this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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While they have other not-friendly practices, Apple does well on the software side. The iPhone 8, going on 6 years old this September, is still running the latest version of iOS.
I've been away from Android for a while now. Is it still the case that there is a lot of fragmentation and updates end prematurely? Or is there another OS / software you're thinking about?
Android/Google tried to make this a bit easier through Project Treble, which is like a "core" of android that can be easily updated, then vendors build their modifications on top of it. It's pretty widely adopted now, but that doesn't stop companies from deciding they don't want to support hardware from three years ago even though it is still compatible with the latest Android core.
Samsung offers 5 years of support nowadays. The other big manufacturers tend to be lacking in this regard however.
Iirc Samsung is 5 years security, 4 years os updates. Pixel line is 5 years security, 3 years os.
But Samsung releases just before a new Android version comes out, so phones launched in the same year get the same last update
I could apply that argument to Pixels. S23 has been available since February, and the Pixel 8 still hasn't been released. Right now, both are running Android 13, yet the Samsung is getting an extra OS update
Fairphone 3 is aiming at 7 years on Android https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/fairphone-3-gets-seven-years-of-updates-besting-every-other-android-oem/
The thing with older iPhones, running new iOSes, is that they're intentionally slowed down (by the software) or as I'd like to call it, underclocked. That also could render them useless, even with new iOS, and even if there were removable batteries.
The intentional slowdown was directly related to battery life. They got sued over it. But if you put in a new battery, performance returns to previous levels.
Apple even tells you in your battery info settings page whether you are running with "Peak Performance Capability".
If you don't buy no-name brand phones, you will get at least one major update. Even chinese brands such as xiaomi will provide updates. You can also install generic LineageOS image if your phone can be unlocked some way, official or not. It works on most devices.
But many smart TVs become useless very quick. When I was using 2015 phone in 2020, TV newer than that already loaded the lightweight Google version for unsupported browsers and vast majority sites/apps became unavailable. It used browser that was already 2 years old when it was released and never released an update to it. But when there was root vulnerability, they released a fix after long time of being basically unsupported.
oh man, I’d kill to know how to hack my fucking samsung tv. I don’t use it’s useless “business” smart functions, but every time i turn it on it nags me with that terrible menu. and there’s no way to turn it off because they completely fucked it up by pushing ads through that menu.
Always buy the "smarts" as a separate device (a media player or smartbox).
Having the product lifecycle and even user requirements of a fast-changing and cheap (and always getting cheaper) element selected on the basis of computing performace and software like the "smart" media player, to those of a much slower changing and vastly more expensive element selected on the basis of size and visual criteria (the actual display) hard-linked isn't really a wise purchasing decision - it means that in a few years you're pretty much guaranteed to end up with either a device that can't support the latest software and hence has sub-standard functionality or paying a "full TV" price because you need to upgrade just that subset of functionality, something which if bought separatelly you could otherwise upgrade for less than 100 bucks.
Apple is one of the worst offenders. When they sunset a device they force blanket app incompatibility on it, rendering it unusable. It can be a perfectly good device, fully working, but all apps (already installed apps too!) will start suddenly requiring a new iOS version which isn't available for that device.
It’s up to individual developers what the minimum OS version they support for their app is. If you have previously downloaded an app and the minimum version is raised above the version you are running on your device then you can still download the most recent version that supports your device
Yeah, what happens is that it takes effort to keep supporting multiple OS versions. iOS has a history of users being like 90% on the newest OS every time there’s a major update, so a lot of companies only support one previous version beyond the current.
Android is a different matter. It has always been a fragmented mess and new OS adoption has always been very slow (it’s faster nowadays though). Because of that Google maintains a set of libraries that make sure Android features work the same way across multiple versions, which eases the burden on developers.
The problem is all of these apps are using proprietary APIs to communicate to centralized backends, which then deprecate the APIs and the old versions cease to work. Back when software was largely communicating over standardized protocols it was feasible to run an old version of software for years after it had been stopped being maintained, but protocols don't make money, APIs do.
I developed and shipped iOS apps, and what you wrote is actually incorrect.
Apple does not allow developers to put on the app store applications built targetting an iOS version below a certain point.
Also Apple controls the build environment for applications which are listed on the App Store: you have to build and push the app for the store on Xcode (contractually and enforced cryptograhically) and it even has to be running on a Mac computer (contractually).
So it's not up to individual developers what the minimum OS version they support for their app, at least not if they want to be able to distribute it via the App Store (which is the only way they can be distributed for non-rooted phones).
Absolutelly, lots of devs just go along with the Xcode defaults (which by the way, are a soft push by Apple) and build against a very recent iOS version, but those who want to support really old iPhones aren't allowed to.
But why should I have to have downloaded the app previously? The app version for the previous OS version was already published at some point. It's definitely available and it would definitely work on the device. All they have to do is allow you do install it. But they explicitly refuse so you'll buy a new device. Which is forced obsolescence by definition.
By “worst offenders” do you mean “industry leading”?
Lol only for smartphones, and I don't think that's something to be proud of. When it comes to computers, you'll get 10+ years out of Windows and basically indefinite from any major Linux distro. A Mac will only get 5-8 years of updates and it's a huge issue because things like your browser won't be maintained either, which makes the computer quickly become useless. Hell Apple actually charges $20 just to install old versions of macOS for old hardware.
Pretty damn sad that people have set the bar on the floor for phones
Ok chief.