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There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

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Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#111

Post by goialoq »

scarface74 wrote: post #85
kuschku wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

No, it's the carrier's fault. The carrier locks down your OS.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#112

Post by tssva »

stevenwoo wrote: post #33
matt_wulfeck wrote: post #21

> 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.

8.0 has officially been available for the Nexus 6P since August.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#113

Post by Nuance »

userbinator wrote: post #48

With current and older devices working perfectly well, and new devices being even less serviceable and more user-hostile with greater efforts towards planned obolescence, is it any wonder that people just aren't "upgrading" any more? I don't consider this a problem, but a sign of an ecosystem that is gaining stability. In fact I'd say it's even better, from an e-waste perspective, that the amount of churn has decreas…

How are you so certain obsolescence is planned?

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#114

Post by scarface74 »

kuschku wrote: post #99
scarface74 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Windows has mostly kept a stable driver API. And whenever they broke that API, that actually happened — suddenly updates stopped being usable by your system. Also, be aware that ARM has nothing to enumerate devices, has no BISO or UEFI. An OS image will only ever work on a single device. As I detailed in another comment in this thread, the issue is this collision of the Linux concept of mainlining everything, short s…

Windows driver API has been far from stable from Windows Vista. One of my computers came with Windows Vista (a 2009 Dell Pentium Dual Core - not the Core 2 Duo I referenced) and it still runs Windows 10.

Microsoft provided drivers for the standard PC hardware that was in my 2006 Core Duo Mac Mini and Windows 7 recognized all of my hardware - usb, sound, graphics, Bluetooth, Ethernet etc.

Microsoft goes out of its way to provide drivers for the most popular PC hardware. Mac OS is Unix (i.e certified by the Open Grouo) and doesn't have that problem.

Edit Rant:

But why are printer drivers still a thing? Apple introduced AirPrint for iOS 4 back in 2010 and for MacOS a few years later. I never have to worry about printer drivers when I update my OS. New printers bought in 2017 work perfectly with my 7 year old iPad without having to worry about drivers.

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

#116

Post by scarface74 »

goialoq wrote: post #111
scarface74 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

No, it's the carrier's fault. The carrier locks down your OS.

The carrier doesn't lock down iOS. Every iOS user worldwide can update to iOS the day it is released if the phone is compatible.

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

#118

Post by realusername »

ekianjo wrote: post #53
saagarjha wrote: post #35

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.

We are talking about a Nexus here so I can't really say that since it's Google but otherwise there's no guarantee that the ROM you have pre-installed does not have malware either.

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

#119

Post by chrismorgan »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #34
sizzzzlerz wrote: post #19

I've got a 7 or 8 year old Google Nexus phone. Google stopped updating the OS 5 years ago. The only impact I've noticed is that newer apps won't run on and older OS. For me, however, that really isn't a problem since I use it for making and receiving calls and texts, and checking my email. Right now, I'm in no hurry to lay out hundreds for a new phone, Apple or Android, that will be obsoleted in just a couple years w…

The problem that you don't notice is the lack of security updates.

You can but hope that once it’s old enough, the hackers will stop worrying about supporting it.

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

#120

Post by ekianjo »

scarface74 wrote: post #91
saagarjha wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Yes and I'm sure that most people have both the time and the technical acumen to go through every line of the source code and ensure that there are no security vulnerabilities

Yeah, after all there are only several millions of lines of code. When they even share the code used for their builds, which is rare.
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