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My Pixel 3A stopped receiving security updates after less than 3 years. I remember Google did this to start using their own chips in their phones. Two or three

My Pixel 3A stopped receiving security updates after less than 3 years. I remember Google did this to start using their own chips in their phones. Two or three years is not even close to the support Apple provides. It sealed the deal for me and I switched to iPhone.

joshuamorton 5mo ago
Yes, they've since more than doubled the support lifetimes to seven years.
- o_m 5mo ago
  It's only been 2.5 years since they said that. I'm sure they will walk back on their word before it has been 7 years.
  - morsch 5mo ago
    The increased update timelines by Google, Samsung and others roughly coincided with EU legislation coming into effect that mandates 5 years of updates after end of sales. We'll see. https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-June-20-EU-gives-smartphones-a-label-and-a-guaranteed-update-time-10359716.html https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-June-20-EU-gives-smartphon...
    - danudey 5mo ago
      Correction: if the manufacturer chooses to provide updates, and they don't have to, they must continue to make those updates available for five years after end of sales. In other words, manufacturers aren't required to publish updates at all, but if they do provide updates they have to make them available to users for five years after they stop sales. This only stops the case where a manufacturer ships a device and publishes updates for the device, but then takes those updates offline after they stop selling the device (but before 5 years is up). https://www.theandroidportal.com/motorola-android-update-loophole-eu/ https://www.theandroidportal.com/motorola-android-update-loo...
      - morsch 5mo ago
        Interesting. If Motorola gets away with that, loopholes can be closed.
  - jsnell 5mo ago
    Do you have any part examples of them committing to a specific support timeline on a product and reneging on it? I can't think of one.
    - danudey 5mo ago
      Google promised their Nexus phones would get new versions of Android for X years then, after selling a bunch of them, just changed their mind. I'm having a hard time googling it since every result that comes up is about Google cancelling Nexus phones entirely way back when, but I remember a lot of Nexus users were kind of PO'ed about it.
  - joshuamorton 5mo ago
    I mean I guess anything is possible, but the Pixel 6 and 7 also are receiving 5+ years of updates, and those sure seem real so far.
    - ewoodrich 5mo ago
      My 9 year old Pixelbook is still supported and will continue to get updates for one more year! I did not expect that went I originally bought it.
- pseudosavant 5mo ago
  What about when that “support” is to brick your battery so your phone lasts hours because they know it is defective but don’t want to fix it? Google’s hardware track record is a joke compared to Apple.
  - patall 5mo ago
    Communication wise, the whole thing (4a in my case, but the others seemed similar) was a disaster. But they offered to fix it for free (via battery swap)
  - flipnotyk 5mo ago
    Not arguing with your point about Google, but isn't Apple very often accused of forced obsolescence through updates to their phones? Is there any truth to the accusations of "running slower and dying faster" after a new model releases?
    - pseudosavant 5mo ago
      Nothing at all like what Google has done for the Pixel 4a and 6a. They intentionally make the battery life so short after 400 charge cycles (maybe a year's worth of charging?) that it only lasts a few hours. They'll replace the battery only "in eligible locations and while battery supplies last." For Apple, each iOS release is more demanding than the last. Then compound that with batteries produce less current as they age. So, the CPU can't run quite as fast because it can't draw as high of current for older batteries. The alternative is to let the CPU try to ramp to max and cause the CPU to error/crash. It was mostly a messaging failure, and the battery health info/settings got significantly improved because of it. Here is Google's page on it: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16340779 https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16340779
      - joshuamorton 5mo ago
        > They'll replace the battery only "in eligible locations and while battery supplies last. And if you aren't in an eligible location they'll pay you cash or give you a discount on a new phone. I'm really unclear what seems so terrible here.
- mrandish 5mo ago
  My understanding is that, depending on the phone vendor, such support may only apply to security updates after ~3 years and not feature updates.
ewoodrich 5mo ago
My Pixelbook from 2017 still receives regular Chrome OS updates.
TheDong 5mo ago
You're on hacker news though, so you can install linux on it: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Google_Pixel_3a_(google-sargo) https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Google_Pixel_3a_(google-s... Pixel devices have historically been really good about letting you unlock the bootloader and install what you want, so even if Google drops support, the community can keep it going. Apple devices just turn into useless bricks once apple deems them too old. Frankly, I think apple should be legally required to allow users to unlock devices, like you pay for the device, you should be able to use the hardware.
thefz 5mo ago
Pixels receive at least 7 years now.
jeroenhd 5mo ago
As was disclosed on Google's product support pages the day of launch. These days, Google promises at least 7 years, which is longer than most iPhone people seem to use theirs. There's no doubt their limited support windows sucked in the past, but none of that was hidden or a surprise. Apple could stop updating the iPhone 15 tomorrow and they wouldn't be breaking any promises to anyone. They refuse to publish even a minimum support period.

