Google's Nexus One Not Getting Android 4.0 Update
by Andrew Cunningham on October 26, 2011 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Android
- Ice Cream Sandwich
- Laptops
Google's Nexus One phone, manufactured by HTC and originally released in January of 2010, will not be receiving the Ice Cream Sandwich update along with other phones, says Google's Android product management director Hugo Barra, because the device is "too old."
The Nexus lineup has traditionally been used to showcase new, "stock" versions of Android without added manufacturer customizations, and as a result they typically receive access to new Android updates before other handsets. Google's decision not to support less-than-two-year-old Nexus One with its newest mobile OS stands in contrast to Apple's strategy for the oldest phone in its lineup, 2009's iPhone 3GS, which received most of iOS 5's new features when the update was released earlier this month.
Barra said that the Nexus S, the immediate successor of the Nexus One, would be getting the update over the air a few weeks after the launch of the new Galaxy Nexus next month. Nexus One owners hoping for an update will need to rely on the open source community to hook them up after Ice Cream Sandwich's source code is released to the public.
Source: PCMag
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doobydoo - Friday, October 28, 2011 - link
Yep, with phones it's always been free. Phones you may have a 24 month contract etc so it's expected that you get free updates.Even for the iPod owners, at least they had the option to upgrade. If they don't want to pay, fine, they keep their old OS, but they were given that choice.
Nexus One owners are skanked :(
SmCaudata - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - link
18 months is how long Google expects manufacturers to provide updates for phones. I'm guessing that for the Nexus line it is about the same. ICS will fall outside of that original 18 month window.The other problems is that ICS is going to soft buttons and has some other upgrades that they feel would not be showcased on the Nexus One well. My guess is that with the unification of tablets and phones going forward, the nexus line will get closer to 2 years of updates.
To those that are comparing this to iOS... just look at the operating systems. The upgrades that are enabled on the 3gs are only mildly CPU taxing. It didn't get the full upgrade really. I'm guessing that Google could also release a neutered version for the Nexus One, but people would complain about that as well.
hechacker1 - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - link
Apple isn't immune to advancing technology either with iOS.My late 2009 2nd Gen ipod touch was replaced by the 3rd gen in 2010. It came with iOS 3, I was able to upgrade to iOS 4.21 when Apple cut off all further upgrades due to hardware changes.
Essentially, I got just about 1 year worth of updates.
But for something like the ipod touch, with limited specs, it doesn't really make sense to try and cram more features into it if it slows to a crawl. iOS 4 was notably slower than iOS 3 on the same hardware (for the 3GS as well).
So I'm sure the open source community will port ICS to the first Nexus, but will it run well? Well probably better than what Apple could have done.
doobydoo - Thursday, October 27, 2011 - link
What are you talking about. The 3rd generation iPod touch came out in September 2009. Not 2010.The 2nd generation iPod touch came out in September 9th 2008. The upgrade to iOS 4.2.1 was released on November 22, 2010
That is over 2 years worth of support.
The Nexus One was released on January 5, 2010, and is now not receiving support. That's LESS than 2 years worth of support.
Sorry, but this is an absolute fail by Google.
Also, iOS 5 runs fine on the 3GS.
sprockkets - Thursday, October 27, 2011 - link
Hey, appleinsider is just a click away! There you can enjoy being yourself!doobydoo - Friday, October 28, 2011 - link
Good arguments, well made. You proved all of my factual statements incorrect.When you interpret facts as bias, that's when you should realise you're the one who needs an anti-apple site, not me needing the reverse.
tayb - Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - link
If Google isn't willing to support their "own" devices for two+ years what chance do other devices stand? I own a Droid X and I do not honestly expect to get ICS. How pathetic is that? The phone is a little over a year old.There are plenty of reasons I won't be returning to Android when my contract is up but this software upgrade nonsense is pretty high up on the list.
dalcool - Thursday, October 27, 2011 - link
Bummer, at least I found a cool site that has the Ice Cream Sandwich wallpapers. It is formatted for mobile so they are easy to install. www.freedroidwallpaper.comBooster - Thursday, October 27, 2011 - link
"Google's decision not to support less-than-two-year-old Nexus One with its newest mobile OS stands in contrast to Apple's strategy for the oldest phone in its lineup, 2009's iPhone 3GS, which received most of iOS 5's new features when the update was released earlier this month"So this settles it. I'm officially done with Google. Their services are okay to use if free, but when money comes into play they act like experienced conmen.
Booster - Thursday, October 27, 2011 - link
Adroid is a well-engineered scheme to con people out of their cash, so no surprise they aren't partial to software updates. For Google to benefit, you have to buy an all-new device even if it's not much different from the old one.In order to lure their victims Google uses fancy names and appealing graphics images of food products, thus attacking you on a subconscious level since noone can live without food. It works like this: food = always good. Ice cream sandwich = food = good, necessary. Need ICS, but no update = okay, off to pay the big bucks to Google since it's the thing to do. It's truly retarded to fall for this.