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Looks like it could be the end of the line for the Motorola Xoom (WiFi) and Nexus S. That is, if Google’s AOSP lead Jean-Baptiste Queru statements are any indication. Seems Google has finally put out both devices out to pasture, packing as many jelly beans as they could into the legacy devices. When announcing the availability of Android 4.2 into AOSP, JBQ brought sad tidings about the fate of the Nexus S and Xoom:
“There is no support for 4.2 on Nexus S and Xoom. Those devices should
continue using 4.1.2. I can’t comment about the future of Nexus S and Xoom, sorry.”
The only reason this is so surprising to some is because both devices were recently allowed to taste the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update. While a tiny .1 jump doesn’t sound like much on paper, apparently those new features in 4.2 were just too much for these devices to handle. If you still have a Nexus S or Xoom WiFi in your possession, may you find solace in knowing these were some of the most well supported Android’s history and quite honestly, I didn’t think they had it in ’em.
Just because these devices wont see an official update to 4.2, we wont put it past the Android modding community to cook something up. Now might be a good reason to root. Anyone with either one of these devices sad by today’s news?
At least Jellybean is a nice place to leave them. They’re both extremely fast and optimized.
Well said
Agreed. I’m happy with my Xoom as is for now.
I agree that both devices were supported well, but considering at least one was a nexus, and there is no clear reason (software/hardware wise) that the s can’t handle 4.2, Im a little surprised at this news.
Well, some people were saying that the device ran noticeably slower after Jelly Bean. 4.2 with the new lockscreen, keyboard, etc. would only add to that. If they left all those new features out, well… then you have 4.1 :p
I agree with this. Even my Nexus 7 developed just a hair of a stutter under 4.2 that wasn’t there under 4.1.2. My Nexus S was quite a bit slower on Jelly Bean and quite a bit more power hungry as well. Wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if the lockscreen widgets and some of the other new features caused some fatal lag. They all require more processing power, and although I love my Nexus S (returned the Galaxy Nexus after just 72 hours to go back to the S) it’s hardware is pretty antiquated by today’s standards.
Seems about right. 2 major OS updates and currently on the best OS yet
Nexus S still has a great profile, loved the look of this phone!
Lol! I was just tweeting it. It felt absolutely great in the hand. I wish they’d just update it with better specs and re-release. Not everyone wants a huge 4.7-inch smartphone.
its a perfect example of smartphone moderation
Sad, but on a good note, got my nexus 7 ota for 4.2. Hope this nexus sees a few more updates…
Quite a few more, I would assume. The hardware is much more powerful.
I’d be surprised if the Nexus 7 didn’t see at least major 3-4 updates in total. The development community has you after that.
Well that’s just BS.
I’m kinda concerned that the 4 might not be supported by future also. Did Google and LG have a big scrap today? It kinda makes me leary about my purchase and may consider canceling my order and wait until next year.
Wth are you talking about?
Probably the reason it sold out in minutes. Not sure why it would affect OS updates though.
Huh? Scrap? I don’t know where you are coming up with this?? There is no reason what so ever to think that Google won’t support the Nexus 4 in the future… They have supported every “nexus” device with many updates.
If they made a updated nexus s that be awesome! At times my s3 seems too big but I love it! I’m sure if I get a tablet it would seem redundant having a big screen phone.
the updated nexus s was the galaxy nexus lol.
Australian Xoom owners have been led up the proverbial Garden Path by Motofail, and that press release from them is crap. Australian Xoom owners haven’t even got 4.1, let alone being now in the position of missing out on 4.2. We paid top dollar at the time for these units and have been treated very badly. MotoFail products are well and truly on the nose out here now.
It’s been a good run. Out of the dozens of other Android devices that have been released since the Nexus S, many are still on 2.3, let alone 4.0 and 4.1. That’s still pretty cool. The way things are going it will be a long, long time until the majority of people are using 4.1. I think I’ll hold on to old reliable a bit longer and watch for those genius devs to bumped me up to 4.2 and beyond! It probably won’t be long……….
What’s the point of getting a Nexus if you don’t get the latest updates AND no SD slot? I may be pro Android but not necessarily pro Google!
They can’t be expected to support hardware indefinitely. At some point, every piece of hardware will reach a breaking point with the latest software.
I remember reading an article sometime ago that said Google was aiming for an 18month upgrade cycle for Nexus devices. This would fit that quite well. Love my Nexus S and not ready to part with it just yet…this update just isnt big enough to justify. Will see what the next one brings :)
they give the latest updates, the device was released 2 years ago, even apple which is admittedly better about updates only averages 2 years of updates for a device. It had a good run and it was well supported as all nexus phones are. Infinite updates are not possible.
I think the speed issue with my Xoom may be due to the fact that it wasn’t a clean install and too many broken odex files. I am truly saddened by this but I know all good things must come to an end. Otherwise, it was my best purchase ever!
Indeed! Purchased my wifi Xoom on launch, 27-Mar-2011… going to hold off replacing it with N10 until 27-Mar-2013 — two years seems about right. The OG Nexus tablet is still a beast… JB does great things for it.
Didn’t stopped me from loading Jelly bean 4.1 on my Nexus One…so not an issue…..
Google did the right thing.
I love my nexus S, but reverted to 4.0.3. The 4.1 update was simply too slow.
When you have to wait 20 seconds to open a mail coming from the browser, it starts to be annoying.
The Nexus 4 would have been available in my country, I would have got it, but chose an HTC One X for the same price.
Bah, as long as cyanogenmod can be installed, I’m happy.
This is annoying… I just GEDified my UK Xoom on Saturday in preparation of 4.2. It’s all about the user profiles for me in this update. Ah well…..
This is unacceptable – those devices could easily run 4.2. It’s a little too convenient to me that the Nexus S and Xoom are deemed EOL when the Nexus 4 and 10 are released. Now if I want the most recent versions of android on my tablet, I need to drop $500 on a Nexus 10 with less internal storage than my Xoom and no micro SD support. I thought Google was better than this.
If it’s really going to be a bother then just go to the dev community for your update needs. They never let you down unless the phone is way too weak to handle it (As the G1 and original DROID have become)
The Nexus S only has 348MB usable RAM, I’m surprised it got Jelly Bean officially.
The Xoom should be able to handle 4.2. I am a little disapointed with this news, and was hoping this last update would hold me over until I had the resources to get a new tablet. I really feel that you should get more out of a device that is less than two years old.
Makes me wonder how MS will handle updates with Windows 8, liking what I am seeing.
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Just like any fun ride, you’re disappointed when it ends, no matter how long it is. My Xoom is a great device. Thank you Motorola and Google, for a great ride. I was especially looking forward to multiple logins, though.
Everyone remember the G1? Those were the days.
Love my Xoom, but i think it becomes the kid’s tablet in the spring when I latch onto a Nexus.
Surprised that the xoom is being dropped so soon, but 2 OS updates is not bad