The entire Galaxy S line, which not that long ago was Samsung’s top-of-the-line Android smartphone brand, will not be eligible for upgrades to Android 4.0.
The newest version of Android, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, seems to be a much more restrictive update than previous ones, as manufacturers have been dodgy about solidifying any update plans.
Samsung blamed the fact that its Galaxy S phones run an interface called Touchwiz, which eats up more RAM than other Android phones and would make it impossible to run the RAM-intensive Ice Cream Sandwich.
The Galaxy S brand isn’t exactly old. Last year, it was the epitome of Android and became the platform of choice for some 10 million customers.
It is another reason to criticize custom Android skins, like Touchwiz, which are nothing more than data-gobbling ways for manufacturers to make their Android phones look different from competitors, when the default Android interface is perfectly fine for most users.
Samsung isn’t the only one; HTC also runs a proprietary interface on its phones essentially just for the purpose of it distinguishing them as HTC phones.
Nevertheless, that’s the speed of technology these days. On the flip side, Samsung has previously confirmed it plans to bring Ice Cream Sandwich to its Galaxy S II handsets.