joshuamorton 5mo ago

Yes, they've since more than doubled the support lifetimes to seven years.

o_m 5mo ago
It's only been 2.5 years since they said that. I'm sure they will walk back on their word before it has been 7 years.
- morsch 5mo ago
  The increased update timelines by Google, Samsung and others roughly coincided with EU legislation coming into effect that mandates 5 years of updates after end of sales. We'll see. https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-June-20-EU-gives-smartphones-a-label-and-a-guaranteed-update-time-10359716.html https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-June-20-EU-gives-smartphon...
  - danudey 5mo ago
    Correction: if the manufacturer chooses to provide updates, and they don't have to, they must continue to make those updates available for five years after end of sales. In other words, manufacturers aren't required to publish updates at all, but if they do provide updates they have to make them available to users for five years after they stop sales. This only stops the case where a manufacturer ships a device and publishes updates for the device, but then takes those updates offline after they stop selling the device (but before 5 years is up). https://www.theandroidportal.com/motorola-android-update-loophole-eu/ https://www.theandroidportal.com/motorola-android-update-loo...
    - morsch 5mo ago
      Interesting. If Motorola gets away with that, loopholes can be closed.
- jsnell 5mo ago
  Do you have any part examples of them committing to a specific support timeline on a product and reneging on it? I can't think of one.
  - danudey 5mo ago
    Google promised their Nexus phones would get new versions of Android for X years then, after selling a bunch of them, just changed their mind. I'm having a hard time googling it since every result that comes up is about Google cancelling Nexus phones entirely way back when, but I remember a lot of Nexus users were kind of PO'ed about it.
- joshuamorton 5mo ago
  I mean I guess anything is possible, but the Pixel 6 and 7 also are receiving 5+ years of updates, and those sure seem real so far.
  - ewoodrich 5mo ago
    My 9 year old Pixelbook is still supported and will continue to get updates for one more year! I did not expect that went I originally bought it.
pseudosavant 5mo ago
What about when that “support” is to brick your battery so your phone lasts hours because they know it is defective but don’t want to fix it? Google’s hardware track record is a joke compared to Apple.
- patall 5mo ago
  Communication wise, the whole thing (4a in my case, but the others seemed similar) was a disaster. But they offered to fix it for free (via battery swap)
- flipnotyk 5mo ago
  Not arguing with your point about Google, but isn't Apple very often accused of forced obsolescence through updates to their phones? Is there any truth to the accusations of "running slower and dying faster" after a new model releases?
  - pseudosavant 5mo ago
    Nothing at all like what Google has done for the Pixel 4a and 6a. They intentionally make the battery life so short after 400 charge cycles (maybe a year's worth of charging?) that it only lasts a few hours. They'll replace the battery only "in eligible locations and while battery supplies last." For Apple, each iOS release is more demanding than the last. Then compound that with batteries produce less current as they age. So, the CPU can't run quite as fast because it can't draw as high of current for older batteries. The alternative is to let the CPU try to ramp to max and cause the CPU to error/crash. It was mostly a messaging failure, and the battery health info/settings got significantly improved because of it. Here is Google's page on it: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16340779 https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/16340779
    - joshuamorton 5mo ago
      > They'll replace the battery only "in eligible locations and while battery supplies last. And if you aren't in an eligible location they'll pay you cash or give you a discount on a new phone. I'm really unclear what seems so terrible here.
mrandish 5mo ago
My understanding is that, depending on the phone vendor, such support may only apply to security updates after ~3 years and not feature updates.

ewoodrich 5mo ago

My Pixelbook from 2017 still receives regular Chrome OS updates.

TheDong 5mo ago

You're on hacker news though, so you can install linux on it: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Google_Pixel_3a_(google-sargo) https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Google_Pixel_3a_(google-s... Pixel devices have historically been really good about letting you unlock the bootloader and install what you want, so even if Google drops support, the community can keep it going. Apple devices just turn into useless bricks once apple deems them too old. Frankly, I think apple should be legally required to allow users to unlock devices, like you pay for the device, you should be able to use the hardware.

thefz 5mo ago

Pixels receive at least 7 years now.

jeroenhd 5mo ago

As was disclosed on Google's product support pages the day of launch. These days, Google promises at least 7 years, which is longer than most iPhone people seem to use theirs. There's no doubt their limited support windows sucked in the past, but none of that was hidden or a surprise. Apple could stop updating the iPhone 15 tomorrow and they wouldn't be breaking any promises to anyone. They refuse to publish even a minimum support period.