I mean, do they even have to do more than run "make image" after rebasing to a new (minor) kernel update ?
Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
91–100 of 151 posts
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#92In September 2022, the Samsung S10 went over 150 days without a security patch being available. That caused my work to kick my phone off it's network. Samsung promised quarterly updates before that. So I have been burned by their broken promises. Hopefully they keep them this time.
Your work network can tell which phones got security patches? And that's a requirement for being in the network?
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#93Now if they only allowed you to unlock the bootloader. Samsung makes great hardware* but it's disappointing see locked down and bloated devices that only gets security updates for a few years IF you pay full price when they come out. Long support periods are great, with that fixed it probably brings Samsung phones to Apple levels of quality, but I've enjoyed using my phone like a real computer instead of a locked dow…
Samsung devices aren't locked? You are just going to lose Knox in the process but it's not like it has much value, I don't use it even when I can.
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#94Earlier 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…
I had similar feeling about Samsung in the past but I think it is quite better nowadays. But there definitely is some AOSP/Samsung duality you cannot escape. My current gripes with existing s23+ is usually one of following:
1. Some of their features are being offloaded to unknown 3rd party vendors (e.g call spam detection). 2. They really want you to install some sort of McAfee AV on your phone to get the "secure" tick. 3. They are usually about a month behind when it comes to Android security patches. 4. Phone comes pre-installed with crap.
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#95Earlier 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…
Many people in the Android ecosystem, me including, prefer OEM customization than whatever Material something gets thought out at the Googleplex.
And I have owned several S generation phones.
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#96In September 2022, the Samsung S10 went over 150 days without a security patch being available. That caused my work to kick my phone off it's network. Samsung promised quarterly updates before that. So I have been burned by their broken promises. Hopefully they keep them this time.
Your work network can tell which phones got security patches? And that's a requirement for being in the network?
Replace phone (instance) with phone (model), and it quickly makes sense.
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#97A 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.
No, the whole point of the "me too" apps is that Google forbids choice. The device has to have the Google apps pre installed and the only way vendors can attack this monopoly is by putting their apps in addition ("instead" is forbidden). Sure, the vendor apps often suck, but that is no reason to support monopolies.
Not exactly what you asked for, but there is https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#98Earlier 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.
Pixels come only with bloatware.
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#99It's great to see vendors doing the right thing. Still, my main ask is upstreamed support. Users should be able to maintain their own devices if they want to. From the start of ownership to beyond the products end of life. That means I should be able to build my own kernel and send them to the device, and I shouldn't need some vendor fork that will someday rot out to do it.
Google could have built a system like that from the start, where Google-certified Android means you have a vanilla base image, plus (openly available) drivers, plus whatever crap the manufacturer wants to layer on top. Basically not unlike Windows. Unfortunately they didn't do that, so it's still a mess.
Not only is Google not making it more open, since 2020 they've been actively working to close the ecosystem down with hardware-backed SafetyNet attestations.
https://groups.google.com/g/safetynet-api-clients/c/lpDXBNeV...
You may be able to build your own OS, but as soon as you unlock that bootloader to install it, all of your banking apps will stop working and there will be no workarounds once hw-backed attestation is mandated.
Re: Samsung extends Android and security updates to 7 years
#1007 years of updates for what? The S24 models and up? Or all phones up to 7 years ago? It doesn't specify, and the cynic in me makes me think it's only on 2024 models as a selling point.
I maintain https://endoflife.date/samsung-mobile and this is extremely frustrating. Google was clear when they bumped the support that it only applied to Pixel 8 and above. Why can't Samsung clearly publish a press release.
Man, that page is gold. Thanks for creating it