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There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use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Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#341

Post by leadingthenet »

joelthelion wrote: post #267
shadowtree wrote: post #92

Love the HN crowd here explaining that staying still on old tech full of security holes is a-ok. :) Both Android and iOS have made awesome progress on all fronts, from security to stuff like AR and ML. You can now have a supercomputer in your pocket - just using it for phone/texts is such a waste.

> just using it for phone/texts is such a waste. I'd argue the real waste is throwing away a fully-functioning device full of rare-earth metals and other niceties every two years.

It is. Which is why if you buy an iPhone you can use it for more than two years and still receive security updates, as opposed to Android.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#342

Post by adrianN »

tpallarino wrote: post #104
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…

As someone who goes as long as possible without performing updates, this is exactly the reason why. Example: Last time I updated my iPhone, the music app got an update and now they are trying to shove iCloud down my throat. Not to mention needless UI changes when I was more than satisfied with how it was before.

If only security updates were unbundled from feature updates one could update with fewer worries.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#343

Post by dexterdog »

CommentCard wrote: post #332
eloff wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I ended up in a situation like that too, except the update auto-downloaded taking up most of my free space, but not leaving enough to install it. I didn't figure out how to reclaim the space so I spent months stuck without being able to install apps or updates before I gave in and bought a higher end phone.

Back up or sync important contacts and data, and then do a factory reset to restore the original OS. Make sure to turn off auto-updates as it will keep downloading them after the restore. It's a shame that phones keep losing features like micro SD.

Both of Samsung's flagships have microsd. I just wish they had a swappable battery and a flat screen.

Re: There are over a billion outdated Android devices in use

#344

Post by jhasse »

pksadiq wrote: post #337
jhasse wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah, probably. But the presence of packages like GNU libc can make it harder for the manufacturer to lock the device. glibc is LGPL, so I don't see how that should change anything? > (as it is a violation of GNU GPL). IIRC it's a gray area.

> glibc is LGPL, so I don't see how that should change anything? glibc requires libgcc[0], which is GPLv3 (with runtime exception). The same for libstdc++[1]. [0] https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gccint/Libgcc.html [1] https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/libstdc++/manual/license.html

The runtime exception makes it possible that everything else is proprietary, locked and unchangeable. Which actually is okay for apps IMHO, because I would want to run proprietary software like games (sandboxed of course).

The kernel really is the problem here and where there's no GPLv3 code used at all.

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

#345

Post by maaaats »

gumballhead wrote: post #214

I often get sympathetic comments for being an Android developer because of this. It's honestly not that bad. Android provides backwards compatible support libraries for whatever SDK you're supporting, and was designed from the beginning to handle diverse screen sizes and hardware. By far a bigger problem is manufacturers shipping their own version of Android that is sometimes incompatible with the SDK. I've had to im…

Yeah, I remember when iPhone changed ratio/screen size, and people scrambled to make their apps work. This is something a developer had to handle from day one on all other devices.

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

#346

Post by jiggunjer »

realusername wrote: post #186
scarface74 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I think every device should ship with root by default, it's the case for computers, I don't see why phones would be any different.

Because computers don't come with an app store that contains tonnes of crapware. Even if they did, people would install a smaller variety of apps.

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

#347

Post by The_DaveG »

Spivak wrote: post #157
The_DaveG wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two years is completely too short, even three years if you purchase mid-cycle is not enough. I own Nexus 5X's on Project Fi, one bootlooped and was replaced, the other still going strong after ~20months. I also have a Pixel XL acquired like 7 months ago, both of those should outlive the updates and giving Google the money directly, they should take care of their customers. Far from an Apple fan boy, the 2016 MBP and…

Two years is too short but once you get on the extended warranty loop you can basically get another 2/4 years of new phones on the cheap.

For the 5X's, the were a great deal, and it would cost more than the phone to get into the extended warranties. Not worth it for our purposes. As long as they keep working, we'll keep using them.

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

#348

Post by viraptor »

adrianN wrote: post #342
tpallarino wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who goes as long as possible without performing updates, this is exactly the reason why. Example: Last time I updated my iPhone, the music app got an update and now they are trying to shove iCloud down my throat. Not to mention needless UI changes when I was more than satisfied with how it was before.

If only security updates were unbundled from feature updates one could update with fewer worries.

Multiple release breaches are a pain for many reasons. It's very unlikely that companies would spend time doing that, even if they were given a chance to do so.

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

#349

Post by Geeflow »

pasbesoin wrote: post #22
ruytlm wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a long time Nexus user (back to Nexus S), the clean OS and updates were always the selling points for me. With Pixel now dropping the headphone jack, I'm starting to look elsewhere. Here's hoping I get some more life yet out of my 5X.

Make sure you are regularly backed up. Anecdote, but I bootlooped -- that's with quite gentle care. Friend bootlooped a couple of weeks later.

Second that. I bought three Nexus 5x for me and my family. Two of those bricked themselves without warning.

Plus I keep reading these stories over and over again. Multiple anecdotes in the discussion to this article alone...

Both got repaired (mainboard replaced) under warranty without issue. I'm still happy with the phone and haven't found anything comparable considering the price (270€ approx. 1 year after release), but you definitely need to have a solid backup strategy.

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

#350

Post by pantalaimon »

ekianjo wrote: post #125
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).

They have no incentives to do so. I would like Samsung to make it into a business. Have folks pay 5 dollars per year if they want to get ongoing security updates for older devices. I would pay in an instant.

There is Lineage OS which supports many Samsung devices with the latest android, completely free of charge.

Maybe those little phone repair shops should offer installing it for a small fee as a service.

There is also postmarketOS which attempts to bring a standard Linux distribution to old phones, but it's still in an early stage.

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