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What's the selling points here for upgrades? Comparing my five year old A50, I'm not seeing it. Presumably a better camera, and more RAM (why?). I felt compelle

What's the selling points here for upgrades? Comparing my five year old A50, I'm not seeing it. Presumably a better camera, and more RAM (why?). I felt compelled to upgrade in past years, but I feel like phone tech reached a plateau. The AI features, front and center, feel like hype. Haven't found them useful at all.

simonw 2y ago
The AI features. More RAM is needed for those. If you don't care about them then you're probably not going to want to upgrade.
- EasyMark 2y ago
  I thought Android was going to do AI features in the cloud rather than on the phone?
  - simonw 2y ago
    They're doing both. They're very proud of their on-device features.
ajross 2y ago
Wikipedia tells me the Galaxy A50 got its last security update in February of last year, FWIW.
- RadiozRadioz 2y ago
  But its Google Play Services (which includes WebView) + Chrome all receive regular updates independently. People put a lot more weight on the Android security updates than they perhaps should. Unless you're installing random crap, there are very few OS vulnerabilities that you need to be concerned about if you have an up-to-date browser. Things like StageFright are very uncommon (and I can't find evidence of that actually being exploited in the wild)
  - ajross 2y ago
    There's a limit to that. Kernel/middleware updates see a steady flow of security patches on basically all devices. It's true that real world exploits tend to involve some bug higher up the stack (in still-updatable software, e.g. apps or the services layer), or at the very least to be susceptible to workaround fixes there. But nothing is perfect and relying on an out-of-service device is IMHO pretty questionable.
- ThunderSizzle 2y ago
  My wisdom tells me the more security releases, the more unsecure a piece of software was.
  - ajross 2y ago
    To be clear: the A50 is an end-of-life device. It's not that the latest security fix was a year and a half ago, it's that the update pushed a year and a half ago will be the last one for this phone.
    - ThunderSizzle 2y ago
      While true, not every system needs endless security updates to be secure enough for most people.
      - kaba0 2y ago
        That’s true for a microwave, but is ridiculous to claim for a general computer with arbitrary app execution and web access.
jawns 2y ago
One selling point is security updates. That's a good way to build in planned obsolescence even apart from the features themselves.

simonw 2y ago

The AI features. More RAM is needed for those. If you don't care about them then you're probably not going to want to upgrade.

EasyMark 2y ago
I thought Android was going to do AI features in the cloud rather than on the phone?
- simonw 2y ago
  They're doing both. They're very proud of their on-device features.

ajross 2y ago

Wikipedia tells me the Galaxy A50 got its last security update in February of last year, FWIW.

RadiozRadioz 2y ago
But its Google Play Services (which includes WebView) + Chrome all receive regular updates independently. People put a lot more weight on the Android security updates than they perhaps should. Unless you're installing random crap, there are very few OS vulnerabilities that you need to be concerned about if you have an up-to-date browser. Things like StageFright are very uncommon (and I can't find evidence of that actually being exploited in the wild)
- ajross 2y ago
  There's a limit to that. Kernel/middleware updates see a steady flow of security patches on basically all devices. It's true that real world exploits tend to involve some bug higher up the stack (in still-updatable software, e.g. apps or the services layer), or at the very least to be susceptible to workaround fixes there. But nothing is perfect and relying on an out-of-service device is IMHO pretty questionable.
ThunderSizzle 2y ago
My wisdom tells me the more security releases, the more unsecure a piece of software was.
- ajross 2y ago
  To be clear: the A50 is an end-of-life device. It's not that the latest security fix was a year and a half ago, it's that the update pushed a year and a half ago will be the last one for this phone.
  - ThunderSizzle 2y ago
    While true, not every system needs endless security updates to be secure enough for most people.
    - kaba0 2y ago
      That’s true for a microwave, but is ridiculous to claim for a general computer with arbitrary app execution and web access.

jawns 2y ago

One selling point is security updates. That's a good way to build in planned obsolescence even apart from the features themselves.