The problem is, when Google say add a new feature to android, they don't want OEMs to upgrade if the phone's hardware isn't up to the task. So you make a low-ish spec phone that can do everything this generation of the OS demands and then all of a sudden it's not good enough any more.
Plus it's in the OEMs interest to make the upgrade path involve purchasing a new handset.
> So you make a low-ish spec phone that can do everything this generation of the OS demands
If only. Actual low-ish spec phones can barely even lift the OS! By "do everything the OS demands" OEMs generally mean "sort of do it by hanging up in the process and requiring battery-removal powercycling". Source: spent three years using such a phone.
I have a Moto G 2nd gen. Nice device - good screen, peppy processor, runs android 5.
Only 1G of ram and 8G of storage, meaning only 3GB for apps, most of which are the stock Google ones, and 1G of ram means the thing crawls.
Moto is still releasing these anemic specs on the 3rd gen Moto G, only their "moto G turbo" will have respectable specs, and that's only in like Mexico or something.
And the company sells a phone lower than the G.
And this is a company that used to be owned by Google, and was branded as being a great stock android company during that phase.
I have a 1st gen Moto G. Bought it Dec 2013 and don't even care about having anything faster/bigger.
Indeed, the Moto E has been out for a little while and that phone is what I probably consider the bare minimum while still qualifying as a smart phone.
I'm just happy to have had device support for all these years so that I can run Android 5 natively and efficiently.
How do you deal with the storage problem, though? I don't mind the missing features or the thick build, but the fact that I basically have about 600MB of free space to play in for apps is killing me. Google Photos has a pathetic churning cycle where it downloads photos from my online google account and then complains that it's out of space and needs to delete them... and then does it again, all without ever having been run.
The Moto E at least supports moving "supported" apps to the SD card. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for the Google apps. But I can squeeze in Firefox Beta, an epub reader, and the Google apps so I'm fine with the internal storage.
Indeed. I have this problem with my S4 right now - I can't install anything anymore, because something (apparently the OS; INB4 yes, I've checked the obvious things like data caches) grew to take most of it, and I'm stuck at ~500MB free. Most apps can't even be moved to SD card, and those that can be only get moved partially.
Plus it's in the OEMs interest to make the upgrade path involve purchasing a new handset.