Soon means any point in 24 months… to start. To finish is an adventure. 
[quote=117361:@Greg O’Lone]It’s too bad they keep finding such horrendous security flaws in Android. I was reading just the other day about a bug where any app can get any other app’s permissions. A bug which exists through Android 4.3, and because in many cases the OS can’t be upgraded by the end user, they’re all vulnerable. The next must-have game could very well have unfettered access to all of your private data as well.[/quote]Yet, according to a report by Appthority, more iOS apps exhibit ‘risky behaviour’.
Smartphones and private data just don’t seem to make comfortable bedfellows. At least with Android you have the option of scripting an encrypted store for your private data.
[quote=117404:@Steve Wilson]Yet, according to a report by Appthority, more iOS apps exhibit ‘risky behaviour’.
Smartphones and private data just don’t seem to make comfortable bedfellows. At least with Android you have the option of scripting an encrypted store for your private data.[/quote]
To be fair, it is not as if iOS was twice as riskier. Reading the link you posted : [quote][iOS] 91 percent contain risky behavior as opposed to 83 percent on Android.[/quote]
And it is not intrinsic to iOS, it is based on the way developers had conceived their programs. So it can be corrected on iOS side, and it could get worse on Android.
Structurally, the fact that an Android app can access another program data, or even program files, without any barrier, is a huge risk that iOS prevents absolutely.
[quote=117409:@Michel Bujardet]Structurally, the fact that an Android app can access another program data, or even program files, without any barrier, is a huge risk that iOS prevents absolutely.[/quote]Google thought Android prevented it too, this is a bug not a feature.
Google have stated Google Play and Verify Apps have both been enhanced to check for any app trying to exploit the bug. They’ve also issued a patch but how many users will get that?
[quote=117415:@Steve Wilson]Google thought Android prevented it too, this is a bug not a feature.
Google have stated Google Play and Verify Apps have both been enhanced to check for any app trying to exploit the bug. They’ve also issued a patch but how many users will get that?[/quote]
I can believe Google never intended for hackers to have a free reign over others applications. Fact is if something is possible, it will be exploited. The old game of attack and defense.
As a lot of devices cannot upgrade, the only way the rule will be enforced is probably through hardware renewal.
Thank you Geoff.
That is the important point for me.
I still see cheap phones being sold with Android 3.2, and “even” business people saying “that’s good enough for me”.
Worse, it is not uncommon that even the (often heavily modified) current (not even 6 months old!) Android phones can not upgrade to the newest Android version (they are stuck on 4.1 etc) until the manufacturer might bring out an update - which often they don’t. Often not even security updates are being passed on.
Running your business on Android is madness.
I know a few ex-Android users who will never again buy an Android phone because promised updates never came (yes, they are on iOS now).
The husband of a good friend of mine basically hates Apple. He goes with “what the real world uses” (his words, not mine), therefore a PC. Windows all the way. He is also the manager of a hospital, and patient data and privacy are being taken seriously in Germany. He wanted to use Android phones and tablets to cut down on paper and administration etc, but after looking into it they went with iPads and iPhones - and he also ditched his private Android phone in a hurry.
Funnily enough he has now also bought a 15in MacBook Pro, although he always seems to sit down to it with a scowl on his face
I don’t know a single Android user who is able to do that. If you can then great. But can your customer??? If not: should he be using Android?
With Samsung’s push for Tizen, Microsoft’s continued push to replace Google search on mobiles by paying companies to use Bing instead, Apple’s freezing out of Google from iOS, Badu having taken over the Chinese (Asian?) search market, increasing royalty payments (Microsoft makes more money from Android than Google), Billions lost on Motorola and hardware adventures Google seems to have less and less interest of investing in Android.
What Google wants users to use is Chrome - that’'s where they are still in control and would earn all the money. That’s why they are pushing hard to establish it as an alternative to Windows (e.g. Chrome for PCs).
If Samsung succeeds with Tizen (big if in my opinion) then Android is dead. But even if not then Android is in trouble. Most handset makers barely break even, so investment in updates is non-existent. Chinese and Russians are working on their own mobile OS version, so the “splinter effect” continues, making it less and less attractive as a platform.
Does Xojo really want to get in there?
[quote=117454:@Markus Winter]Running your business on Android is madness.[/quote]Currently I wouldn’t consider using anything but BB10 for a business. It’s the only smartphone OS where private data and business data are securely separated and where the business side of the device can be remotely administered.
