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> If you want a phone with top-notch security, buy a Google phone which is guaranteed, by Google, to come with 3 years of monthly security updates. I find it a

> If you want a phone with top-notch security, buy a Google phone which is guaranteed, by Google, to come with 3 years of monthly security updates. I find it amazing that supporting a $1000 phone for 3 years is considered excellent. It's not very sustainable to make several billion new smartphones every 3 years...

mrb 10y ago
Pixel starts at $650 not $1000. But I agree that $500+ phones (Google AND Apple) should IMHO be security-supported for 5 years. It would be better for all of us.
- kuschku 10y ago
  Pixel starts at over $900 in Europe.
  - vinay427 10y ago
    This includes a significant VAT that varies by country, so the price isn't comparable to the listed US price which excludes any applicable sales taxes. That being said, the consumer is still paying nearly $1000 USD for their device with the hidden tax.
- eggnet 10y ago
  The OP didn't say that the Pixel starts at $1000. A 128GB Pixel XL with device protection is $968 US before tax and still has the same 3 year support as the entry level Pixel. The fact is Google sells a $1000 phone with 3 years of support. They also sell less expensive variants with 3 years of support.
- akoster 10y ago
  $500+ iPhone 5 (2012) user checking in here, currently into the 5th year of updating to the latest (most patched) OS version. I wish android had something like this.
  - ericzawo 10y ago
    How's it run though?
  - mrb 10y ago
    Like I said elsewhere Apple is not always that good. If you bought the iPhone 4S on September 9, 2014 right before it was discontinued, the last iOS update it received was 9.3.5 on August 25, 2016. Just 2 years of support...
    - Kurtz79 10y ago
      That's kind of unfair, the iPhone 4S was released on September 2011, so it was supported 5 years since release. It went through 5 (!) major releases of iOS, from 5.0 to 9.3.5. If you buy a phone that you know is already going to be obsoleted soon (it's not like Apple makes its release schedule a mystery), you should assume it will have less support than the latest model.
srcmap 10y ago
Google can create a new "Android Security Update Guarantee" services - for phone vendors. When phone vendors releases a phone, they can deposit the vendors custom binaries/source in google servers. Google will maintain and release security updates for vendors for X number of years for Y amount of $$$/Year. The phone vendors can snap a "Android Security Update Guarantee by Google until year ZZZZ" logo/label on the phone.
- Natanael_L 10y ago
  Would be too expensive to justify, unless you want the patches to be barebones with minimal testing
- signal11 10y ago
  Back when phones were mostly sold via carriers ("new phone every 2 years"), I suspect OEMs wouldn't want it because updates would almost guarantee no updates for the duration that the phone was supported by Google. In a plateauing market where more customers buy their own phones, it could be a differentiating factor. As an iPhone user I buy an unlocked phone every 3 years or so, updates are therefore important to me -- but clearly not to enough of the Android market right now.

mrb 10y ago

Pixel starts at $650 not $1000. But I agree that $500+ phones (Google AND Apple) should IMHO be security-supported for 5 years. It would be better for all of us.

kuschku 10y ago
Pixel starts at over $900 in Europe.
- vinay427 10y ago
  This includes a significant VAT that varies by country, so the price isn't comparable to the listed US price which excludes any applicable sales taxes. That being said, the consumer is still paying nearly $1000 USD for their device with the hidden tax.
eggnet 10y ago
The OP didn't say that the Pixel starts at $1000. A 128GB Pixel XL with device protection is $968 US before tax and still has the same 3 year support as the entry level Pixel. The fact is Google sells a $1000 phone with 3 years of support. They also sell less expensive variants with 3 years of support.
akoster 10y ago
$500+ iPhone 5 (2012) user checking in here, currently into the 5th year of updating to the latest (most patched) OS version. I wish android had something like this.
- ericzawo 10y ago
  How's it run though?
- mrb 10y ago
  Like I said elsewhere Apple is not always that good. If you bought the iPhone 4S on September 9, 2014 right before it was discontinued, the last iOS update it received was 9.3.5 on August 25, 2016. Just 2 years of support...
  - Kurtz79 10y ago
    That's kind of unfair, the iPhone 4S was released on September 2011, so it was supported 5 years since release. It went through 5 (!) major releases of iOS, from 5.0 to 9.3.5. If you buy a phone that you know is already going to be obsoleted soon (it's not like Apple makes its release schedule a mystery), you should assume it will have less support than the latest model.

srcmap 10y ago

Google can create a new "Android Security Update Guarantee" services - for phone vendors. When phone vendors releases a phone, they can deposit the vendors custom binaries/source in google servers. Google will maintain and release security updates for vendors for X number of years for Y amount of $$$/Year. The phone vendors can snap a "Android Security Update Guarantee by Google until year ZZZZ" logo/label on the phone.

Natanael_L 10y ago
Would be too expensive to justify, unless you want the patches to be barebones with minimal testing
signal11 10y ago
Back when phones were mostly sold via carriers ("new phone every 2 years"), I suspect OEMs wouldn't want it because updates would almost guarantee no updates for the duration that the phone was supported by Google. In a plateauing market where more customers buy their own phones, it could be a differentiating factor. As an iPhone user I buy an unlocked phone every 3 years or so, updates are therefore important to me -- but clearly not to enough of the Android market right now.