6 ms·

What Android phone gets OS updates for 6 years? Even 2-3 is quite good by Android standards.

by sk0g 4y ago

ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
Pixel phones beginning with the Pixel 6 are guaranteed five years of updates at a minimum.
- fauigerzigerk 4y ago
  3 years of Android version updates and at least 5 years of security updates. But I have to say, Apple's OS version updates are not always quite what they seem. My 2 year old iPad gets OS updates in name only. None of the major new iPad OS features are supported. That's fine if the hardware just isn't capable of supporting those features. But it sort of muddies the water compared to an Android device that doesn't get a nominal OS bump but still gets security updates and all the new features distributed through Google's Play services.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
    All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, feature updates are gated by model because Apple wants to sell new stuff and the new features are a big driver of that. GrapheneOS on Pixel is probably the best bet right now.
    - fauigerzigerk 4y ago
      >All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, absolutely. I didn't mean to imply anything else. Google says Pixel 6 will get "at least 5 years" of security updates. We're going to have to wait and see if that's better or worse than what Apple does.
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    Are you serious? iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. Compare that to Android where the best case is invisible security updates and guess which causes upgrade anxiety? I'm an Android developer for a living but I use iPhones because the Android ecosystem is currently optimized for generating e-waste. SoC manufacturers generally don't make enough money to want to do more than the bare minimum, so unless you're Google making billions off a hundred other angles you don't do OS updates for more than a few years and maybe pay lip service with security upgrades.
    - esteth 4y ago
      He's serious. The new multitasking workflow which is the major feature of iPadOS 16 is not available on non-M1 iPads, for example
      - BoorishBears 4y ago
        You mean Stage Manager??? That's a truly terrible example... First off it's not "the major feature of iPadOS 16, it's one call out of many _many_ features: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ Second, _massively increasing multitasking capabilities_ is being given to the models that have _a massively upgraded SoC_ there's nothing artificial about that limitation. Older iPads cannot not hold 4 arbitrary apps in memory, try it yourself if you want. For anything but the most basic set of apps you'll find something evicted by the time you loop back... Third, "the" major point of an OS upgrade if any is being on the latest development target. Ask Android devs still targeting versions of Android from 2015 about that...
    - fauigerzigerk 4y ago
      >iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. As you know, Google updates apps and cloud features on a continuous basis while Apple holds back most new features until they release a new OS version. If you look through the list of iPad OS 16 features for instance, you'll see that almost all of them are in fact new apps, app features and sharing/cloud features that Android users would be getting anyway [1]. Of the very few actual OS features, the most substantial one by far is Stage Manager, which is only supported on M1 iPads as esteth has said. This isn't just "a few flashy features". I'm a bit unlucky with my iPad purchases because this is the second time I'm missing out on the most important new OS features on a new-ish iPad. Granted, nothing of the sort ever happened to me on iPhone. I'm rather happy with Apple's iOS update policy. [1] https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/
      - BoorishBears 4y ago
        Stage Manager will straight up not work on non-M1 iPads. You cannot keep 4 major apps in memory without seeing an eviction. Also your comparison doesn't make sense, you're comparing iOS built-in apps to Android 3rd party apps by Google... AOSP's built-in photos and emails apps have barely been updated in the last decade. All in all if you think iPadOS is letting you down, Android upgrades are a circus that Google refuses to rein in.
- sk0g 4y ago
  The Pixel 6 Pro has been update to become a pile of hot trash in my case. The updates have been so bad I'm returning it this weekend, while I received a perfectly functional hone... I'm sure some will appreciate the (security) updates, because the year or so of OS updates I've experienced have been a constant trend towards the worse.
  - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
    Install GrapheneOS on it and give it another look. https://grapheneos.org/install/web https://grapheneos.org/install/web
    - sk0g 4y ago
      There's not a single screenshot of the operating system I could see, and I need to unlock the phone and all so assuming this is a custom ROM. Usually you lose access to things like GPay or certain NFC functionalities, and end up with a not-entirely stable experience anyway. I'd rather a phone that just worked. The half a dozen I had previously at least didn't struggle with the basics!
      - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
        Google Pay won't work, but everything else has been quite solid for me. Additionally, it is more secure than the stock OS and significantly more protective of your privacy. Every app I've tried to use on it has worked. I recommend you give it a go. If you don't like it, you can always reinstall the stock OS at https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/ https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/
        sk0g 4y ago
        My bank decided to abandon their own payment solution in favour of GPay, and the neo-bank or two I do use also uses GPay, while I don't actually have physical cards for these. In short, not using GPay is not an option. > it is more secure than the stock OS Maybe, but I don't trust community maintainers (nor auditing) enough. At least Google has a business entity that backs their services, community ROMs have nothing of the sort. I dabbled in ROMs and the likes previously, but I just want a phone that works like a phone should right now. I've got too many other things to tinker with already.
saiya-jin 4y ago
Pixel 6 and Samsung S22, both 5 years of updates
- sk0g 4y ago
  At least in the Pixel 6's case, it's 5 years of security updates, not OS updates. IE nothing but the very critical updates beyond 2-3 years.
skunkjoe 4y ago
my Fairphone (3) gets 5 years updates from launch. So approx. 2.5 more to go, still running smoothly :)
28304283409234 4y ago
My bet is always to see which phone is supported by LineageOS, or other alternatives. Typing this on a Moto G6 (2018). I also have a fully patched Nexus 7 tablet (2013). Technically, there's nothing wrong with them. It's just that the vendors can't bring themselves to do the work. Hopefully some legislation will come into place at some point to enforce this.
- sk0g 4y ago
  That's a community effort, and from previous experiences some pretty random things can be broken, but if the contributors don't care, they won't even look into it. It's fine, but it's not an alternative to actual updates. In the same way, mods for games aren't an alternative to the developer just fixing issues.
  - mycall 4y ago
    It is a community effort and it is not uncommon for hardware to be traded between members for establishing some driver or interface with. eBay is part of that.
  - 28304283409234 4y ago
    Yet, we are all fine running Debian, or Arch, or Alpine, or Gentoo. All community efforts.
goldenkey 4y ago
My Pixel 4 XL is still on the latest Android, and I still get unlimited Google Photos via the grandfathered contract.

