Android smartphones have a big disadvantage over iPhone devices based on a new study that spotlights the Google brand's problem with fragmentation. New versions of mobile apps can take months or years to be released after their original release. The reason is that the updates must be tweaked, first tested by mobile device vendors and, and then examined by wireless carriers before they get to phone and tablet owners.
Google only controls how fast updates are sent to Nexus devices, according to Forbes. In addition, the company's Android partners have few financial benefits of providing free over-the-air software updates to customers.
The end result is that Android updates might not get to mobile devices half a year or more after being released. A new study points out that it is a big problem for consumers.
One example is Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which was originally released in October 2015. Google's Android data reports that as of Jan. 4, 2016, Marshmallow is installed on only 0.7 percent of all Android phones that connect to Google Play store, according to BGR.
The most popular version of the Android OS is Android 4.4 KitKat. However, it was released over two years ago in October 2013.
At the same time Marshmallow was installed on 0.7 percent of all Android devices, iOS9 was installed on three-quarters of all iOS devices that access the company's Apple Store as of Jan. 11, 2016. That is based on Apple's data.
A recent study by the University of California and the University of British Columbia addressed the issue of fragmentation. It found that four out of five Android users want to block certain permissions on apps installed on their devices.
iOS devices already have this feature. The newest version of Android has this functionality, but less than 1 percent of Android users have access to it because they have an outdated version of the operating system.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow will take about two years until it is Android OS' most popular version. However, Android 8.0 will have been released by then, making Marshmallow old and out-of-date.
Meanwhile, most iPhone, iPad, and iPod users will have access to Apple's iOS 11 software at that time. That includes all the new bells and whistles.