Now that Google has released Android 4.3, so begins the agonizing process of
figuring out which i9500
S4 phones and tablets will get the upgrade, and when. Not
surprisingly, most Android phone makers are being cagey about their upgrade
plans.It's often assumed that the major bottlenecks in the upgrade process are
due to software customizations that carriers and phone makers add on top of
stock Android. But as Sony's blog post explains, hardware is also a major piece
of the puzzle, because phone makers need to spend time making sure all the
components of their handsets work properly with Google's software.If it's any consolation, Android 4.3 isn't a major upgrade, and many of Android 4.3's features are already available on state-of-the-art phones like the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. Those phones, for instance, already support OpenGL ES 3.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy. The fact that Android 4.3 now supports these features just means they'll come standard in many more phones to come.gff45DG3s
The biggest Android 4.3 feature that users might want is Restricted Profiles, which will allow parents to create kid-friendly user profiles on their phones or tablets. But considering that many phones—including the HTC One—are still stuck on Android 4.1, any sort of upgrade at this point would be welcome. Like always, all we can do is wait.
Despite positive quarterly results from Apple and Samsung, it is clear that smartphone sales growth in developed economies is leveling off. The next wave of growth will come from emerging markets, which is why Apple, for example, is as focused on developing a high quality, but lower cost device for Asia and Latin/South America as it is on the next wow-factor phone for the U.S. and other developed countries. We are in a new, market segmentation mode for smartphones: devices for different price points, and screen size choices to meet form factor preferences.
I'd argue that there has not been a "must have" new device for quite some time. Witness how sales of the iPhone 4/4S have held up so well despite the fact that the iPhone 5 (whose main distinguishing feature is LTE) has been available for nearly a year. There have been loads of other high-end devices launched over the past year, but none have been of the "change your life, pay the ETF, pawn your existing phone off on your spouse or kid" variety. Fact is, any mid-tier or better smartphone in the market today is pretty fabulous.
i9500 S4 1:1 smartphones bear a resemblance to the commoditized PC market. Plus, there has been a lot effort among OEMs to somehow combine the PC and tablet form factors. But there's an unnaturalness to that. There's actually a greater convergence between the phone and tablet (look at the relatively narrow difference between the large screen phone and the small screen tablet). Might there be a device that effectively combines the best of both?
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