4 ms·
In practice it often is -- even in the case of many bad Android phones. It's just that the lifecycle they work to is the two year phone contract replacement li
by unfocussed_mike 5y ago
In practice it often is -- even in the case of many bad Android phones.
It's just that the lifecycle they work to is the two year phone contract replacement lifecycle, not the longer one you might imagine.
It's Darwinian: as long as the phone is not abandonware by the time the user's contract runs out, it doesn't matter.
And the only Darwinian pressure to resolve this would be longer plan terms.
- hughrr 5y agoI think they should actually forcibly separate buying a phone from the carrier.
- unfocussed_mike 5y agoIn the UK and the EU at least, there's not much of a tie anymore, and the market probably has enough choice; not sure how much things have improved in the USA or elsewhere. I suspect the increasing discussion of longer support periods does suggest my Darwinian scenario is changing. A bit.
- jpindar 5y agoIn the US it is a choice, at least for anyone willing and able to pay the full price of the phone up front.