What is better? Samsung S6 or iPhone 6s?

[Sherry_B]

That's not a Nexus phone so has nothing to do with Google - that is an issue with Samsung and whichever carrier the phone was sold on.

Google announced the Galaxy S4 as their new flagship phone at the Google I/O Keynote in 2013. The Galaxy S4's that we purchased are unlocked Google phones, purchased from the Play Store for $649.00 USD, and are not branded to any cell carrier. They run pure Android without Touchwiz. Google sent out the updates when the phones were new, not Samsung. Samsung only updated the S4's running Touchwiz, which were branded to carriers.

Not going to quote the rest of your post as you proved my point. Google only updates their current flagships, unlike Apple who supports all of their phone iterations until the update itself does not run on a specific device.

 

[doogald]

Google announced the Galaxy S4 as their new flagship phone at the Google I/O Keynote in 2013.

Again - it's not a Nexus phone - it was a Google Play Edition phone. Subtle difference, but it's a difference. Google was dependent on Samsung for updates to this phone. They are not for any Nexus phones.

I'll requote myself:

To be fair, that is no longer an issue. Google has released security patches at least monthly to Nexus devices. Google unfortunately cannot control what OEMs do, though. Get a Nexus and you are all set for updates.

I'm not trying to convince you to buy a Nexus phone - I don't care what phone you buy, or what anybody buys. Everybody should buy the best phone for themselves. My point was this: if you buy a Nexus phone now or from now on, you will get reasonable security and version updates from Google going forward. Period. I'm done with this point. No need to reply...

 

[scruffypig]

To be fair, that is no longer an issue. Google has released security patches at least monthly to Nexus devices since October (I believe - since last year's Stagefright issue.) Google unfortunately cannot control what OEMs do, though. Get a Nexus and you are all set for updates.



You've already answered that question - use Google services for calendar and contacts at least and you can switch between the platforms without a problem. (iCloud mail works fine on Android BTW, though GMail is a lot better, particularly for spam filtering, so I'm not sure why you'd not use Gmail if you're already using Google calendar and contacts.) I didn't get an iPhone until last October, but I'd been using an Android phone with Macs since 2009 and with an iPad since 2012 without a problem at all.

The post is about the Samsung Galaxy S6, though and not a Nexus device.

 

[Sherry_B]

Again - it's not a Nexus phone

I never once said it was a Nexus phone. I said, quite clearly, its a Galaxy S4. You kept trying to tell me it was not a Google phone, otherwise I would not have kept trying to tell you that it was.

if you buy a Nexus phone now or from now on, you will get reasonable security and version updates from Google going forward.

Just because it's a Nexus device does not ensure that it will always get updates. I still have my Galaxy Nexus (Maguro) and it doesn't get any more updates. There's nothing so special about Android 6.0.1 that would prevent the Galaxy Nexus from running it. In fact, you can easily find a 6..0.1 ROM for it over on XDA. Why should anyone have to install a custom rom just so they can have an updated version of Android.

It's on topic; I feel that the 6s is superior to the s6 because Apple will continue to support the phone with updates long after it's been removed from their website. Not so with the Google device. This is what matters to me when choosing a phone.

 

[thebizz]

I never once said it was a Nexus phone. I said, quite clearly, its a Galaxy S4. You kept trying to tell me it was not a Google phone, otherwise I would not have kept trying to tell you that it

Wow sounds like you are one of the few that bought a gpe Galaxy s4. That was a cool idea sadly it didn't get much support and the quite a few of the devices were abandoned by the manufacturers. Sadly it was up to Samsung to update your device and unless it's a phone that sells a lot they are in no rush to update it. The gpe phones did not make amusing enough to warrant great software support. You are correct though Apple is the benchmark when it comes to software support. Sadly I think they may support some devices for to long.

@doogald I was more or less saying Apple has so many of their own things that android phones can't use like iMessage FaceTime etc. I can easily use the majority of my things from google minus apps on the iPhone.

 

[Sherry_B]

it was up to Samsung to update your device

Not sure why you guys keep saying that. The Galaxy S4 (GT-i9505G) was updated directly from Google. Not Samsung. There is no Samsung software on the phone. It was shipped with pure Android 4.2.2.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Not sure why you guys keep saying that. The Galaxy S4 (GT-i9505G) was updated directly from Google. Not Samsung. There is no Samsung software on the phone. It was shipped with pure Android 4.2.2.

