Another day, another treat.

Just days after Apple introduced iOS 9, Google’s event today will mark the launch of Marshmallow (Android 6.0) and other “sweet treats”.

Year on year, we see the likes of Google and Apple releasing these minor revamps to both their hardware and software in order to be the most advanced, however marginally, option available in the market.

Hence it makes sense to talk about the ripple effect these rapid iterations will have on the enterprise health of the companies as well as the experience of the end consumer.

Apple is pretty straightforward with a “My phone. My OS.” philosophy. When it launches an upgrade, it’s pushed out almost immediately to all the existing and prospective users. Google, on the other hand, introduces the Android upgrades first through their flagship phones and then extends it to the rest of the Android phone community.

This year the Huawei Nexus 6P and LG Nexus 5X are going to be the first phones to operate on Marshmallow (Android 6.0) and while an upgrade is a great thing to have, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are going to have to play a game of catch-up to get this software up and running for their respective devices. This process on an average can take a month or more to reach the end user, depending on the will of the OEM.

A Piece of Cake

While Android enjoys a market share of 82.8%, iOS holds second place with a market share of 13.9%. Players outside the Android and Apple ecosystems make up less than 5% of the pie.

Even after regular, yearly updates and several phones operating on the Android OS, Android has a hard time getting users to upgrade.

Despite the market share hold Android has, after 9 months since its launch, Lollipop’s (Android 5.0+) adoption rate is still at 21%. Meanwhile, KitKat is currently at 39.2%, Jelly Bean at 31.8%, Ice Cream Sandwich at 3.7%, Gingerbread at 4.1%, and Froyo at 0.2%.

As of September 29, 2015, iOS 9 has an adoption rate of 51%. This remarkable difference in adoption rates between iOS and Android has a clear correlation to the upgrade experience each ecosystem offers.

Chasing the Ice-Cream Truck

When you have an open community like Android, many factors come into play before the upgrade in an OS is adopted. In the race to be the best Android phone out there in the market, OEMs are more focused on building new devices that support the latest Android OS rather than updating the OS versions for older devices.

The price point for most Android phones also lends itself to being treated like a disposable commodity wherein the moment a newer, shinier version hits the market, consumers are ready to discard the old model and make the switch.

This is also the time when users are most likely to opt out of their operating systems as well. In this process, Android has retained 80% of its users, while iOS has retained 78% of its users. Not much of a difference considering that the majority of phones out there run on Android. In fact, it speaks more of Apple’s brand loyalty pull and moreover, its OS adoption process.

The fragmentation of the Android community is fueled by the OEM specific variations that cannot be standardized and don’t give users across the Android ecosystem a unified experience. The openness of the OS can lead to a lot of security and service issues for the customer as each manufacturer will try to stand out with their respective modifications to the new Android OS.

Apple, on the other hand has such a tight grip on its OS and devices, that users across the ecosystem are almost always in sync with the latest renditions, and hence the higher adoption rates. With very little room for customization and a hefty price tag, users are also bound to their devices for a longer time making them more receptive to the OS change when it happens.

The Sorbet Effect

In the current scenario, though Android users account for the majority and there is a lot of room for customization, the experience is broken and fragmented. Manufacturers want to go all out and do whatever they want, just to make their individual experiences superior. Apple, with a no access policy, rides on the exclusivity of its devices but offers no alternative or customization.

The ideal dessert that should arise from this discussion, should be able to give the end user an experience that is sweet (great software) and healthy (long term hardware), that will cause fewer cavities (frequent updates) in the long run, and not weigh (cost efficient) him/her down. (I spelled out the metaphor just in case you missed it.)

Users don’t know what they want as this technology is still new to many users. The pattern is always changing, and evolving at a rapid pace, leaving many users reluctant and lazy to make the change. How quickly a user adopts the OS should not be dependent on the OEM, but the OS maker. The update should not be a conscious choice for the user but the OEMs responsibility to make it a quick and smooth transition.

Though many are toying with the idea of building a device which has hardware and software that combines the best of both these opposing worlds, no one has really come up with the right solution as yet. Hopefully, the OS makers and OEMs can work out a way to make smartphones work like internet products and applications, where updates occur automatically and are made available immediately.

Follow me on Twitter @ravemzsdin as I live-tweet during the Google Nexus Event today.