What Android phone gets OS updates for 6 years? Even 2-3 is quite good by Android standards.

by sk0g 4y ago

What Android phone gets OS updates for 6 years? Even 2-3 is quite good by Android standards.

ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago

Pixel phones beginning with the Pixel 6 are guaranteed five years of updates at a minimum.

fauigerzigerk 4y ago
3 years of Android version updates and at least 5 years of security updates. But I have to say, Apple's OS version updates are not always quite what they seem. My 2 year old iPad gets OS updates in name only. None of the major new iPad OS features are supported. That's fine if the hardware just isn't capable of supporting those features. But it sort of muddies the water compared to an Android device that doesn't get a nominal OS bump but still gets security updates and all the new features distributed through Google's Play services.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
  All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, feature updates are gated by model because Apple wants to sell new stuff and the new features are a big driver of that. GrapheneOS on Pixel is probably the best bet right now.
  - fauigerzigerk 4y ago
    >All security issues are handled on iOS for many years. Yes, absolutely. I didn't mean to imply anything else. Google says Pixel 6 will get "at least 5 years" of security updates. We're going to have to wait and see if that's better or worse than what Apple does.
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  Are you serious? iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. Compare that to Android where the best case is invisible security updates and guess which causes upgrade anxiety? I'm an Android developer for a living but I use iPhones because the Android ecosystem is currently optimized for generating e-waste. SoC manufacturers generally don't make enough money to want to do more than the bare minimum, so unless you're Google making billions off a hundred other angles you don't do OS updates for more than a few years and maybe pay lip service with security upgrades.
  - esteth 4y ago
    He's serious. The new multitasking workflow which is the major feature of iPadOS 16 is not available on non-M1 iPads, for example
    - BoorishBears 4y ago
      You mean Stage Manager??? That's a truly terrible example... First off it's not "the major feature of iPadOS 16, it's one call out of many _many_ features: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ Second, _massively increasing multitasking capabilities_ is being given to the models that have _a massively upgraded SoC_ there's nothing artificial about that limitation. Older iPads cannot not hold 4 arbitrary apps in memory, try it yourself if you want. For anything but the most basic set of apps you'll find something evicted by the time you loop back... Third, "the" major point of an OS upgrade if any is being on the latest development target. Ask Android devs still targeting versions of Android from 2015 about that...
  - fauigerzigerk 4y ago
    >iOS upgrades give you the entire OS experience and upgraded app support with a few flashy features missing. As you know, Google updates apps and cloud features on a continuous basis while Apple holds back most new features until they release a new OS version. If you look through the list of iPad OS 16 features for instance, you'll see that almost all of them are in fact new apps, app features and sharing/cloud features that Android users would be getting anyway [1]. Of the very few actual OS features, the most substantial one by far is Stage Manager, which is only supported on M1 iPads as esteth has said. This isn't just "a few flashy features". I'm a bit unlucky with my iPad purchases because this is the second time I'm missing out on the most important new OS features on a new-ish iPad. Granted, nothing of the sort ever happened to me on iPhone. I'm rather happy with Apple's iOS update policy. [1] https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/ https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/ipados-16-preview/
