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Google 4a user here. They pushed an update while I was on a ski trip in Korea - I updated an hour before getting on my bus and.. the application launcher starte

Google 4a user here. They pushed an update while I was on a ski trip in Korea - I updated an hour before getting on my bus and.. the application launcher started crashing on unlock. I couldn't open any apps. Thankfully, I was able to get into the settings and switch to Lawnchair without a working "desktop UI", but without a second application launcher I would have been totally screwed. I checked the Play Store afterwards and saw hundreds of people with the same issue. On Linux I can choose which "security" updates to install, and only install those. Why can't Windows and Android provide such a feature?

TonyTrapp 2y ago
Stuff like this is why I keep printing entrance tickets and the like. I don't want to end up in a situation where I have to trust software that is known to have new bugs every months to get into a place without any sort of backup.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  >Stuff like this is why I keep printing entrance tickets and the like. I almost got completely screwed by my pixel updating right before a concert while I was already out of town. Luckily my wife was able to login to my computer and forward the tickets to someone else that I was with, but it was a close call because she was walking out the door to do something herself when I managed to get ahold of her.
- sidewndr46 2y ago
  This works until you start attending events that require you to present your cell phone for entrance
  - encom 2y ago
    What? For what purpose? I've never heard of or encountered this.
    - geoffpado 2y ago
      Some concerts have tickets that refresh every N seconds, ostensibly to prevent counterfeiting. https://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/ https://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/ In this case, if you don’t have a phone that can display Ticketmaster’s code, you’re just SOL, since they decided to break being able to just print out your code.
    - sidewndr46 2y ago
      as others mention ticket master seems to do this for some venues and events
      - encom 2y ago
        As if I needed another reason to hate Ticketmaster.
kllrnohj 2y ago
> Why can't Windows and Android provide such a feature? Windows does. Android "can't" because the OS is a partition image with libraries not intended to be updated piecemeal, not a collection of loosely related external projects like Linux is.
- AnthonyMouse 2y ago
  Nothing actually requires Android to be that way. They chose poorly but every new release is an opportunity to fix it.
  - kllrnohj 2y ago
    > They chose poorly Did they? Immutable system images are a pretty solid feature to have. It's a lot less "fall over broken as shit randomly" than desktop Linux is...
    - duskwuff 2y ago
      Piecemeal updates are also absolute hell to support - they rapidly lead to an untestable combinatorial explosion of possible software loadouts. Even Ubuntu doesn't officially support installing packages from a mixture of point releases (e.g. installing Ubuntu 24.10 packages on the 24.04 LTS); it might be technically possible, but if anything breaks, you get to keep the pieces.
    - AnthonyMouse 2y ago
      Desktop Linux doesn't actually do that unless you're trying to use a rolling release distribution. The way stable distributions work is that the packages largely remain the same for a given major version throughout its lifespan, but individual packages can still receive security updates.
      - kllrnohj 2y ago
        I've had "stable" distributions fall over upgrading between their major versions. But you missed the point that Android's system image is immutable and updates are atomic. A user can't screw it up. This is not an insignificant feature, and it's something you also get with something like Fedora Silverblue. Which then also doesn't let you pick and choose what updates to get.
Suppafly 2y ago
>Google 4a user here. They pushed an update while I was on a ski trip in Korea - I updated an hour before getting on my bus and.. the application launcher started crashing on unlock. I couldn't open any apps. I had that happen like a year ago while I was getting ready to go to a concert in another state. Luckily I was able to call my wife have her login to my gmail and forward my digital tickets to someone else in my party.
eldaisfish 2y ago
Nonsense like this is why I personally will never buy a google hardware product ever again. It is also why it is so difficult to recommend an android phone because of google being an advert company first.
- Freak_NL 2y ago
  The other side of the coin is that the Pixels are one of the few (only?) devices supported by GrapheneOS. (My Pixel 6 is rock solid on that by the way.)
  - eldaisfish 2y ago
    I had a nexus 5x and then a pixel 4a. The latter I bought used as a burner phone. This is the core problem - it is a roll of the dice whether your hardware will work five years from today. I’m less concerned about the software but that is also a problem. Meanwhile, my iPhone SE from 2016 still works as advertised.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- ycombinatrix 2y ago
  apple is an advertising company too. what's the alternative?
  - AnthonyMouse 2y ago
    Something like CalyxOS on Fairphone, presumably.
  - 2muchcoffeeman 2y ago
    Apple also has an advertising company. And they track you, but they get money by selling you stuff mostly. I’m deep into the Apple ecosystem system and they don’t force updates, try to upsell me every time updates are installed. I have no ads on the apps I use. They are quite happy for you to fork over gobs of money and call it a day. Googles primary source of income is ads. All this stuff they do is the primary way they get money. People need to stop being surprised this is where they ended up.

