performance. For example my wife's Galaxy note 5 got the Marshmallow update and it runs quite well to be honest but overall it was faster with lollipop. However, I am aware that some people do truly get faster performance from OS updates but this has not been my experience. As a long time PC enthusiast I know all about degraded performance from installing the latest Windows OS without upgrading hardware. I know but PCs aren't exactly the same as smartphones but the same principle probably applies... More functionality in the OS puts greater strain on the hardware...unless they somehow optimise the hell out of it....I know Carrier and model name can make a huge difference as well..
Well I'm looking at the LG V20 as a possible next phone for myself...it has Android Nougat ready, but unlike some I'm not bothered or even thinking about Android Oreo.

 

[Aquila]

In a lot of ways this is dead on. The biggest updates are usually not user facing, such as security enhancements but most users don't care about that at all. I think it's safe to say that most people who are obsessed with security and updates would be on Nexus devices.

 

[oldtimefighter]

As a long time PC enthusiast I know all about degraded performance from installing the latest Windows OS without upgrading hardware. .

You must not be that much of a PC enthusiast as that is NOT true... Windows 8.x* or Windows 10 doesn't degrade performance over Windows 7 on the same hardware.

Windows 10 vs. Windows 8.1 vs. Windows 7 Performance > Faster, Slower, Better? - TechSpot
Windows 10 vs Windows 8 vs Windows 7: A performance comparison | ITworld

Yes, those are benchmarks but let's say you looked at real world usage like going on the Internet. You must know Edge* is way faster than IE right? Should we mention gaming performance is much better on Windows 10?

Windows has also improved it's footprint and memory usage over the years...

Faster booting, smaller footprint make Windows 10 an easy upgrade for old PCs | Ars Technica

I have recently built a new PC but my first taste of Windows 10 was a clean install on my four year old box and it seemed overall snapper to me.

There are many reasons why one would prefer Windows 7 over Windows 8.x and Windows 10 but not because of performance or resource usage.

*Note - I am not endorsing Windows 8.x or Edge at all.

In a lot of ways this is dead on. The biggest updates are usually not user facing, such as security enhancements but most users don't care about that at all. I think it's safe to say that most people who are obsessed with security and updates would be on Nexus devices.

Who is obsessed with security updates? LOL I agree they are not as important as security updates on a Windows box but they are "important".

I agree Android is maturing so the updates are not as earth shattering as in the past but there is a number of important improvements and new features I am looking forward to with Nougat.

I rarely hear Nexus owners saying they don't care about new Android versions. This just all about justifying one's phone choice and their OEM's poor software support?

 

[Markxmlx]

I can't think of a single instance in which updating my PC to the latest software has EVER resulted in a degradation in performance. It's almost always the opposite. Windows 10 is faster than 8 (even if people didn't like it) which was faster than 7. I don't know what experience you've had with PCs but they certainly do not mirror mine.

This would also be the case with phones except OEMs have to put stupid custom skins on top and unfortunately every year there is a significant change in the architecture of an SoC even from the same manufacturer and frankly most of these OEMs aren't terribly good at optimising software on older devices because the money is always in making sure the newest device has as much attention given to it as possible.

If Google controlled Android on every device that ran Google Play Services I think the longevity of every device would be far greater than what it is right now.

 

[wxboss]

The biggest updates are usually not user facing, such as security enhancements but most users don't care about that at all.

I think you're right about the fact that most users don't care about updates especially 'security only' updates, but that doesn't negate the fact that these updates are useful and needed for the end user.

We live in a day and time where being always on and always connected means that we are all potentially vulnerable to attacks. Regular updates help to keep users and their connected devices and accounts safe. An outdated OS is never a good thing.

I hear what you're saying, but I disagree with the OP's argument.

 

[avivzan]

I generally find you get better performance with the OS that the phone was designed to operate with... Yes yes yes the manufacturer will yell you your shiny new os update is ready for you, but most of the time it results in varying degrees of decreased performance. For example my wife's Galaxy note 5 got the Marshmallow update and it runs quite well to be honest but overall it was faster with lollipop. However, I am aware that some people do truly get faster performance from OS updates but this has not been my experience. .

i have a lot of thoughts in the matter and i would like to share them with you so first let me just say that you are partially right and why do i say partially right because in the first android major os updates Eclair to Ginger Bread what google was working on was the capabilities and features of the os which effected a lot the performance of old devices (so in this part you right), but since then google has been focused in trying to bring android to everyone over the world (project android one) which meant a big improvement of the performance of the os (because now you have less stronger phones which are going to use your os).
and because of that since Kit Kat you can see a big performance improvement in process power battery consumption task managing and more.
another thing is that every X.0 update have it's own problems and usually being fixed in the next X.1 update so if you want to save your self from this problems i would recommend to wait to the X.1 update of the new os.

one thing that you can see that google also doing in the lastest updates is adding features that were usually specific companies features to the os like the multitasking and dual sim support and so on, which giving more features to your phone now you can always look at the latest features offered for you in the update and decide if you need or want to have those, but if you asking me would definitely recommend you to update your phone.

 

[Vyrlokar]

IT professional here.

You might not realize it, but updates are not just important, they're fundamental. Software in general, and operating systems in particular are the most complex things mankind has created. Major version updates are not so important, but security updates? Oh boy, you want all of these. Look no further than the so called "Internet of [broken] things" to see how dysfunctional the things can be, when updates are the exception and even if they exist, people don't install them: connected cameras that can be used by voyeurs, cars that can be hijacked remotely, etc etc.

TLR If it has a microprocessor and is connected to the network, it needs software updates. Full stop.

 

[mwake4goten]

You must not be that much of a PC enthusiast as that is NOT true... Windows 8.x* or Windows 10 doesn't degrade performance over Windows 7 on the same hardware.

