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Is it time to question the yearly release cycle for phones? (lemmy.zip)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip to c/technology@lemmy.world

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So recently I've been seeing the trend where Android OEMs such as Google, Samsung, etc. have been extending their software release times up to like five, six, and seven years after device release. Clearly, phone hardware has gotten to the point where it can support software for that long, and computers have been in that stage for a very long time. From what I can tell, the only OEM that does this currently might be Fairphone.

Edit: The battery is the thing that goes the fastest so manufacturers could just offer new batteries and that would solve a lot of the problem.

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[–] weew@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Who cares if they release a new one every year? Just buy a new phone when you actually need one.

[–] Croquette@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago

Lots of people care because it creates e-waste.

If the culture changes so that all consumers act like that and forces the companies to change their production cycle, that would be a big boon for the environment.

[–] swizzlestick@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago

Yep.

For about the past decade, I've only ever upgraded because the current broke (and beyond economic repair), or otherwise became untenable.

Using a refurb S10 now. The S8 prior had a bust screen. Only had that because I needed it to play nice with Bluetooth LE hearing aids. Probably my only recent upgrade that went from one working phone to another.

Tend to only buy flagships, as they are better supported by alternative software - good if they live long enough to age out of official updates.