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It's 2022, phones should be built to last five years or more
- yakak 4y agoI was just looking at the process to try to keep running a phone with security updates after the manufacturer has stopped supporting it.. First you break a bunch of trusted boot security features possibly using random binaries. Then you install lineageOS or similar. Then you hope that your new kernel does not go backwards on security patches by being a snapshot of a vendor kernel that someone may or may not be trying to keep up to date.
- h4waii 4y agoIf your phone supports it `fastboot flashing unlock` is the simple and straight forward way of unlocking your bootloader, that's not using a random binary. While LineageOS doesn't advertise or provide support for re-locking, GrapheneOS explicitly does and I can highly suggest it over the rest of the AOSP-based projects if your goal is maintaining high security on a supported device.
- josephcsible 4y agoGrapheneOS explicitly doesn't support devices that the manufacturer no longer supports, because proprietary drivers and firmware have security holes too, and they're powerless to update them.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago> GrapheneOS explicitly doesn't support devices that the manufacturer no longer supports, because proprietary drivers and firmware have security holes too, and they're powerless to update them. GrapheneOS supports the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, which have been out of support from Google for months now. While this arrangement will not last forever, it disproves your claim.
- josephcsible 4y agoTrue, they provide a few months of "extended support releases as a stopgap for users to transition". My point is that they're not at all like LineageOS, which tries to keep old devices working indefinitely.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y agoInability to relock the device would be a dealbreaker for me. GrapheneOS has worked quite well for me, and as someone who used nothing but iOS since 2007 until this year, that says a lot.
- hedora 4y agoYeah, but current pixels (all they support) have a reasonable support lifetime.
- yakak 4y agoI'm curious as to why everyone is negative or dismissive of the topic, which was: > after the manufacturer has stopped supporting it..
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- jleyank 4y agoThis is my concern about the phone/tablet crap in modern cars…. My cars tend to go 5-10 years without significant problems. I worry the switch from dials and buttons to glass will either hardware-fail or die on a software update well sooner than that. It would have been so much better to offload that to a users phone so that the average purchase cycle would keep it up and running. Phone’s got more cpu power anyway, and better connectivity. If you’re ponying up for a new car, I think it’s a safe bet you have a smartphone.
- yakak 4y agoWhy is a car manufacturer going to keep the mobile apps they made for your model of car up to date enough to install on the next 10-15 phones you and future owners buy?
- mrpopo 4y agoRegulations. Cars are heavily regulated for safety reasons. Also brand trust.
- hulitu 4y agoIf it would have been for safety reasons, you would not be allowed to drive a Tesla. Cars are heavily regulated because every piece of regulated equipment brings money for the producer of that equiment.
- elzbardico 4y agoNonsense. Cars nowadays are a lot safer because of that regulations. And just because something is more expensive it doesn't mean that it brings more profits to the seller, it all depends on the demand-elasticity of the price. And Teslas unless you use FSD, are really safe cars. People need to tone down their Musk hate.
- treeman79 4y agoMy Ford ui interface is v3. To get to v4 I have to buy a new car. There are a few apps you can get for it. None work.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- hilbert42 4y agoIn many cases smartphones would last the distance if one could easily change the battery. I've a mid-priced phone from 2017 and the battery is nearly stuffed, given its price it's easier to throw it away. It's never ceased to amaze me how manufacturers got away with the sealed battery concept, it seems not one country anywhere challenged it under consumer fitness-for-purpose law. One day, someone will write a thesis about why and how governments failed to stop this happening.
- Wowfunhappy 4y agoIt's true that most end-users cannot replace the batteries in their phones unaided. However, it should be a trivial task for any electronics repair shop. Cars need new oil every year or so. Drivers don't generally throw out the entire car.
- jdsully 4y agoThey frequently do for more expensive repairs, e.g. a $3k transmission replacement. An oil change is $100, vs tens of thousands for the car, or less than 1% the cost. Batteries on the hand are over $100 to replace for a phone that was likely only $1k brand new and now worth only a small fraction of that.
- Wowfunhappy 4y agoThanks, I don't drive and always get screwed up when I try to use car metaphors. But your transmission replacement is a better example: A $3K repair for a $10K car is 30% of the car's value, so much more than a $100 battery replacement for a $500 phone. (And, I've had shops replace my phone's battery for less than $50.)
