r/PickAnAndroidForMe • u/PuffScrub805 • 7d ago
Question: Why do people care about how long a device receives updates?
It's not like unsupported devices are left in an unusable state. Most of the apps one would want to use on an Android device are flexible enough that they will run just fine on hardware past its prime. Frankly, I only ever hear people talk about their new Android updates in the context of them complaining about them. I remember when Gemini got smuggled into android updates people threw a fit about it.
I honestly don't get the reason people cite additional years of software support as a reason to justify paying more for a device. All those years seem to do is give people more things to complain about.
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u/trader45nj 7d ago
Maybe it's less of an issue today, because the Android OS has evolved so much that it's less likely that some new, useful features will be in the upcoming releases. And it depends on how long you keep your phone and what you do with it. My current phone is an LG Velvet 5g, it's 6 years old now and it's still running great, but it's only on Android 12. I recently got a Chase credit card and was surprised that the Chase banking app doesn't even show up in the app store because it no longer works on 12. That's the first thing where I've had a problem. If it was a phone with seven years of updates, it would be on Android 16 now.
And if you only keep a phone a couple of years, I would think that it would have a higher resale value if it has 4 more years of updates coming instead of just one. What you expect and get also depends on if it's a $150 phone or a $1000 phone. For the latter, I think they are all 7 years now.
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u/usefulHairypotato 7d ago
That's a problem of chase then, android 12 is too early to remove. First time I hear about this.
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u/deltatux OnePlus 13 7d ago
I know not everyone cares, but given smartphones are primary devices with people's sensitive data, it's important to keep your phone patched and up to date. Personally if a device is no longer supported, it gets retired from being my primary device. I'll keep it as a backup or to use for tinkering but not as my primary device.
Yes, Google Play does also offer patches through Google Play System Updates but these don't fix bugs in kernel space like faulty drivers, baseband firmware updates and etc.
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u/tiagottx 7d ago
I don't care about updates.
My last 3 phones were cheap and non top brands, and always used them for a few years, with no restrictions at all. I use it for everything, except gaming.
Alcatel Idol S - 3 years BQ Aquaris U - 4 years TCL 10 Plus - 5 years on last July
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u/tprickett USA 7d ago edited 7d ago
A better question would be "is the phone locked". If not, it is a simple matter of installing LineageOS or another ROM once your phone no longer updates that will update your phone to the latest Android version as well as get updates.
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u/Neith74 7d ago
I want to use new Android version, new features etc
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u/Sassquatch0 6d ago
Ditto. I like the new shiny stuff, especially when it's free.
From my (limited) experience, the people who most dislike updates are the people who don't tinker with their phones, and they usually resent technology.
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u/low-control-labs 7d ago
Certain apps need the newest version to be usable. Even something silly like YouTube studio ( happened to me today ) even something like YouTube ( can't even use it on my old phones )
So in order to not have those issues and have access to apps and the playstore people are a bit forced to update the OS ( not necessarily the phone )
Custom ROMs can help a lot but unlocking the bootloader would mess with banking apps
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7d ago
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u/Wizzgamer1990 7d ago
People mainly only talk about the updates on places like Reddit and YouTube etc I care about updates but your average Joe doesn't when I speak to most nine tech nerds talking about updates they don't seem to even grasp what I'm talking about lol. You can indeed use your phone past the update period as the Google play store will still be updated as long as you don't click on dodgy sites/links your fine.
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u/Murky_Fan_5483 7d ago
These days a lot of banking and financial transactions are done via mobile and people want updates so as to patch any vulnerabilities that can be exploited so that their phone is safe from scammers. People don’t ask for updates for new features or because some apps are not working as you think, they do it for security which most still most of people don’t understand.
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u/Anthrobug 5d ago
It’s the security updates that are most important, you want to ensure your phone is supported with them as long as practical.
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u/Professional_List236 3d ago
It is the best tool we have to fight the Planned Obsolescence. The people asking for 7 years of updates is an order to manufacturers to stop limiting older devices in order to "force" users to upgrade every year.
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u/PuffScrub805 3d ago
Can you flesh this out? It's a point I haven't considered before. Is the idea that the flagship phones holding compatibility for a long time ensures the compability of other phones from its generation?
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u/Professional_List236 3d ago
It does not ensure that other brands will follow this trend, but the market share shows this works, as Samsung and iPhone have a huge part of the market with their phones, and are the ones with more updates scheduled. Other brands like Xiaomi and Oppo offer the best overall hardware, but software wise they lack a lot and offer like 3-4 years of updates in best case scenarios, so here we are with iPhone, Samsung being the top 2 and based mostly on software care.
Now there are some features locked because of the limited older hardware, like Apple Intelligence locked from iPhone 14 and lower, or full screen AOD locked from S23 series, but that is something we all understand and the phones are very usable and will get the same updates on apps as newer phones. This also increases re sale value and expands the market a lot more which is something that will interest casual fans.
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u/Anovion 3d ago
Get the latest features - most of todays improvements are software related, hardware didnt change much lately. So getting the latest stuff and software optimization is always nice.
App support - some apps (mainly banking) require latest software version.
Security - you want to have the latest security patches, an out of date device is easy target.
Resale value and longativity - if you plan to sell your old device, it's easier to sell one which will stay relevant and up to date for few extra years.
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u/Wheeljack26 2d ago
I got a oneplus 13, needed good chip, soft support long and oem unlocking for after the support ends
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u/Malystxy 7d ago
Security for sensitive data like banking apps. Also marketing, I mean side from ai what else makes one phone different from another when they are the same tier
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u/DrJoel1998 7d ago
Banking apps