Does your Android phone get 5+ years of software support?
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2024
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7+ actually
*from the manufacturer
Yup. My Pixel 8 gets 7+ years from Google. That's up from 5 from the previous gen.
That's great, but you can actually thank Apple for it as much as Google.
Yeah, Apple has a good track record for software undates. I actually replaced a perfectly good phone just because it lacks updates.
Honestly, that's why I want a Linux phone, for essentially endless updates. My old 2009 Linux PC still got updates when I eventually upgraded the hardware, and I want the same to be true of my phone. Unfortunately, Linux phones don't meet my base requirements, but hopefully that'll change by the time I need another.
That's the thing. Apple has that track record already. This years iOS update will be available for phones released as far back as 2017. And that's not a recent development - 4+ years have been the norm with iOS devices for a long time, while many Android phones have suffered from much faster obsolescence.
Google have yet to prove that they can fulfill this promise.
I'll touch base with you in 7 years to see how that's going.
Yes. Android already does all these things. But I think the things I’m excited most about are not on this list at all.
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A private local LLM. With the on-device context of my notes, messages, calendar, etc, I’m rather excited to have a more personal LLM than ChatGPT.
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Personal messaging via satellite. I love that I can stay in touch with people outside of a cell network.
Is there actual proof the LLM runs locally, and no data ever leaves the device (a lot of data already does, anyway)?
I know this is an old feature, but do we have the NFC money transfer thingy?
I mean the one where you touch other phone with your phone and transfer money.
If we do I am unaware of it, I use AOSP.
Nope. Apple only.
I'm switching to iPhone because Google has let Android languish for years now. Samsung does more for android than Google does for goodness sake.
Apple users get fun and cool updates which is why they love it. Plus best in class photos and videos so they can share photos with friends and family with confidence, as opposed to android which has shit cameras and even shittier video.
Samsung does more for android than Google does for goodness sake.
I agree with you, even when I dislike One UI... I think Google although simpler is more of my liking... But oh boy stock AOSP is so limited that for some users it is even too similar to iOS, with the distinction that you can sideload easier (for now).
Lots of features that Google releases each Android iteration literally have been here in One UI, MIUI, Color OS you name it.
Me watching WWDC: “Android already does that.”
Me watching Google I/O “iOS already does that.”
In ten years all phones will be crabs
To be honest as an Android user, if Apple makes their phone less locked down and give more affordable choices for phones I may try an iPhone, as I am a bit fed up with Android, and there are no other real alternatives.
I'm happy with GrapheneOS on my Google Pixel. It's basically Android without the Google crap. It's not for everyone though.
That said, I'd really like a third option. iOS is too locked down, Android phones have short support cycles (getting better, and is a huge reason why I picked Pixel), and Linux phones have fundamental hardware and software issues. I'm sad Microsoft, Palm, and Blackberry all gave up, there were interesting things happening in the mobile space back then.
I switched to Graphene in December and I can't say it enough, GrapheneOS is everything I wanted Android to be for the past 15 years.
Are persistent notifications still a requirement for background apps, such as Signal? One of the reasons I switched to CalyxOS. Not the Signal persistent notification specifically, but it, in combination with all the others I needed running in the BG, made it very difficult to not miss new notifications. I like CalyxOS just fine, but I agree with you on GrapheneOS. I was very excited that it was exactly as I've always wanted android to be (but wasn't), except for those persistent notifications.
I haven't had to do anything special for signal, Home Assistant has some issues with permissions and not always reporting back if its on in the background. Still trying to figure out why its fine on mine but not on my son's phone.
The fine tuned controls for things like network access, storage and contact scopes, etc. are just amazing.
You don't have a persistent (albeit silent) notification for Signal and still receive push notifications? If so, my next OS may just be GOS.
The fine tuned controls are different than stock android? I thought GOS doesn't alter the stock experience (more than is required to decrapify the OS)?
No, the only persistent notification I have to put up with is Tasker.
I honestly can say how far from stock it is because I have no clue when the last time I saw unadulterated Android (if ever lol), but it doesn't have a lot of crap added to it.
That's really great to hear. I'm currently on CalyxOS and, besides the Google crap added to stock, it's very close to the last time I used stock (granted, it's been a hot minute). Next phone will likely be GrapheneOS, as I believe my posture has shifted since I decided on CalyxOS, and the lack of persistent notifications for background tasks (such as Signal) was the main deterrent that allowed me to settle into a more relaxed posture.
Ok. And android still sucks compared to Apple. Always full of bloatware and can never get updated or long term support. Only the Google phones have a decent OS
So you most likely wanted to say "and Samsung still sucks compared to Apple?" Google phones also run Android, you know.
Good for Android, now if they’d only implement all of the Apple-only features that create the lock-in appeal then maybe they’ll get somewhere. When my Pixel Buds flow seamlessly from device to device to the third and fourth device then maybe we’ll talk
I have the Pixel Buds Pro and they kinda do that, but yeah not very well. I have them paired to my phone and my laptop, and sometimes randomly they'll silently disconnect from my laptop and permanently pause whatever I was watching if my phone plays a notification. I can't fix it until I disconnect from and reconnect to my laptop multiple times.
One time I was watching a video on my laptop and they randomly connected to my desktop! I hadn't used them on my desktop in at least a year, until then!
All in all, they can flow seamlessly, but it's 60/40 on if it works properly
At least the noise cancelling and passthrough are fun to mess with
How many devices do you switch between? For me, it’s phone, tablet, two laptops and my watch. I think that the Pixel Buds can switch between two without needing a re-pair. Meanwhile, I can stream my Apple TV audio to my AirPods as they’re also an audio source! Even if Google released basic support for this today, they still wouldn’t be able to fully catch up because they have no truly realized desktop/laptop OS so I’d live in a mixed ecosystem.
Presumably need Pixel everything for that but even then, as an android user I would rather be locked into an Apple eco than google.
My SO has current gen Pixel devices all around and it’s yet to materialize. To my mind, Google could sync Bluetooth pairing info across all Android devices if they put their minds to it. But even if they did, they would need to work with Microsoft and other vendors to get the kind of ambiguity that would compete with Apple’s product line. As it stands, if you buy the Apple product you get the best hardware and the software compliment is five years ahead than the competition. Google and Microsoft need to leapfrog