The Android operating system seems to be a very successful platform. It feeds 85 percent of the youth smartphones released along with iOS, has virtually stopped any competition.
But Android is plagued by persistent problems that Google seems unable to solve. First of all, there is the issue of fragmentation.
What does this mean;
Developers must develop software that works reliably on many hundreds of different devices from dozens of manufacturers. So developers only focus on devices from the big guys players.
Then there is the problem of updates. Google has an annual update scheduled for Android (except and if there is a 0day that forces the company to release a critical update), but adoption of the update within a year can be as low as 10 percent. Imagine how long it takes for a universal application of the update.
While Google seems to be fast enough to release its Nexus updates, it may take months for owners of other Android devices (from other manufacturers) to get the update.
In fact, unless you have a Nexus device, the easiest way to get a new version of Android is to buy a new device.
From the above it is clear that Android is facing some extremely serious problems.
Many of the problems faced by the platform are because they are open source. Android is relatively open, meaning that as soon as Google releases a new version, OEMs get to work adding, well, you can imagine. This then results in both partitioning and all the problems with the updates as Google updates cannot be installed on jailbroken Android by OEMs.
Another problem with Android is that it is based on Linux, and Linux is known to be plagued by legal issues.
Τα νομικά ζητήματα, και ειδικότερα ζητήματα αδειοδότησης πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας, είναι ένα πολύ σοβαρό πρόβλημα για τους κατασκευαστές του Android. Εταιρείες όπως η Microsoft κερδίζουν δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια από αμοιβές αδειοδότησης των διπλωμάτων ευρεσιτεχνίας από Android hardware OEMs.
So a completely new functional, developed from scratch could release OEMs from the cost of patents.
Google, as we mentioned in a previous publication, is reportedly experimenting on new platforms. Take, for example, Project Fuchsia. Sure, it is too early to talk about this, but it is clear that Google is looking for a time beyond the Linux kernel, and the end of the Linux kernel actually means the end of Android.
This operating system could not only be built from scratch to be optimized for today's devices, laptops, smartphones or even small IoT devices - allowing for a truly integrated platform.
Google could license this platform for hardware developers, as opposed to using the open source model.
And licensing by Google means that the company will have more control over hardware and devices. No one will be allowed to fill garbage applications functional, and the updates will come with the ones released by the company. Yes a platform for the 21 century.
But do not expect to see it soon as all operating systems need time to grow.
Android has some serious shortcomings that Google is well aware of, and the fact that it has not made any effort to fix these issues is perhaps the strongest proof - along with the company's interest in developing new platforms - that something is being prepared.
ZDNet
