It's a lot easier to keep your customers' older devices up to date when you control the entire hardware and software stack on them.
Google really has very little say if some random low-end manufacturer doesn't feel like updating their customers. Sure, they can try to require that they provide updates for a certain amount of time in order to get and keep their Android certification, but at some point they'll just give up and ditch Android entirely.
And on top of that, Qualcomm just won't provide updated kernels and blobs for their older chipsets after a while. Google has managed to negotiate them up from their pathetic 18 months that it used to be, but Qualcomm still doen't have to play ball any further if they don't want to. And Google's making their own chipsets now, so they care a little bit less about that problem.
Not saying it's great, but that's just how it is. Android's model basically means it's just going to be that way. Apple's means they get more control over such things.
Google really has very little say if some random low-end manufacturer doesn't feel like updating their customers. Sure, they can try to require that they provide updates for a certain amount of time in order to get and keep their Android certification, but at some point they'll just give up and ditch Android entirely.
And on top of that, Qualcomm just won't provide updated kernels and blobs for their older chipsets after a while. Google has managed to negotiate them up from their pathetic 18 months that it used to be, but Qualcomm still doen't have to play ball any further if they don't want to. And Google's making their own chipsets now, so they care a little bit less about that problem.
Not saying it's great, but that's just how it is. Android's model basically means it's just going to be that way. Apple's means they get more control over such things.