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Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

cnet.com

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Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#31

Post by gtirloni »

andrewia wrote: post #20
axiomdata316 wrote: post #14

Now for a phone that has a battery that will last that long. That would really be news. I find that I don't replace a phone because it can't function or is no longer secure. I replace it because it can't hold a charge long enough for regular daily use.

That's an inherent limitation of modern lithium batteries with a smartphone's constraints of density, size, packaging, charge current, and a bunch of other requirements. Replacing a battery every 18-24 months costs ~$75 (or 1 hour and $35 if you're comfortable with DIY), which is a reasonable maintenance cost considering smartphones cost $300-$1300. Many car owners don't sell/scrap their car until repairs exceed the…

I've replaced the batteries on several phones (at authorized places) and, while I like the idea, they all started displaying weird behavior. I guess they are glued so hard that the heating needed to open them up must cause some tiny damage. Just a guess.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#32

Post by stjohnswarts »

this could definitely open me back up to android. I got tired of my device becoming hacker friendly and went over to iphone after my perfectly useful android device was outside of feature/security updates. I didn't want to install another OS android or root my device, I just want to use it and stick it back in my pocket. I will definitely look at samsung again with my next mobile "era" when my iphone dies/is too slow.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#33

Post by Zuiii »

farhanhubble wrote: post #26
jwells89 wrote: post #4

A good first step. The next one I’d like to see is a one-tap toggle that disables the bulk of Samsung OS customizations and “me too” apps/ecosystem cruft, as some other vendors have. Yes it can be removed manually, but with one of Android’s chief selling points being the choice it affords users, I shouldn’t need to do that, particularly on expensive flagship devices.

Google is terrible at doing UX and Samsung has had a chance to actually built a quality alternative app store. However all they have managed to do is to churn out unusable bloated apps like SHealth, SmartThings and Samsung Note.

The funny thing is that even with all the bloat, these apps always fail short in subtle ways. Samsung notes still can't rotate drawn lines.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#34

Post by WheatMillington »

Kuinox wrote: post #19
wilsonnb3 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung's OS customizations and a lot of their apps are quite nice these days, I don't think there would be much of a point in such a toggle. Especially considering you can already change to a different launcher if you want.

Since 7 years I hear that Samsung apps are "quite nice theses days". I never found it to be true. I owned a Samsung S7, it was atrocious, people said it was great, the bloatware was painful, the gesture to open the apps drawer was conflicted with the gesture to open Samsung pay (which didn't worked with my bank), you can't disable Samsung pay, if you switch the launcher, it's still there. Searching the settings took…

Your experience is well out of date

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#35

Post by hedora »

hexagonwin wrote: post #27
NathanCollins wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a toggle, but Google Pixel phones (or at least the one I owned a few years ago) come with very few if any bloatware type apps, since the default Android apps are the Google apps anyway. Contrast with Samsung that duplicates a bunch of core apps/functionality.

Not sure what you mean by default Android apps but Google Pixel apps != AOSP's stock apps. AFAIK most apps can now be disabled in Settings on recent Samsung phones, I'm not a fan but I don't think they're that worse compared to Pixels, especially on the flagship devices.

Switching from stock to grapheneos more than doubled the battery life of my pixel 6 pro.

They install plenty of bloatware on google devices, but since it’s all background surveillance stuff, it doesn’t clutter the UI.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#36

Post by Zuiii »

davidzweig wrote: post #24
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devil's advocate question: How did you expect Samsung could fund SW dev costs to support 7 years of updates on the margins of a $170 phone while still turning a profit? Not sure how much you were expecting at $170 but you might have been penny wise and pound foolish here trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel as nobody else gives you more than 2 years of updates at those rock bottom prices. Sometimes it pays to sp…

"In 2022 alone, the South Korean company sold almost 260 million smartphones worldwide." Say there's a model that sold 10m total. I think it's fair to say Samsung could reasonably increase the price by $1 (~0.75c minus tax) for 10 years of support instead of ~3 years. That's $7.5m. I used to flash Cyanogenmod on my phones (motorola defy etc.), IIRC it was often a single guy making the roms, I guess part time, doing a…

> I think difficulties arose when newer kernals wouldn't work with the older hardware drivers that were available.

That's a problem of Samsungs own doing. They can mainline their drivers and force their subcontractors to do the same if they want to sell to them. They're definitely big enough to be able to do it if they wanted to.

Samsung doesn't see this as a problem.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#37

Post by jwells89 »

gHA5 wrote: post #6
jwells89 wrote: post #4

A good first step. The next one I’d like to see is a one-tap toggle that disables the bulk of Samsung OS customizations and “me too” apps/ecosystem cruft, as some other vendors have. Yes it can be removed manually, but with one of Android’s chief selling points being the choice it affords users, I shouldn’t need to do that, particularly on expensive flagship devices.

Who are the other vendors that have such a toggle?

I think maybe Asus, but I can’t be sure. Definitely saw the option in a phone review I watched in the past couple months.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#38

Post by jwells89 »

NathanCollins wrote: post #9
gHA5 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who are the other vendors that have such a toggle?

It's not a toggle, but Google Pixel phones (or at least the one I owned a few years ago) come with very few if any bloatware type apps, since the default Android apps are the Google apps anyway. Contrast with Samsung that duplicates a bunch of core apps/functionality.

Sony’s phones also come with minimally modified Android. They still have 3-4 bloatware apps to remove with ADB but it’s pretty manageable. I picked up an Xperia 1 V on discount to take the position of “flagship phone” in my Android app dev testing lineup and if I were switch my daily driver away from iOS, it would be in my list of considerations.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#39

Post by m463 »

jwells89 wrote: post #4

A good first step. The next one I’d like to see is a one-tap toggle that disables the bulk of Samsung OS customizations and “me too” apps/ecosystem cruft, as some other vendors have. Yes it can be removed manually, but with one of Android’s chief selling points being the choice it affords users, I shouldn’t need to do that, particularly on expensive flagship devices.

> A good first step.

it is the other way around.

They are not trying to do the right thing, they are maintaining a data stream, and the updates will continue to update that equation to their benefit.

I think of this like vizio, which makes more collecting data from your television than selling you the hardware.

Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years

#40

Post by seanwilson »

What budget phones right now have a decent number of years for security updates and run stock Android?

I tried to get this info a couple of years ago and it took some serious digging to find when each phone was released and how long updates are meant to last as there's no central place to find this. Maybe there's a good resource for this now?

Nokia phones are meant to be nearly stock Android I think with 3 years of updates but longer would be nice.

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