6 ms·

You could have bought a nexus.

• cwyers 11y ago
  Yeah, I owned a Galaxy Nexus, the idea that the Nexus line is some blanket guarantee of updates to new OS versions is mistaken.
  • TillE 11y ago
    Well, it's an 18 month guarantee. After that, Google is happy to abandon you. I like many many things about Android. But they really need to sort this out, at least for their flagship phones.
  • sergiosgc 11y ago
    What would be the acceptable time frame for supporting existing devices? I agree that 18 months is a bit on the short side, but the Galaxy Nexus is way beyond that. By the time M hits the street, the Galaxy Nexus will be a four year old model.
    • cwyers 11y ago
      I am not complaining about the Galaxy Nexus not being supported NOW, although frankly I don't see why it shouldn't be -- the hardware is plenty capable of running new Android versions. It was terrible about getting updates back when it was still available for sale. EDIT: I have three and four year old computers that are running Windows 10 Technical Preview just fine. And it's not like new low-end Android phones are more powerful than four-year-old mid- and high-end phones. I think that it's silly that we have reset our expectations so low that it's beyond the pale that companies should support OS updates on four-year-old phones.
      • sergiosgc 11y ago
        Phones will get to where computers are now. If you think back 20 years, 4 year old computers could not run just released software. It took time for two things to happen: 1) Increase in available computing resources; 2) Commoditization of the platform. It can be argued that we are just reaching condition (1), but we are still a bit far from (2). The peculiarities between hardware platforms make it necessary to actually test on each hardware platform. As the installed base of a phone dwindles, after a point it makes little sense to provide updates. We'll get there, but it'll take a few more years. In the meantime, Nexus are great choices, because the developer community can actually fill in for the necessary testing and tweaking. I had an HTC Desire before my Nexus 5, and it was incredible how much its life was extended by a vibrant community (mine lasted over four years and was clearly outdated spec-wise when I bough the N5).
        • cwyers 11y ago
          The thing is, Apple is already there -- iOS 8 is available for the 4S, which is roughly the same age as the Galaxy Nexus. I don't think condition 1 has ever been a problem. (I know, I know... should have bought a Nexus, should have bought an iPhone. My mistake for buying Motorola. Won't happen again.)
        • zurn 11y ago
          20 years ago, in 1995, 4 year-old computers from 1991 generally could run just released productivity software, compilers and OS versions just fine, on Linux, Amiga, Windows/DOS computers at least. It was best to add another RAM stick though.
    • deepnet 11y ago
      5-7 years 18 months is a joke
      • sergiosgc 11y ago
        7 years is worse of a joke 18 months is. The flagship phone seven years ago was the Nokia n96: 128MB RAM, 267Mhz CPU, 320x240 display...
        • deepnet 11y ago
          Yes a great phone but Nokia often gave up on phones soon after release, still a sweet machine potentially capable of repurposing. If a company will not support a device and has locked it down there should be a moral obligation to allow others to support it. Hardware should not be dead-ended.
• deepnet 11y ago
  The latest update 5.02 has been bricking Nexus Tablets, out of warranty. I stopped upgrading because of this. Security and OS updates should be separate