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Pixel 4a (not 5G) owners, what do you plan to do with your phone now that it reached its final Android update? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world to c/googlepixel@lemmy.world

9 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This month is the final month of guaranteed major and security updates, and we already know Android 14 won't land in the Pixel 4a (though it will in the Pixel 4a 5G as it has guaranteed updates until November).

So for those of you who own that phone, what do you plan to do with it? Are you going to keep using it for a couple more years without the updates? Install a custom ROM (which one?)? Or are you maybe planning to get a new phone (a Pixel?)?

If you still own an older Pixel phone, how are you keeping it alive?

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[–] Mereo@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's such a shame that Google will no longer support a phone that is only 3 years old.

[–] ladicius@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They dropped their "Don't be evil"-claim for a reason, and that reason is lots and lots of cash.

[–] AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I think part of this is that manufacturers don't want to keep writing drivers for every new Android release. Not an Android dev, but maybe Google's driver API is just not stable and keeps introducing breaking changes with every Android release, such that old drivers can't work anymore? But even then, I still don't get why that has to be the case. Linux still supports drivers for very ancient hardware.

[–] jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Meanwhile desktop OSes can easily support 10+ years old hardware. So maybe Google should be putting some effort into standardizing mobile hardware and firmware enough to allow the same instead of ripping off their users. Maybe new laws that demand longer support time will force them to do that, but unfortunately I don't think the 5 years demanded by the EU will be enough.

[–] exi@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago

That's actually exactly what they did and the reason that the new pixels (starting at 6) get 5 years of support.

It's not much but it's a start.

The whole effort is called project treble and has been underway for a loooong time. But it's really hard because it affects every single Android vendor.

[–] Minty95@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Try Lineage. I ran it on my Pixel 3 for about two years when Google stopped updating it. Then when I decided to sell it, just reflashed the Google OS back on it

[–] notepass@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago

Has it gotten easier to pass SafetyNet with ROMs? I still want to use my banking apps, but want to use a custom ROM for more safety now.

[–] Kiruko@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Calyx os

[–] EddyBot@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago

oh yea that custom rom prolonged the life of my trusty Pixel 3