Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–330 of 1001 posts

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#321

Post by s5300 »

FWIW:

Bought Nokia 7.1 after it came out and it was a great phone

However, because of a chassis design flaw the charge port had excess leverage applied on it practically no matter what - had to replace charge port 6 times & battery twice over ~1.5 years.

Before that I had a Samsung Moto X Pure for idk how many years (got on release date), which I only had to replace an aged capacity battery once - no charge port issues to speak of (so it wasn’t me being excessively clumsy with the Nokia)

Swore off of Nokia after that experience along with a few other flaws in the phone… and I really wanted to like that phone.

Currently using 13 Pro Max as first Apple device & have been loving it.

Hopefully Nokia can make themselves look good with this phone, but it will probably take many years of good faith from them for me to ever reconsider

Also: I’ve been waiting on Nokias Withings watches to release their medical applications in the US for years now.

They could perhaps not get folks with medical issues hopes up if there is any reason something could be delayed for multiple years…

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#322

Post by cookiengineer »

pedrocr wrote: post #277
gman83 wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI you can get LineageOS 20 (Android 13) for your Pixel 2 with the latest updates: https://www.xda-developers.com/lineageos-20-google-pixel-2-a...

Last time I used LineageOS while you got the Android updates on most devices the underlying kernel and drivers were stuck at whatever the manufacturer originally shipped, and that included a bunch of security problems on most phones. Android security and updates is still a mess after all these years. For a while Android One seemed to help and I bought all my phones off that list, but even that's now gone. At this poi…

This is all fixed now. Android 11 based ROMs introduced GSI (generic system images) which allow over the air updates and they even work with LineageOS.

Needs a newer underlying linux kernel though, so all the outdated 2.x kernel ports won't be compatible.

But I agree with you in your general point. Android OEM ROMs are a joke when it comes to support and they usually are out of date within the first year due to lack of maintenance on the vendor side.

I wish there was a more generic platform approach to this where drivers could be just packages instead of this whole statically built images mess that is also unusable for most endusers.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#323

Post by uallo »

tomComb wrote: post #248
openplatypus wrote: post #202

> Security updates: 3 years of monthly security updates That is such a let-down! If Nokia is serious about sustainability, it needs to make it 5y+. I get it, it is not easy. But with the proliferation of malware and exploits, after 3y (since release, not purchase) this phone is nothing but a liability.

That just refers to the security updates that require a full firmware update. I think people get focussed on that because they’re used to the iPhone where that’s only way to fix security issues. On android, the majority of security issues are patched immediately and silently through the play store, so that continues pretty much for the life of the phone. In other words, updates are much less important on android than…

> so that continues pretty much for the life of the phone.

I'm on a Pixel 1 with Android 10. Last security update it got was from October 2019 which is about three years after the phone was introduced.

Is this supposed to be different on newer Android versions?

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#324

Post by LinuxBender »

t0bia_s wrote: post #199
LinuxBender wrote: post #2

Nice! I've been waiting for something like the FairPhone to show up in the US. A sweet bonus would be if they also provided and fully supported de-googled image or at least had an option to download the de-googled image after accepting some disclaimers. Or perhaps even set up a public community for phone hackers to help them build said image i.e. crowdsource the work . An optional large shell for a bigger battery wou…

10000mAh? Does it fit to your pocket? Btw degoogling phone almost double battery life.

It fits in a velcro holster, my jacket pocket and in my snow monosuit.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#325

Post by aspyct »

amelius wrote: post #21
tuetuopay wrote: post #15

> It runs Android 12 and will be supported for three years of monthly security updates and two major Android version upgrades. And that's why I stick to iPhones for long-lasting devices, those two major versions are a joke. Apple has the crown with seven on the iPhone 6S. When will someone make Android phones other than Pixels with non-abysmal software support? Yes, I know you can install alternate ROMs on your phone…

Yes, I had to throw away my perfectly capable phone because my banking app refused to work at some point because the version of Android was too old and the phone stopped supporting newer versions of Android. Edit: not sarcastic, 100% serious.

I suggest you complain to your bank about it. If you can, maybe switch to another one if they don't fix the issue.

I know it sounds extreme, but it's time to send the signal that it's not ok to force people to throw electronics to landfill because of shiny new APIs.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#326

Post by stephc_int13 »

I'd love seeing a market for DIY smartphones, in the same vein of the good old PC but also DIY drones or mechanical keyboards.

That would be an opportunity for specialized boutique suppliers and probably for some innovation, even as a relatively niche market.

I have not seen much evolution in this space during the last 5-7 years, and I think the form factor is pretty much settled. Longevity and repairability are things we should prioritize, but ownership and customization are also important.

All of that could be built on standardized hardware, something close to the Raspberry Pi or Arduino.

I would not mind too much if the device was slightly bulkier/heavier in the end, I think we could achieve much better value.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#327

Post by LinuxBender »

toss1 wrote: post #170
LinuxBender wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ulefone Armor. There are a couple other models that have a 13200mAh battery.

Wow - what a great find! I'll be keeping track of that crew for my next phone! ('tho they don't seem to currently support Verizon network)

Yeah I had to go with a TMO reseller here and most of the time I am using calling-over-wifi to make up for TMO's spotty coverage.

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#328

Post by [deleted] »

vbezhenar wrote: post #71
nordsieck wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not everyone cares about security updates. OK. But surely banks ought to. If you care about having a banking app, then you ought to care transitively.

Do they really? All they care is about some particular version of Android (like any other app). I don't think I ever saw any banking app which would check for presence of some particular security updates (not even sure if it's possible).

[deleted]

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#329

Post by pxmpxm »

cvalka wrote: post #243
pxmpxm wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Security updates are a must. Without them it's not a usable device That belongs on https://twitter.com/shituserstory

Don't be arrogant and wrong at the same time. Not a very good combination.

As a bank customer

I want to buy a new phone when trying to access to my money

So that an IT manager at the bank can put a check mark next to a policy OKR

Re: Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

#330

Post by acdha »

lallysingh wrote: post #256
nhchris wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're comparing them because software support shouldn't be a problem, regardless of market segment. You can run fully up to date linux on 15 year old computers, but in moving to phones, they destroyed what we took for granted. This is a manufactured problem, and it's no coincidence that it lines the pockets of smartphone makers.

Support costs money, and it's part of the price. This moralizing is ridiculous.

That’s why this discussion matters: Apple devices have much longer lifespans because their economic model is correctly aligned — Apple doesn’t mind if you hold your iPhone for years because your use of things like the App Store, Apple Music, etc. also fund their OS development.

On Android, that’s fractured: Qualcomm wants you buying a new phone every year or two because they only get paid for CPUs and Google doesn’t want to subsidize them with Play purchases.

This is amplified because the architecture prevents people from doing their own support. A PC user can run Linux even if Microsoft gives up because the boot loader isn’t locked to prevent it, although driver support does show there are still problems here for the fraction of hardware without robust open source drivers or documented firmware.

My ideal fix for this would be legislative, requiring mandatory minimum support lifetimes (say 7-10 years for at least prompt security updates) and some threshold for requiring boot loader unlocking. The only Android device I had was a Lenovo tablet which they never updated to the OS version released a month or so _before_ the hardware, and which became unsafe to use on the internet many years before the hardware failed (we used it as a white noise generator for a baby). That’s a ton of e-waste which could have been avoided if they weren’t allowed to just walk away from support because they didn’t sell enough units to care.

Post reply on HN