Developers prevented from action that could lead to further fragmentation.
In an effort to decrease consumer and developer frustration regarding the fragmentation of its Android platform, Google is aiming to put a stop to it.
The search engine giant recently modified its legal agreement with developers creating Android apps, subsequently preventing them from any action that could lead to further fragmentation of the mobile operating system.
The new clause is the first major update since the 2009 terms, which did not discuss the issues surrounding fragmentation. The clause has now been added to the Android SDK licensing terms and conditions; developers must accept it should they wish to create applications for the platform.
"You agree that you will not take any actions that may cause or result in the fragmentation of Android, including but not limited to distributing, participating in the creation of, or promoting in any way a software development kit derived from the SDK," reads section 3.4 of Google's updated terms.
Fragmentation leads to apps being prevented from running properly on all Android devices, leading to the platform becoming more costly and complex for developers.
According to Google statistics, more than 54 percent of Android devices are running Android 2.3, which was the version that launched in 2010. One of the more recent version, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, only runs on 2.4 percent of smartphones.
Isn't the latest version, 8, not going on previous phones?
Android's still an unstable and inefficient pos
You have a point, but the latest version, 8, will last a couple years for any device using it. They do not consider every .x a major update. Everything that is 2.x should run anything 2.x on Android, but it doesn't. Everyone using a 4.0 device should have 4.2 already, but they do not. Every single little update to Android seems to cause them to consider it a new upgrade that "may not work on all devices". This trick in numbering prevents consumers from being able to tell there are FAR more than 4 versions of Android actually out.
Why is this action even being taken now? Wasn't fragmentation supposed to be fixed 2 whole versions ago? Why are developers being targeted? This sounds more like a shot at people who mod the system than a blow towards fragmentation. The one strength of Android is it's customizability and modded ROMs. Take that away, and we might as well just head over to MS/Apple.
So tired of these corporate giants, the bigger they get the more they copy the neighbors. Didn't your mother ever tell you to just be yourself?
@scannall: Android isn't as open as you think. Most companies belong to the OHA (Open Handset Alliance) which already has rules regarding what OEM's can do if they want to use Android. That's how Google prevented Acer from releasing the Aliyun powered (Android fork) phone.
Amazon was able to use and modify Android because they're not part of the OHA, but that also means Amazon's version doesn't get to access all Google services/store.
2.4 percent of Android phones are 4.1 Jelly Bean
56% of all smart phones run Android.
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Less then 1.5 percent of all global Android phones are "modern" the rest are outdated limbo smart-dumb phones.
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Considering all problems with keeping Android OS updated to the latest version. Why people want to buy into the spyware infested and practically unsupported (compared to iOS) Android eco-system?
I dont follow the herd. Here is what I mean ->
When I buy a phone, I expect my phone to be upgradable to latest OS version for at least 3-4 years. And upgradeable when I want, not when operators and manufacture chose it.
For example, last 4 iPhone generations run the same iOS 6. VS most Android phones are not easily upgradable nor have frequent supported OS upgrades. Basically pain in the @...
That is not fragmentation.
Windows Phone 7 applications work on Windows Phone 8 without modification and the compatibility is guaranteed by Microsoft. In this case you do not have fragmentation.
Fragmentation is when there is a lack of compatibility between versions causing developers to have to create multiple versions of the same application to target multiple versions of the OS, which greatly increases costs for developers.
This places the blame for fragmentation at the feet of people who develop non-Google SDKs. I would say the main cause of fragmentation in the Android world is the fact that each app must be tweaked and massaged to run on all the different versions of Android.
Some features are much easier to implement on later versions of Android, but remain hard to implement on older versions of the OS.
It's more of a challenge to develop multiple versions of 1 app, so devs usually choose between flashy new features or they target the bulk of users with the older versions of the OS.
That is the root of fragmentation on Android