As far as I know GPe still went through OEMs for kernel and software support to the hardware.
So he basically was right.

 

[doogald]

Not sure why you guys keep saying that. The Galaxy S4 (GT-i9505G) was updated directly from Google. Not Samsung. There is no Samsung software on the phone. It was shipped with pure Android 4.2.2.

See https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en

See timing section, google play edition devices.

Updates to Google Play edition devices are managed by the device manufacturers, not by Google. Google works closely with the manufacturers to provide system updates shortly after a new version is released. Once an update is available, it can take up to two weeks for it to reach your device. Based on your carrier, it may take longer than two weeks after release to get an update.

Google Play edition devices may not receive the latest version of Android if they fall outside of the update window, which is usually around 18 months after a device has been released.

Google Play Edition devices were an interesting idea but they were stopped a few years ago, at least somewhat for this reason - Google didn't control the updates.

 

[doogald]

@doogald I was more or less saying Apple has so many of their own things that android phones can't use like iMessage FaceTime etc. I can easily use the majority of my things from google minus apps on the iPhone.

Gotcha, but there are still answers. You can still use Skype or Hangouts for video calls from Mac or iOS, and iMessage will send as sms to android devices, and you can use pushbullet to allow the Mac to send and receive text messages. Things like handoff, though, you just can't do, though pushbullet lets you get close. The Mac is a great partner pc with android.

 

[thebizz]

Gotcha, but there are still answers. You can still use Skype or Hangouts for video calls from Mac or iOS, and iMessage will send as sms to android devices, and you can use pushbullet to allow the Mac to send and receive text messages. Things like handoff, though, you just can't do, though pushbullet lets you get close. The Mac is a great partner pc with android.

You are correct their are work-arounds and you can gain back a lot of functionality. I'd rather have these services be os level rather than add on. Still hated the fact that I had to download the lg bridge application just for my lg G4 to talk to my Mac.

 

[MaxSmarties]

You are correct their are work-arounds and you can gain back a lot of functionality. I'd rather have these services be os level rather than add on. Still hated the fact that I had to download the lg bridge application just for my lg G4 to talk to my Mac.

yep. I still think using Android on a Mac is mostly a PITA.....

 

[Sherry_B]

Based on your carrier

We did not rely on our carrier for updates to the S4 i9505G. The Android updates sent were stock AOSP, which is written and created by Google.

 

[doogald]

We did not rely on our carrier for updates to the S4 i9505G. The Android updates sent were stock AOSP, which is written and created by Google.

*sigh*

Updates to Google Play edition devices are managed by the device manufacturers, not by Google.

 

[Sherry_B]

*sigh*

"Elena is an Android expert and author of this help page."

Not even written by Google. Apparently Google does not thoroughly read what they allow on their support pages. Not surprising really. :laughing:

 

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[MaxSmarties]

We did not rely on our carrier for updates to the S4 i9505G. The Android updates sent were stock AOSP, which is written and created by Google.

They were created by Google by provided to the OEMs .... That's part of the Google Play Edition agreement.
It is different on Nexus devices.

 

[Sherry_B]

They were created by Google by provided to the OEMs .... That's part of the Google Play Edition agreement.

Samsung had input, but they did not push OTA stock Android updates to the i9595G.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Samsung had input, but they did not push OTA stock Android updates to the i9595G.

I think they actually did. They received stock Android from Google, provided hardware support an very little customization (just as far as supporting hardware, nothing more) and then push OTA to customers.
That was the deal with GPe.
A good halfway solution between Nexus and customized OEMs.

 

[Sherry_B]

I think they actually did. They received stock Android from Google, provided hardware support an very little customization (just as far as supporting hardware, nothing more) and then push OTA to customers.

It was on the page at the Play Store that the phone would receive Android updates directly from Google. It was only one of the key factors we discussed before purchasing the phones. We never would have otherwise.

Aside from that, there was never any updates released via Kies (it wasn't even compatible (ie; no updates) with the i9505G) nor were there any available downloads for that specific phone on the Samsung web site.

That was the deal with GPe.

I can find no legal online documents between Samsung and Google stating as such. All that I've found thus far are anecdotal statements.

 

[Sherry_B]

Directly from Samsung: