How Long Before the Proliferation of Lollipop?

6 November 2014

Android version 5.0, Lollipop, is out. It will be conquering the mobile world like all other Android versions. With time, the battery life issues will all be resolved. All the mobile alerts and notifications will be smooth and consistent. You will also notice that inconsistent user interface designs over third-party apps will be replaced with a more consistent look and feel. The prospect is wonderful.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is still trying to roll out the Android update from last year. So, in actual world, the roll out of Lollipop OS has paused for the time being. According to some reports released this week, Android’s KitKat uptake rate has just reached 30%. It has been a year since the release of KitKat, and it has still not reached even one-third of Android’s implementations.

So if the progress of KitKat is so slow, then what does this tell us about the progress rate of Lollipop? How long will it take before Lollipop has reached enough handsets to make a significant impact?

Lollipop is attractive because Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is renewing their look. It has all the familiar elements of the previous versions, yet the starting point becomes different as new rules come into effect. Overall, the Android user space is cleaner and lures in the users to explore. The older elements give a fresher feel.

However, none of this will matter if Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) fails to attract a significant number of users to upgrade to Lollipop in their handsets.

The new OS has many advantages in terms of the user interface. Material design can also be used for applications in older handsets. However, the older handsets will not give the consistent feeling as that of Lollipop. If the company has to wait for two years for its customers to upgrade to Lollipop, then the feeling and impact of refresher across the Android platform will not be significant. Lollipop OS will be available to Google Play devices and Nexus. However, the rest is up to the networks and manufacturers who are in partnership with Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). They will decide whether they want to provide Android 5.0 to their customers via a software upgrade or hardware. Customers can be pushed into buying new phones, that have Android 5.0 preinstalled, once their contracts expire.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is doing better with its new OS, iOS 8. The software was adopted throughout the smartphones in weeks. The company is also pressurizing customers to upgrade to iOS 8.1. Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s competitive advantage is its direct relationship with customers. The company needs to personally go through carriers and networks in order to approach the Android users in regard to the platform.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is not sitting dormant, it has addressed the issues. A big part of Android’s functionality was sent out to the Google Play service. An updated version is rolled out after six weeks regularly. The updates can be with the Google Play Store updating system. The company needs to work harder to achieve a better proliferation rate in order to succeed in this venture.