Windows 10 vs. Windows 8.1 vs. Windows 7 Performance > Faster, Slower, Better? - TechSpot
Windows 10 vs Windows 8 vs Windows 7: A performance comparison | ITworld

Yes, those are benchmarks but let's say you looked at real world usage like going on the Internet. You must know Edge* is way faster than IE right? Should we mention gaming performance is much better on Windows 10?

Windows has also improved it's footprint and memory usage over the years...

Faster booting, smaller footprint make Windows 10 an easy upgrade for old PCs | Ars Technica

I have recently built a new PC but my first taste of Windows 10 was a clean install on my four year old box and it seemed overall snapper to me.

There are many reasons why one would prefer Windows 7 over Windows 8.x and Windows 10 but not because of performance or resource usage.

*Note - I am not endorsing Windows 8.x or Edge at all.




Who is obsessed with security updates? LOL I agree they are not as important as security updates on a Windows box but they are "important".

I agree Android is maturing so the updates are not as earth shattering as in the past but there is a number of important improvements and new features I am looking forward to with Nougat.

I rarely hear Nexus owners saying they don't care about new Android versions. This just all about justifying one's phone choice and their OEM's poor software support?

People making some good points... However I did state that in my own experience, I've had worse times when upgrading... Maybe everyone else is noticing performance benefits but I've rarely seen that. For example, my Sony Xperia Pro became slow when I migrated from gingerbread to icecream sandwich, also my HTC ONE M8 slowed down for me when it moved from KitKat to lollipop. Windows ME and Vista did not make my machines go quicker, in fact the opposite for me. And also actually moving from Windows 8.0 to 8.1 made my PC noticeably slower.

I do acknowledge that It is hit and miss... Sometimes you get faster performance but I've learnt my lesson now and I stay away from upgrading straight away. I let the dust settle, read on the forums and if i see negative patterns with regards comments to the updates then I don't upgrade. I'm currently using Marshmallow on my HTC one m8 but for all the functionality I still wish I could roll back to KitKat add my phone felt faster on KitKat....

 

[gammerthumbs]

It's not the the latest OS from Google that kills your phone but all the crap you OEM put in with it. My S5 I used to have ran ok on kit Kat but once it updated to lollipop it was slow. Same for the note 2 I had once it updated to whatever the newest update was and it got even slower. Its not Google doing that but the maker of the phone.

 

[ptkelly]

But it isn't just the maker of the phone. One guy posted about the time it took to deal with his over 200 apps. That's mind boggling to me.

 

[mwake4goten]

It's not the the latest OS from Google that kills your phone but all the crap you OEM put in with it. My S5 I used to have ran ok on kit Kat but once it updated to lollipop it was slow. Same for the note 2 I had once it updated to whatever the newest update was and it got even slower. Its not Google doing that but the maker of the phone.

Google should allow users to roll back to whatever they want... Someone should take this up at the European Union. Like when Microsoft were forced to allow people to choose what browser they wanted on their computer instead of Internet explorer...

 

[badelhas]

When I had samsungs I noticed that also. Since I have a HTC One M8, its quite the opposite, its very very fast (went from 4.4.2 to 5.0.1 and I am now on 6.0.2). Still has fast and smooth since when I bought it, this is how every other manufacturer should be.

 

[1213 1213]

I read a well reasoned article here that argues that there are a bunch of underlying improvements in the os, and that without those, devs are limited in what they can add to their apps, as they target the mass market. Because the mass market is still kitkat/lollipop at best. So while individual updates may be overrated, the very fact that most phones aren't updated creates underlying problems.

But this obviously doesn't apply for individual phones and I wouldn't let it influence my buying decisions. But most flagships get the same 2 updates so I guess its a moot point.

 

[badelhas]

I read a well reasoned article here that argues that there are a bunch of underlying improvements in the os, and that without those, devs are limited in what they can add to their apps, as they target the mass market. Because the mass market is still kitkat/lollipop at best. So while individual updates may be overrated, the very fact that most phones aren't updated creates underlying problems.

But this obviously doesn't apply for individual phones and I wouldn't let it influence my buying decisions. But most flagships get the same 2 updates so I guess its a moot point.

I actually agree with that. It's one of the main problems with the manufacturers not caring about updating their smartphones

 

[boss.king]

I generally find you get better performance with the OS that the phone was designed to operate with... Yes yes yes the manufacturer will yell you your shiny new os update is ready for you, but most of the time it results in varying degrees of decreased performance.

That's half the problem though. If manufacturers did their job properly when it comes to updating, you'd have a comparable or improved experience. The fact that they do a shoddy job of updating your device's software is a big part of why I buy Nexus phones (which aren't perfect either but are better in this regard than the competition). The solution to bad updates isn't no updates, it's fixing what's wrong with the update process.

 

[badelhas]

That's half the problem though. If manufacturers did their job properly when it comes to updating, you'd have a comparable or improved experience. The fact that they do a shoddy job of updating your device's software is a big part of why I buy Nexus phones (which aren't perfect either but are better in this regard than the competition). The solution to bad updates isn't no updates, it's fixing what's wrong with the update process.

Very well put

 

[Snappy Phoenix]

In a lot of ways this is dead on. The biggest updates are usually not user facing, such as security enhancements but most users don't care about that at all. I think it's safe to say that most people who are obsessed with security and updates would be on Nexus devices.

Totally agree with the OP, for example, I got a Note 4 back in the day and it was the snappiest phone I owned at that time. Then in a couple of weeks, it got the lollipop upgrade and the battery life was literally halfed and it was laggy. sure I could downgrade back to Kit Kat but I was tired of the constant notifications and nags to update again and I didn't wanna root so I sold it.