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I hold no opinion on "planned obsolescence", rather I want to separate OS from vendors. Vendor support is not a feature of the software it is a feature of the V

by sqeaky 9y ago

I hold no opinion on "planned obsolescence", rather I want to separate OS from vendors. Vendor support is not a feature of the software it is a feature of the Vendor. Android is open for anyone to do anything with, and there is no way to force someone to support something after they release it any more than it is possible to get them to not use Android in the first place. If we look at Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, etc... independently as companies I am sure some have crappy upgrade policies and some have great policies. If you want shop around for it, look at reviews for other phones. If you don't want it, like if you are planning on installing your own OS or have other plans for the hardware then this is misfeature. It becomes a thing you have paid for but will never use.

scarface74 9y ago
Vendor support is not a feature of the software it is a feature of the Vendor. Whether I buy a computer from Dell, HP, Lenovo or any other PC vendor, I still can get upgrades and security patches from Microsoft. I don't have to wait on the vendor for updates. we look at Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, etc... independently as companies I am sure some have crappy upgrade policies and some have great policies. If you want shop around for it, look at reviews for other phones. Tell me one Android vendor who supports their phone with security patches for five years?
- sqeaky 9y ago
  Windows is also locked down so that Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc... cannot make arbitrary changes to it. If they could they would like break the update mechanism. I have seen plenty of preinstalled crapware from all those companies that never gets updated.
  - scarface74 9y ago
    And the difference being that you can update the OS despite the crapware. You can't update Android devices without waiting on the vendor.
    - sqeaky 9y ago
      And you can install your own Android based OS which gets updates. All I am trying to say is that android, the OS is not the reason updates don't happen. The Vendor is and largely your point point agrees with me.
      - scarface74 9y ago
        You can install your own Android base on the majority of Android phones? Including full support for Google Play Services? What about all of the chipsets that only come with binary blobs that the manufacturer has stopped supporting? Are you really comparing the ease of clicking one button to upgrade Windows or iOS devices with using some semi supported "Android" OS that may or may not be supported for your phone?
khedoros1 9y ago
> Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, etc... independently as companies I am sure some have crappy upgrade policies and some have great policies. Well...yes. Great upgrade policies: Apple. Crappy upgrade policies: Samsung, LG, HTC, etc. Let's look at the flagships: Apple: iPhone 5 from 2012 supports their newest OS release. Samsung: Galaxy S3 from 2012 supports Android 4.3 and 4.4 (depending on model). Those are 2012 and 2013 OSes. HTC: One X from 2012 supports up to Android 4.2.2. LG: Optimus G from 2012 supports up to Android 4.4.2. Google itself: Nexus 4 from late 2012 supports up to Android 5.1.1. A maintenance release from last year, with a base OS release 2.5 years ago...but certainly better than other Android vendors. Android itself is still being updated as far back as 4.4.x, but that doesn't help much when the vendors aren't picking up the updates (and installing LineageOS tends to lose access to some of the features I paid for).
- sqeaky 9y ago
  I have been using cyanogenmod and lineageOS, and the updates just worked. So I wasn't aware so many of the big names refused to ship updates. Do any android handset manufacturers ship updates?
  - khedoros1 9y ago
    Most of them do, but usually only for a year or two after the release of a particular handset, and more for their flagship models than their more obscure ones. In most cases, those updates include a single major OS version jump, and maybe a year or two of security patches after that point.

by sqeaky 9y ago

scarface74 9y ago

Vendor support is not a feature of the software it is a feature of the Vendor. Whether I buy a computer from Dell, HP, Lenovo or any other PC vendor, I still can get upgrades and security patches from Microsoft. I don't have to wait on the vendor for updates. we look at Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, etc... independently as companies I am sure some have crappy upgrade policies and some have great policies. If you want shop around for it, look at reviews for other phones. Tell me one Android vendor who supports their phone with security patches for five years?

sqeaky 9y ago
Windows is also locked down so that Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc... cannot make arbitrary changes to it. If they could they would like break the update mechanism. I have seen plenty of preinstalled crapware from all those companies that never gets updated.
- scarface74 9y ago
  And the difference being that you can update the OS despite the crapware. You can't update Android devices without waiting on the vendor.
  - sqeaky 9y ago
    And you can install your own Android based OS which gets updates. All I am trying to say is that android, the OS is not the reason updates don't happen. The Vendor is and largely your point point agrees with me.
    - scarface74 9y ago
      You can install your own Android base on the majority of Android phones? Including full support for Google Play Services? What about all of the chipsets that only come with binary blobs that the manufacturer has stopped supporting? Are you really comparing the ease of clicking one button to upgrade Windows or iOS devices with using some semi supported "Android" OS that may or may not be supported for your phone?

khedoros1 9y ago

> Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, etc... independently as companies I am sure some have crappy upgrade policies and some have great policies. Well...yes. Great upgrade policies: Apple. Crappy upgrade policies: Samsung, LG, HTC, etc. Let's look at the flagships: Apple: iPhone 5 from 2012 supports their newest OS release. Samsung: Galaxy S3 from 2012 supports Android 4.3 and 4.4 (depending on model). Those are 2012 and 2013 OSes. HTC: One X from 2012 supports up to Android 4.2.2. LG: Optimus G from 2012 supports up to Android 4.4.2. Google itself: Nexus 4 from late 2012 supports up to Android 5.1.1. A maintenance release from last year, with a base OS release 2.5 years ago...but certainly better than other Android vendors. Android itself is still being updated as far back as 4.4.x, but that doesn't help much when the vendors aren't picking up the updates (and installing LineageOS tends to lose access to some of the features I paid for).

sqeaky 9y ago
I have been using cyanogenmod and lineageOS, and the updates just worked. So I wasn't aware so many of the big names refused to ship updates. Do any android handset manufacturers ship updates?
- khedoros1 9y ago
  Most of them do, but usually only for a year or two after the release of a particular handset, and more for their flagship models than their more obscure ones. In most cases, those updates include a single major OS version jump, and maybe a year or two of security patches after that point.