TonyTrapp 2y ago

Stuff like this is why I keep printing entrance tickets and the like. I don't want to end up in a situation where I have to trust software that is known to have new bugs every months to get into a place without any sort of backup.

Suppafly 2y ago
>Stuff like this is why I keep printing entrance tickets and the like. I almost got completely screwed by my pixel updating right before a concert while I was already out of town. Luckily my wife was able to login to my computer and forward the tickets to someone else that I was with, but it was a close call because she was walking out the door to do something herself when I managed to get ahold of her.
sidewndr46 2y ago
This works until you start attending events that require you to present your cell phone for entrance
- encom 2y ago
  What? For what purpose? I've never heard of or encountered this.
  - geoffpado 2y ago
    Some concerts have tickets that refresh every N seconds, ostensibly to prevent counterfeiting. https://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/ https://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/ In this case, if you don’t have a phone that can display Ticketmaster’s code, you’re just SOL, since they decided to break being able to just print out your code.
  - sidewndr46 2y ago
    as others mention ticket master seems to do this for some venues and events
    - encom 2y ago
      As if I needed another reason to hate Ticketmaster.

kllrnohj 2y ago

> Why can't Windows and Android provide such a feature? Windows does. Android "can't" because the OS is a partition image with libraries not intended to be updated piecemeal, not a collection of loosely related external projects like Linux is.

AnthonyMouse 2y ago
Nothing actually requires Android to be that way. They chose poorly but every new release is an opportunity to fix it.
- kllrnohj 2y ago
  > They chose poorly Did they? Immutable system images are a pretty solid feature to have. It's a lot less "fall over broken as shit randomly" than desktop Linux is...
  - duskwuff 2y ago
    Piecemeal updates are also absolute hell to support - they rapidly lead to an untestable combinatorial explosion of possible software loadouts. Even Ubuntu doesn't officially support installing packages from a mixture of point releases (e.g. installing Ubuntu 24.10 packages on the 24.04 LTS); it might be technically possible, but if anything breaks, you get to keep the pieces.
  - AnthonyMouse 2y ago
    Desktop Linux doesn't actually do that unless you're trying to use a rolling release distribution. The way stable distributions work is that the packages largely remain the same for a given major version throughout its lifespan, but individual packages can still receive security updates.
    - kllrnohj 2y ago
      I've had "stable" distributions fall over upgrading between their major versions. But you missed the point that Android's system image is immutable and updates are atomic. A user can't screw it up. This is not an insignificant feature, and it's something you also get with something like Fedora Silverblue. Which then also doesn't let you pick and choose what updates to get.

Suppafly 2y ago

>Google 4a user here. They pushed an update while I was on a ski trip in Korea - I updated an hour before getting on my bus and.. the application launcher started crashing on unlock. I couldn't open any apps. I had that happen like a year ago while I was getting ready to go to a concert in another state. Luckily I was able to call my wife have her login to my gmail and forward my digital tickets to someone else in my party.

eldaisfish 2y ago

Nonsense like this is why I personally will never buy a google hardware product ever again. It is also why it is so difficult to recommend an android phone because of google being an advert company first.

Freak_NL 2y ago
The other side of the coin is that the Pixels are one of the few (only?) devices supported by GrapheneOS. (My Pixel 6 is rock solid on that by the way.)
- eldaisfish 2y ago
  I had a nexus 5x and then a pixel 4a. The latter I bought used as a burner phone. This is the core problem - it is a roll of the dice whether your hardware will work five years from today. I’m less concerned about the software but that is also a problem. Meanwhile, my iPhone SE from 2016 still works as advertised.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
ycombinatrix 2y ago
apple is an advertising company too. what's the alternative?
- AnthonyMouse 2y ago
  Something like CalyxOS on Fairphone, presumably.
- 2muchcoffeeman 2y ago
  Apple also has an advertising company. And they track you, but they get money by selling you stuff mostly. I’m deep into the Apple ecosystem system and they don’t force updates, try to upsell me every time updates are installed. I have no ads on the apps I use. They are quite happy for you to fork over gobs of money and call it a day. Googles primary source of income is ads. All this stuff they do is the primary way they get money. People need to stop being surprised this is where they ended up.