this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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The real issue nowadays is the software, although this is still a good step.
But being stuck with no software updates after 2-4 years still renders them unusable (when also locked down).
They should be forced to provide open bootloaders, firmware and kernel drivers once the devices reach end of life. Maybe even include hardware details and schematics, etc. for full repairability.
The efforts of devices like the Framework laptop and Steam Deck should be commonplace. It's insane we put some corporation's patents and trade secrets above the environment.
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.