Originally Posted by
RumoredNow My understanding of iOS (I've only used it briefly) is that the OS itself advances once a year. The rest of the time they are pushing Fixes (for bugs) and Security Patches (for whoopsies).
When I was on Android, I was spoiled by using Nexus and getting regular updates. However, the user forums and people in my personal life reveal that most Android devices in the mid to high end get one update and done, two as a rare exception. Low end devices rarely or never see an update. this is due to the OEMs constantly pushing new hardware. Vastly more Android devices get left behind than are updated. The majority of users are not flashing custom ROMS. The majority of forum users are, not the mainstream user group.
I've been using Windows Phone since August, 2013. So in the roughly 16 months I've been on the platform it has gone from Amber to Black (1st update) to Cyan (2nd update) to Denim (expected 3rd). That puts me on pace for one update every 6 months. The lowly and almost 2 year old Lumia 520 is getting 8.1.1 and is expected to upgrade all the way into Windows 10.
I think a lot of posts around this topic are based on a fallacy that the grass is always greener on the other side.
I agree. I was on seven different Android phones and tablets starting with Froyo - and to be honest, only one tablet that I kept bone stock received an OS update through the vendor/provider. The other phones/tablets only got updates because I had installed custom ROMs and I was constantly tweaking them to get them to work.
With Windows Phone - either my 635 or my 1520 - they both work out-of-the-box and are getting the EXACT SAME OS UPDATE in the future. Any faults are due to applications (hello, TheChive) or hardware (1520 was returned twice for screen issues).
I didn't have to tweak anything to get MMS, group messaging, LTE, or localized GPS support - these were frequent tweaks that I had to do with Android.
Will I get Denim? yes, probably eventually. But in the meantime, I'm just going to live with great devices that don't need constant babysitting...