- zenexer 4y agoA transmission repair is not a normal repair you should expect to experience unless your car is quite old, though. I've never owned a new car, and I've never had a transmission die on me. By the time it's getting close to that point, the whole care is on life support anyway. Any regular repair a normal car needs is probably something the average person can do with little to no technical knowledge. Changing the battery, headlights, or oil in your car is trivial compared to changing the battery in most phones. That's a subjective assessment, but I think I'm a fairly average person when it comes to repairing phones and cars: I don't do either on a regular basis and have no special experience that would enable me to do either type of repair better than the average person. I'm good at breaking phones when I try to replace batteries, but I have yet to break a car when changing the oil or headlights. I shouldn't need to take my car to a shop to replace disposable components--I don't need to take my car to a shop to replace disposable components. I shouldn't need to take my phone to a shop to replace disposable components, yet here we are. I can try to do it myself, but I guarantee if I try to replace the battery in my Nexus 6P or first-gen Pixel, I'll crack the screen. Even repair shops probably have high failure rates on battery replacements for those two devices.
- Havoc 4y agoComing up on 5 years for my iphone soon so already is viable in some cases
- Arrath 4y agoI'm using a Samsung S7 I bought in 2017, so same here.
- procinct 4y agoThe S7 still gets updates?
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y agoOf course not. That device is running horribly out-of-date software.
- Arrath 4y agoI wish.
- SyzygistSix 4y agoS4 here. Battery is easily replaceable and I use a protective case. No problems.
- timonoko 4y agoOne and only problem is the battery driver on Android. It seems to be impossible to make an app that would stop the charging at 70%. Or even better the app would learn one's charging habits and maintains the minimum unless requested otherwise. At 50% the lifetime is +500%. At 10% it is +3000%. Me myself, however, have made such a magic charger doing max 70%, and 2017 phone battery capacity is basically the same as when brand new.
- fy20 4y agoI rooted my phone and use AccA, but as I understand you need a supported device. This should be built in the core of Android and required by manufacturers.
- jabroni_salad 4y agoSamsung has a 'protect battery' checkbox that limits the maximum to 85%. I use that and just leave it unless I am going to have a travel-heavy day.
- timonoko 4y agoExcellent. But it should be builtin on every Android. You can check the battery voltage on Termux, but you cannot stop the bloody charging. I have external charger, which can be stopped with Termux Wifi-command. https://github.com/timonoko/Termux-battery-controller https://github.com/timonoko/Termux-battery-controller
- smileybarry 4y agoI use a HomeKit outlet + Shortcuts + automations on iOS to stop charging. Once my battery hits 81%, if I'm charging at home it automatically turns the outlet off. Otherwise I just have a notification to unplug it (like at work).
- mdp2021 4y agoVeeery interesting. Attempts I had done to understand the matter of optimizing use for extending battery life did not focus on the maximum charge, more on lower limit, in the discharge. Now, this rule of "better not bringing the battery near 100%" should of course also be valid for laptops. Any such management option in relevant OS - Penguins, Apples, Fixtures?
- daniel-cussen 4y agoFunny, the iPhone 5S is built better than the iPhone 7, well change the battery because that's how Apple was getting you, getting me, they better have my money they owe me from the class-action lawsuit I qualify for and was told to collect on, like $200. Their local Chilean distributor owes it, whose name is Reifschneider. That bitch better have my money. But, once you replace the battery so it doesn't crap out right when you're trying to make an emergency call, it's actually a better phone than its successor. Just better. Doesn't crack as easily, and less compatible with crappy apps. No 5G. So so much better.
- getpost 4y agoiphones (and ipads) do last 5 years or more, both hardware and software support; it's a key differentiator from the android ecosystem. A more easily replaced battery would be nice.
- robinsonrc 4y agoAgreed. (Posted from my 2017 iPhone X with its original battery, 4.5 years and counting - still very usable, dare I say responsive, and I have no plans to change it this year)
- madjam002 4y agoSame, 4.5 years with an iPhone X, still feels very snappy like on day one. Only now has my battery health flagged up as needing a service.
- Aromasin 4y agoA fatal flaw of the android ecosystem; Apple users see them all as one and the same. I have both my Samsung S6 and my Nexus 6P (business phone) from 2014/15 still working, with the first as my daily driver still to this day. On the other hand, I had HTC One A9 that gave up the ghost after about year 4 from numerous hardware and software failures.
- kingnothing 4y agoYour Samsung S6 hit EOL for updates over 4 years ago. It's not safe to use for anything you care about. iPhones seem to have a 6 year lifespan for updates.
- gumby 4y agoPhones are built that way, but by Apple, which unsurprisingly isn't really mentioned by androidauthority! Last year I upgraded my iphone 6 to 12, but still use my iphone 6 around the house for certain things. Cars with higher resale value and longer life command a higher purchase price. I don't know why it should be any different in phones.
- mrtweetyhack 4y ago
- josephd79 4y agoThey do. Most people upgrade when they really don’t need to.