Nexus 7 proves Android has grown too complex for Google to properly maintain

11 years ago

“Android started as an immature mobile platform designed to handle smartphones. Google has added functionality to Android so it now handles tablets in addition to handling smartphones much better than that first version,” James Kendrick writes for ZDNet. “Unfortunately, the growth of the platform has magnified a horrible update problem to the point that every update seems to break as much as it improves.”

“Google brought smooth operation to the platform at long last [with Nexus 7]. Typical tablet operations such as scrolling was clearly better on the Nexus 7 than on any other Android tablet,” Kendrick writes. “”

MacDailyNews Take: They just got “smooth scrolling” and they’re (momentarily) happy about it. Thank you, sir, may I have another and track me 24/7 while you’re at it, too, please!

Kendrick writes, “That only lasted a few months as Google pushed an update to the Nexus 7 that broke the smooth operation affecting all aspects of the tablet’s performance. Scrolling is herky-jerky in all apps and for general system operation. The biggest improvement in Android since its inception has been broken by Google.”

MacDailyNews Take: What’s the problem? Google was simply returning Fragmandroid settlers back to what they’re so obviously used to: staccato performance.

“It was so bad that Google had to push out a quick update designed to fix the other update. Some Nexus 7 owners are happy to get smooth operation back but I’m not one of them. My Nexus 7 is still exhibiting laggy operation across the board. I’m not alone as I’ve heard from quite a few others in the same situation,” Kendrick writes. “Some Nexus 7 owners have inherited other problems with the last update on top of the performance issues. I’ve heard from a number of owners who are experiencing multiple system reboots daily since the last Nexus 7 update.”

MacDailyNews Take: Dear Misguided Masochist: You should’ve bought an iPad mini; bigger screen, far better battery life, and smooth, smooth scrolling. Like buttah!

Kendrick writes, “Hopefully Google will push out another Nexus 7 update to fix the update that didn’t fix the other update.”

MacDailyNews Take: An oldie, but a goodie:

As we’re fond of saying, if you’re finally tired of downloading and installing patches to patch patches that patched patches issued to fix patches that broke while patching a patch that didn’t patch the first patch, but broke the last patch you patched, you might want to try ~~a Mac~~ [an iPad mini] instead. — MacDailyNews, August 3, 2004

Jobs, did we really write that over eight years ago?! Ah, well, the circle of life: Apple wannabes wasting the time, money, and patience of the ignoranti, the stupid, and the cheap. Same as it ever was.

Kendrick writes, “If Google can’t get Android updates right what chance do its partners have to get them right for their own devices? We often hear horror stories about delays of updates or updates that break things as happened on the Nexus 7. It’s clear that Android is incredibly difficult to maintain properly… Android is too complex for Google to maintain properly. It’s to the point that installing an Android update is a crap shoot that may break functionality or adversely affect performance.”

MacDailyNews Take: Hey, Jimmie, how’s your battery life? (smirk)

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: It is to laugh.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Edward W.” for the heads up.]