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Update Life Cycle

At the risk of being told that I should have bought an iPhone...

Google has a stated device support life cycle of 18 months. I know this because of the burn I felt when my old Galaxy Nexus didn't receive KitKat, even though it was more than capable of running it.

I now have a Droid Turbo (Galaxy Nexus deja vu) and 6 months after its release I am still waiting for an update. If I received the update tomorrow after a 6 month wait, it would indicate that I would receive at most 2 more updates before Google considered the phone obsolete 12 months from now. With Verizon taking its time with updats and skipping releases, it seems that the flagship phone I purchased is destined to become obsolete before its time.

My question is, how long will Verizon support its devices? Will it extend updates for 6 months after Google's life cycle ends?

Comments

semi_engineer

7 Months in and this device is now 40% into its supported life cycle with no OS updates since its release. Not looking good for a flagship phone.

demmo86rt

First off, you did not purchase a flagship phone. You purchased a phone that is exclusive to one carrier. Manufacturers release their flagships to ALL carriers. This also points to why MOTOROLA (not Verizon) is taking so long with the update, fewer users means fewer resources dedicated to working on a particular device. Secondly, it's not like you are waiting for a particular update to fix some outstanding bug. Sure, Google stated that they want devices running Android to have 18 months update life, but it's not like they have any real control over what the manufacturers actually do. If Motorola can't get the firmware up to Verizon's standards, it's not going to get pushed out, especially with all users on here who yell and scream on here every time a device gets updated. You have an amazing device that does amazing things, no sense in getting worked up because some company hasn't fit your timetable.

semi_engineer

Webster's dictionary: noun flag·ship \ˈflag-ˌship\ : the best, largest, or most important one of a group of things (such as products, stores, etc.)

The Droid line is exclusive to Verizon and it's flagship phone is the Turbo. Saying it isn't a flagship because it is exclusive to Verizon is asinine. Back in the day, the iPhone could only be purchased at ATT. Does that mean it wasn't ATT's flagship phone? BS.

Technology is a perishable commodity. No one should be surprised that people are upset or feel cheated when Verizon has taken so long to provide an update. Putting it on Motorola is pathetic. I purchased the Turbo from Verizon when it was released. I was told that it was on a "short list" of phones to receive Lollipop. Seven months later that has still not happened. A couple weeks after that purchase I bought a Moto X 2nd Gen for my wife directly from Motorola. It updated to Lollipop right out of the box. Now who do you think I'm going to blame for the delay on my Turbo's update?

This isn't my first rodeo with Verizon. I've been a customer for 7 years. I currently have two smartphones, a dumb phone, and a tablet on their network. I am no stranger to their crappy device support. As I mentioned, I also had a Galaxy Nexus. I watched as all TRUE Nexus devices received update after update. Meanwhile I was left to twiddle my thumbs and hope Verizon would catch up. They never did. When that device hit EOL they dropped it like a hot potato. I have no doubt that they will do the same with the Turbo.

demmo86rt

The MOTO X updated to the buggy 5.0 lollipop, after the way that went, Motorola (or maybe Verizon) decided to update the Turbo directly to 5.1. So, in reality all us Turbo users were given a break by staying on the more stable OS until a good update could be provided. The list of devices that have been bumped to 5.1 is still relatively small.

The carriers don't manufacture the devices, therefore the title of flagship defaults to a manufacturer's best device, that would be the MOTO X for Motorola. Also, at time of release, the GS5, M8, and G4 were all better devices than the Turbo, so it technically fails on that point as well.

There is also the point that people STILL don't realize that the carriers don't provide the updates to devices, other than pushing them out. If Motorola hasn't provided an update that Verizon is happy with, then it's not going out. But you can't put the blame on Verizon for that. What reason could they possibly have for holding it back, other than it not being up to par?

And, being EOL means just that... END OF LIFE, why would anybody, carrier or manufacturer continue supporting a device after that? It's not like it just stopped working.

semi_engineer

There are currently 6 Motorola phones for sale at Verizon. Which of those devices is the flagship? If you think its the Moto X you've never used one. The title "flagship" isn't owned by the manufacturer, but even if it was, Motorola has no phone with better specs or a higher price tag than the Droid Turbo. You can argue that the Nexus 6 is better, but it shares most of the same hardware and it's the same price @$499.

But forget about the semantics of the use of the word "flagship". Let's talk about the OS. Lollipop has been stable as a rock on the wife's Moto X since the day it updated. I am aware that lots of devices have had issues since upgrading to it, but take a look through the Turbo forums and you'll find that Kit Kat hasn't been perfect either. The hype of 5.02 being a dog is overblown to say the least.

The only thing you are correct about is that the carriers do not provide the updates. In Verizon's case they do control them (the exception is the iPhone, still 100% updated by Apple). So we are expected to believe that Motorola has not been able to put together a stable rom for the Turbo, but it has for the Moto X? And this skipping of a release is for our own good because 5.02 is too buggy to run? Why is it running fine on the wife's phone? Oh, that's right. They are jumping to 5.1 because it includes VoltE support. But wait. Didn't we get that as an OTA back in February? Something stinks about all of this and it has the stench as the Galaxy Nexus. It smells like a device that was promised to be something it wasn't.

As for why a carrier would continue to support a device that has reached EOL, the real question should be why would a carrier stop supporting a device that HAS NOT.

You're welcome to respond again, but it still won't make you right.

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