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Software may be a bit delayed, but if you care mostly about security and less about having the absolute latest Android version (with some nice to have functionn

Software may be a bit delayed, but if you care mostly about security and less about having the absolute latest Android version (with some nice to have functionnalities I suppose, but I don't miss them so far), it's very good. My fairphone 2 is running Android 7, started at 5 I think, and the latest security update was this month [1]. And those security updates are pretty regular. [1] https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/208342503-Fairphone-OS-for-Fairphone-2-Release-Notes https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/208342503-Fa...

rlpb 7y ago
> the latest security update was this month That doesn't include kernel security updates though, does it? What does "Vendor security patch level" say? Isn't that still stuck on 1 April 2018?
- Vinnl 7y ago
  I only see "Android security patch level", which says March 2019 for me: https://i.imgur.com/rdEsUna.png https://i.imgur.com/rdEsUna.png (I'm on Fairphone Open though - I saw their regular OS has had an update a few days ago.)
  - rlpb 7y ago
    > "Android security patch level", which says March 2019 On LineageOS, at least, "Android security patch level" seems to be the OS only and doesn't include the kernel or firmware blobs (eg. the radio stack).
    - Vinnl 7y ago
      I'm willing to check the Vendor security patch level for you, then, but you'd have to tell me where to find it - it's not on that screen.
      - rlpb 7y ago
        I understand but I don't know how. I'm just doubting that the kernel has been updated for security at all. As others have said, apparently we're dependent on Qualcomm for updates and they no longer release any.
        Vinnl 7y ago
        Most of it is going over my head, but I just received an update for the Open OS today as well, and the list of CVEs fixed is here: https://code.fairphone.com/contentx/2019-08-28_fairphone-open-19.08_release.html https://code.fairphone.com/contentx/2019-08-28_fairphone-ope... Perhaps that might give some insight into whether the kernel has been updated. But yeah, I've understood that Qualcomm is a bottleneck as well.
solarkraft 7y ago
> My fairphone 2 is running Android 7 You will soon be 3 major releases behind.
- rchaud 7y ago
  Honestly, major releases of Android meant something between the early Android 2.0 - 5.0 period. Most of the features since then have been largely cosmetic. Ask the average user if they're using their phone differently in the last 5 years (Android 5.0 release was in 2014) and I'd wager little to none of that would be related to OS-level changes.
  - mk89 7y ago
    That's quite subjective. You can get a list here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history Android 8, in particular, was a massive upgrade. Plus all the optimizations to save battery, to make apps faster, etc.
    - thekyle 7y ago
      I guess it really depends on whether you pay attention to the change logs. My phone has Android 9 on it right now and I can't really remember any meaningful new features since Android 6.
  - kiba 7y ago
    Next update of android will give me QoL improvement for hearing aid users like me, which is great. Otherwise, I don't really care that much except security updates.

rlpb 7y ago

> the latest security update was this month That doesn't include kernel security updates though, does it? What does "Vendor security patch level" say? Isn't that still stuck on 1 April 2018?

Vinnl 7y ago
I only see "Android security patch level", which says March 2019 for me: https://i.imgur.com/rdEsUna.png https://i.imgur.com/rdEsUna.png (I'm on Fairphone Open though - I saw their regular OS has had an update a few days ago.)
- rlpb 7y ago
  > "Android security patch level", which says March 2019 On LineageOS, at least, "Android security patch level" seems to be the OS only and doesn't include the kernel or firmware blobs (eg. the radio stack).
  - Vinnl 7y ago
    I'm willing to check the Vendor security patch level for you, then, but you'd have to tell me where to find it - it's not on that screen.
    - rlpb 7y ago
      I understand but I don't know how. I'm just doubting that the kernel has been updated for security at all. As others have said, apparently we're dependent on Qualcomm for updates and they no longer release any.
      - Vinnl 7y ago
        Most of it is going over my head, but I just received an update for the Open OS today as well, and the list of CVEs fixed is here: https://code.fairphone.com/contentx/2019-08-28_fairphone-open-19.08_release.html https://code.fairphone.com/contentx/2019-08-28_fairphone-ope... Perhaps that might give some insight into whether the kernel has been updated. But yeah, I've understood that Qualcomm is a bottleneck as well.

solarkraft 7y ago

> My fairphone 2 is running Android 7 You will soon be 3 major releases behind.

rchaud 7y ago
Honestly, major releases of Android meant something between the early Android 2.0 - 5.0 period. Most of the features since then have been largely cosmetic. Ask the average user if they're using their phone differently in the last 5 years (Android 5.0 release was in 2014) and I'd wager little to none of that would be related to OS-level changes.
- mk89 7y ago
  That's quite subjective. You can get a list here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history Android 8, in particular, was a massive upgrade. Plus all the optimizations to save battery, to make apps faster, etc.
  - thekyle 7y ago
    I guess it really depends on whether you pay attention to the change logs. My phone has Android 9 on it right now and I can't really remember any meaningful new features since Android 6.
- kiba 7y ago
  Next update of android will give me QoL improvement for hearing aid users like me, which is great. Otherwise, I don't really care that much except security updates.