    - BoorishBears 4y ago
      Stage Manager will straight up not work on non-M1 iPads. You cannot keep 4 major apps in memory without seeing an eviction. Also your comparison doesn't make sense, you're comparing iOS built-in apps to Android 3rd party apps by Google... AOSP's built-in photos and emails apps have barely been updated in the last decade. All in all if you think iPadOS is letting you down, Android upgrades are a circus that Google refuses to rein in.
sk0g 4y ago
The Pixel 6 Pro has been update to become a pile of hot trash in my case. The updates have been so bad I'm returning it this weekend, while I received a perfectly functional hone... I'm sure some will appreciate the (security) updates, because the year or so of OS updates I've experienced have been a constant trend towards the worse.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
  Install GrapheneOS on it and give it another look. https://grapheneos.org/install/web https://grapheneos.org/install/web
  - sk0g 4y ago
    There's not a single screenshot of the operating system I could see, and I need to unlock the phone and all so assuming this is a custom ROM. Usually you lose access to things like GPay or certain NFC functionalities, and end up with a not-entirely stable experience anyway. I'd rather a phone that just worked. The half a dozen I had previously at least didn't struggle with the basics!
    - ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago
      Google Pay won't work, but everything else has been quite solid for me. Additionally, it is more secure than the stock OS and significantly more protective of your privacy. Every app I've tried to use on it has worked. I recommend you give it a go. If you don't like it, you can always reinstall the stock OS at https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/ https://pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/
      - sk0g 4y ago
        My bank decided to abandon their own payment solution in favour of GPay, and the neo-bank or two I do use also uses GPay, while I don't actually have physical cards for these. In short, not using GPay is not an option. > it is more secure than the stock OS Maybe, but I don't trust community maintainers (nor auditing) enough. At least Google has a business entity that backs their services, community ROMs have nothing of the sort. I dabbled in ROMs and the likes previously, but I just want a phone that works like a phone should right now. I've got too many other things to tinker with already.

saiya-jin 4y ago

Pixel 6 and Samsung S22, both 5 years of updates

sk0g 4y ago
At least in the Pixel 6's case, it's 5 years of security updates, not OS updates. IE nothing but the very critical updates beyond 2-3 years.

skunkjoe 4y ago

my Fairphone (3) gets 5 years updates from launch. So approx. 2.5 more to go, still running smoothly :)

28304283409234 4y ago

My bet is always to see which phone is supported by LineageOS, or other alternatives. Typing this on a Moto G6 (2018). I also have a fully patched Nexus 7 tablet (2013). Technically, there's nothing wrong with them. It's just that the vendors can't bring themselves to do the work. Hopefully some legislation will come into place at some point to enforce this.

sk0g 4y ago
That's a community effort, and from previous experiences some pretty random things can be broken, but if the contributors don't care, they won't even look into it. It's fine, but it's not an alternative to actual updates. In the same way, mods for games aren't an alternative to the developer just fixing issues.
- mycall 4y ago
  It is a community effort and it is not uncommon for hardware to be traded between members for establishing some driver or interface with. eBay is part of that.
- 28304283409234 4y ago
  Yet, we are all fine running Debian, or Arch, or Alpine, or Gentoo. All community efforts.

goldenkey 4y ago

My Pixel 4 XL is still on the latest Android, and I still get unlimited Google Photos via the grandfathered contract.