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There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

danluu.com

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Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Security, basically. If you care about your privacy, you should care about security (can't have one with the other). You need updated phone for that.

I have a rooted device, so I can basically make apps do what I want and stop them from doing what I don't want. IMHO that's far better than Google's vision of "security" where they want to be in control and even consider the user an attacker.

How much of a solution is rooting a device for 1 billion users?

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#82
post #79

I still have Nexus 7 running on KitKat 4.2 as I dislike material look and for newer Android versions I always go with phones that ship with customized UI that better correspond to my aesthetics sense. Disclaimer: I am a visual artist as well and hate it when somebody enforces certain style, in my case anything flat, low-contrast, confusing where my brain has to spend >20ms identifying controls.

Are you concerned at all with security of the device? Just asking because I know lots of people who stick with older droids and none seem to care.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#83
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've got a 7 or 8 year old Google Nexus phone. There's probably an Android O ROM out there that someone on XDA has compiled for your device.

Hosted on a dubious server with no guarantee at all there is no malware in it.

Well, you’re free to compile the code yourself…

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#84

Does this seem like a trend that goes beyond just tech products? Clothes, appliances, furniture (with fiberboard) all seem to have lower longevity today, whether it's from lacking updates/service or just lacking durability.

it could be some combination of planned obsolescence and worse-is-better at play.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#85
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Security, basically. If you care about your privacy, you should care about security (can't have one with the other). You need updated phone for that.

Well, that's not a real issue, is it? It's purely a decision from the manufacturers to be assholes to their customers. There is no technical need that'd prevent them from creating updates. Especially Samsung (which also produces the SoC in-house for all relevant markets).

Hmm. It's all Google's fault. I don't have to wait for the manufacturer to update my Windows PC. Heck I was able to install Windows 7 on a Mac Mini without any support from Apple. Not to mention I updated a 9 year old Dell Core 2 Duo to Windows 10.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#86

The flipside of this is that developers are forced to support versions of their apps that are compatible with previous operating systems. That's bad for developers, but good for consumers. iPhones shove updates down your throat as a user. They're so persistent that inevitably most people will accept the new update - and even if you're stubborn like me, eventually your apps will no longer be supported under the newer…

Apple has allowed you to download the last compatible version for years - that ability goes as far back as at least iOS 5 that came out in 2012.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#87
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only impact? You are a walking vulnerability. KRACK, Blueborne, just to name a few recently highly publicized vulnerabilities. You are like the perfect exploit, just waiting to get pwned. You are, Bill Harper.

Most wifi router vendors have STILL not fixed the KRACK vulnerability. Looks like most companies dont care about user security at all.

KRACK only compromises the client, not the AP (unless you have one in relay mode or something)

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#88
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only impact? You are a walking vulnerability. KRACK, Blueborne, just to name a few recently highly publicized vulnerabilities. You are like the perfect exploit, just waiting to get pwned. You are, Bill Harper.

Most wifi router vendors have STILL not fixed the KRACK vulnerability. Looks like most companies dont care about user security at all.

From that side, this is why I insist on only buying devices 'supported' by OpenWRT / LEDE.

LEDE, thanks to being open source, had a patch within days, which worked across all supported devices.

I would honestly just prefer the manufacturers 'give up' in house router software and instead contribute to the community software.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#89
post #75

The flipside of this is that developers are forced to support versions of their apps that are compatible with previous operating systems. That's bad for developers, but good for consumers. iPhones shove updates down your throat as a user. They're so persistent that inevitably most people will accept the new update - and even if you're stubborn like me, eventually your apps will no longer be supported under the newer…

> The problem is that the OS upgrades invariably slow down older phones, so even if you're perfectly happy with your iPhone to begin with, it starts to act slow as it gets the newer OS's. This is a truism and from my experience it rings false. I ran an iPhone 5 for four years without feeling degraded. FWIW, as background, I'm an ex-overclocking PC enthusiast and I consider myself very sensitive to any sorts of perfor…

Side note: "truism" means "A statement that is obviously true and says nothing new or interesting."

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#90

> If we look at the newest Android release (8.0, 8/2017), it looks like you’re quite lucky if you have a two year old device that will get the latest update. The oldest “Google” phone supported is the Nexus 6P (9/2015), giving it just under two years of support. And 2 years is the best-case scenario. Compare to nearly 5 years for iOS devices (which, as far as I can tell was prompted only by a move to 64-bit SoC). It'…

My Nexus 6P is eligible for 8.0 under the beta program, the last time I checked, 8.0 was still not available for it in the official channel so I had to switch to the beta program to try out 8.0 on a device.

Outside the US? My 6P got official 8.0 non-beta in September, I'm pretty sure. OTA, the whole nine yards.
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