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The Android One phones (https://www.android.com/one/ https://www.android.com/one/) are running stock Android and provide 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 yea
by gst 8y ago
The Android One phones (https://www.android.com/one/ https://www.android.com/one/) are running stock Android and provide 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 year of security updates.
- bscphil 8y agoFor people who want to buy phones in the several-hundred-dollar range, 2 years of official updates really isn't sufficient. My Nexus 4 lasted 4 or 5 years, the last few on unofficial firmware - but I shouldn't have had to use third party firmware on a device that was working just fine.
- hocuspocus 8y agoWell, you never had to. It's pretty disingenuous to compare Android and iOS like it's a 1:1 comparison. Google Play services and several other components get updated independently from the system. A Nexus 4 that is running the last official security patch still works "just fine" and gives you access to the majority of apps on the Play store. While the update model isn't perfect and a bit concerning security-wise, if you want a device that "just works" for 5 years and won't be artificially crippled, Android wins.
- Someone1234 8y agoI know someone who has an Android One Motorola, while they like stock Android, updates are still really slow for reasons unknown. There was also no beta during Pie. Definitely isn't a full Nexus or Pixel experience unfortunately.
- tigershark 8y agoIt’s not that different either, only google phones 2 years old will get android p, exactly like gp said that is the case for android ones.
- duxup 8y agoKeep in mind that the phone manufacture is tasked with providing those updates for Android One devices. It was once going to be Google providing them but they changed the site a while back.... that makes me skeptical about when / if you get those updates... Google has been struggling to get manufactures to do updates and backpedaling on Android One's updates doesn't have me optimistic.
- tigershark 8y agoChrist, being happy for “2 years of Android os updates” reminds me how awful is the android ecosystem. IPhone 5s, a phone from 5 years ago is running the latest iOS without any problem.
- snipem 8y agoIt also trashes the resell value of Android devices.
- aetherson 8y agoThese phones are also way cheaper than the iPhone5s was at its launch. If you pay $350 for your phone and replace it after 2 years, that seems to me to be better than paying $700 for your phone and replacing it after 4 years?
- leadingthenet 8y agoWhy? That's just consumerist thinking. With iOS 12, my 3 and a half year old phone works even better than when I bought it. Why create useless waste?
- aetherson 8y agoBecause, for example, your 3.5 year old phone has a way worse camera than a modern phone. It doesn't have wireless charging. Its hardware has deficiencies that are noticeable even if the raw speed of the CPU is still fine.
- jsight 8y ago"consumerist thinking"? What other kind of thinking should a consumer have? And waste? My old Android phones are pretty useful even with marginally older software. None of them have non-patched remote execution bugs that would make them risky, thanks to the fact that some of the more risk prone components (built in browser, play services, etc) get updated independently from the OS.
- thebruce87m 8y ago
- clumsysmurf 8y agoAre there any Android One devices available in the US?
- tkdc926 8y agoI have a Nokia 6.1 purchased from Amazon. It runs Android One and I love it. Currently costs around $230.
- Dylan16807 8y agoI have one of the first android one phones! I'm scared to root it. Because they don't provide factory images and the update process is very fragile. It's a far cry from Nexus.
- flukus 8y agoThat's 2 years assuming you buy it on launch day, significantly less for most people.
- Splines 8y agoI find it really annoying that phones need so much hand holding from OEMs to keep up to date. Imagine the backlash if a Windows OEM said that: a.) you could only get OS updates from them, and b.) you'd only get 2 years of updates.