[quote=117454:@Markus Winter]I don’t know a single Android user who is able to do that.[/quote]Millions of people all around the world can script in Python, my daughter currently has the option of learning it at school (she’s 13).
[quote=117454:@Markus Winter]With Samsung’s push for Tizen, Microsoft’s continued push to replace Google search on mobiles by paying companies to use Bing instead, Apple’s freezing out of Google from iOS, Badu having taken over the Chinese (Asian?) search market, increasing royalty payments (Microsoft makes more money from Android than Google), Billions lost on Motorola and hardware adventures Google seems to have less and less interest of investing in Android.[/quote]And to add to the fun Yandex are now offering a full suite of services for AOSP, called Yandex.Kit, that mirror the Google services found on approved Android devices, i.e. Search/Apps/Maps/Mail. The sweetener is they’ll cut the manufacturers in on app revenue. Huawei already have one Yandex.Kit device about to hit the market and other manufacturers are rumoured to be showing an interest too.
[quote=117454:@Markus Winter]If Samsung succeeds with Tizen (big if in my opinion) then Android is dead. But even if not then Android is in trouble. Most handset makers barely break even, so investment in updates is non-existent. Chinese and Russians are working on their own mobile OS version, so the “splinter effect” continues, making it less and less attractive as a platform.[/quote]I wish Samsung would hurry up and release some Tizen devices. Some lower cost Sailfish OS devices would be great too. Unless and until there is a viable alternative in the low to mid range market Android will continue to win by default.
[quote=117454:@Markus Winter]Does Xojo really want to get in there?[/quote]Yes. Love it or loathe it Android’s market share is now around 85% and still growing.
That was hypothetically exploitable vector, was only present in 4.3 keystore as I am aware, the hypothetical hacker who could transform some add and compare instructions in something harmful would not exactly “access data” but potentially access some keys of a target app if such magnificent overflow could be reached. There are several technical hurdles an attacker must overcome to successfully exploit the vulnerability. Android is fortified with modern software protections, including data execution prevention and address space layout randomization, both of which are intended to make it much harder for hackers to execute code when they identify security bugs.
Kind of hard to exploit in those 10% equipments using this exploitable version of keystore. Patches were done and the 4.4 is free of it.
There were not known case of someone using this hypothetical vector to cause any harm.
Android have a much better data structure than iOS. We can share resources IF WE WANT.
We can export and import content and exchange data with under permission. But we can’t access other apps sandbox.
That covers < 1% of all “android devices” moved in the past few years so …
Sure. Every Android user takes a course in Python with his phone subscription 
[quote=117468:@Steve Wilson]
I wish Samsung would hurry up and release some Tizen devices.[/quote]
The new Gear is tizen isn’t it ?
Yes, and you can upgrade the first Gear to Tizen too.
It’s also already in Samsung smart TVs and even Samsung washing machines.
[quote=117468:@Steve Wilson]
Yes. Love it or loathe it Android’s market share is now around 85% and still growing.[/quote]
IF and only IF you count EVERY android devices as “equally capable” - which we know they aren’t
Android 2 isn’t the same as 3 or 4 (the same hold true for versions of OS X, iOS, and Windows but
.)
Then the 85% number is relevant - if not you have to talk in terms of the various versions
[quote=117474:@Steve Wilson]Yes, and you can upgrade the first Gear to Tizen too.
It’s also already in Samsung smart TVs and even Samsung washing machines.[/quote]
Hence why I own no Samsung devices
Your iPhone is choca with Samsung components, some manufactured in their plant in Austin, Texas.
People using old chinese phones aren’t my target. I’m an ex-iphone user. Years now. Then switched to an HTC HD 8MP camera Android when iPhones had 5MP cameras. Tired of “do your iphone does this?”. All my family used iPhones. Now we use Motorolas. Android (4.4) I own a Moto-X (voice activated), my daughter a Moto-G (colorful exchangeable covers) and my wife a Moto-E (Have Tv and FM). Every one chose the features we liked.
The OS is years ahead iOS, sorry. Same for the freedom.
You can develop you custom software at home and install in your device or your partners or your customers.
Bing is a joke and not Tizen fan (yet).
The record player can be Samsung, the software is Apple’s. The issue with Samsung is not the hardware, it is Google’s software.
I’m not a huge fan of Android, it saddens me that Linux’s success on consumer devices has come from this unfortunate mutant spawn, having said that I wouldn’t go back to an iPhone. I just keep waiting and hoping for something better…
Well… You can always have the option of waiting for Ubuntu Mobile becoming mainstream.