You don't need to be at the mercy of Google to keep your phone updated!
The whole point of having a Google phone is that you can easily flash it after its planned obsolescence date.
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You don't need to be at the mercy of Google to keep your phone updated!
The whole point of having a Google phone is that you can easily flash it after its planned obsolescence date.
It's such a shame that Google will no longer support a phone that is only 3 years old.
Planned obsolescence. It's how you sell more product without innovation and move people into a eco system without completely bricking their phone, and innovation lol.
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
Running lineage on pixel 3 still.
Every so often I think about how I really ought to replace my Pixel 2, but then it just keeps on working and the price of new devices keeps on inflating at absurd rates.
Are you supposed to stop using your phone once it stops getting updates?
Mine is on Android 9 and idgaf.
I replace my phone when it stops working well enough for day to day use.
It depends on whether you do sensitive stuff with your phone that's going to risk getting exposed if your phone stops getting security updates and a malware gets made specifically for it. But I guess like on PC with careful vetting of apps and avoiding sketchy websites the risk should IMO be minimal.
I'd say for most users, this is the case. But you're not in a thread of "most users" 😂. There's definitely a niche here that would like to stay on the most recent system software as it probably brings them functionality they need or will want to use.
Yes, when the security patches stops it's time to switch. But since these are usually a separate deploy chain from regular Android updates its hard to figure out when these patches stops coming. I've tried to find out out when the security patches for my Samsung S20+ stops, no idea still.
If you're smart with your phone, you technically don't need to update. You can also prolong life with custom rims and their own monthly patches.
I'll use this phone until the battery won't hold without being plugged in all the time. Then I'm not sure. I'd like another pixel, but there isn't a pixel anymore that isn't massive. It used to be that the main phone with all the features was larger and the sub phone with less features was a bit smaller. I usually opt for the smaller phone because I like a phone that suits my small hands and can also fit in my pocket. Now I'm worried my next phone will be too big to fit in my pants and I won't be able to reach the other end of the screen with my thumb. Not to mention they don't have a physical fingerprint reader anymore. My husband has a 6 and he stopped using the fingerprint function because it just didn't work 80% of the time. And don't get me started on the headphones jack. I have a Bluetooth headset, but you know those run out of battery sometimes and some cars are a pain to connect to. That's the least of my worries, but it'll be a bandaid I have to rip off for sure. Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted talk. I'll probably buy the stupid new Google tablet because I'm a hypocrite 🙂
The s23 is fairly compact by today's standards. Mind you, I returned the s23 and got a Pixel 7 Pro 🤷♂️
I'd give the Pixel 7 pro a huge thumbs up. Not overly keen on huge phones but the trade-off is an amazing camera and really great performance.
I'll probably hang tight until Pixel 8 comes out.
The fingerprint sensor gave out a year ago, so it will continue its slow decay in my bedside table drawer.
I still use my pixel 2 regularly. There really isn't a reason to not use it that I can think of.
Even factoring in not getting the Android 14 update, plenty of people I feel will keep phones for ages (I remember having to build aps catering to people on Android 8/9 so people are generally pretty lazy to update). Even without security updates I've got a feeling these phones will linger since they're still decent
Lineage OS
Tbh I know tons of people who use older phones that are way past any updates but work fine.
Not ideal but doesn't make the phone unusable
I'm going to keep using mine for a while. It's not my only phone. I still use my LGV60 and my LG wing and a newer pixel sometimes. Those are all so big And I like the fact that the pixel 4a can fit in my front pocket.
I'll keep using them until the batteries aren't workable anymore. Whatever risk there is with security patches I think is overshadowed by the environmental and financial downsides of tossing away perfectly good hardware.
I'll probably be fine using it for another year or so . As to what I would replace it with I'm not sure. Probably a used pixel just because they're the best value proposition.
So 5a has gets android, another year of updates and it can be a 100 Bucks on eBay. The pixel 6 and 6 pro are 200 to 275 on ebay and they are getting like 40 more months of updates.
Samsung phones don't have quite the same Compelling prices on the resal market .
I'll very likely buy a 7a in November.
When I was more in mobile gaming I'd just multi box with them. Nowadays I just use them as Roku remotes.
I upgraded to a 7 on launch day (pre-ordered), so my 4a has been sitting around as a backup ever since. Still miss the size, material, and color sometimes - I got the Google Store blue with the orange button and it looked so nice!
I plan to make the jump to an 8 this year. I was holding out on the headphone jack but it's time. The 8 should be a decent jump and the rumors about docking are really appealing to me for light office work.
Docking also means video out. The community for the Pixel 8 will be huge. I bet even Postmarket OS and Pure OS wik make ports for it. I just wish Waydroid gets good enough by then, to use WhatsApp, Google Maps, and my Banking app.
Not a Pixel user myself but I know for a fact that there are current PixelExperience builds for Pixel 4's
I will be in this position in a couple months when the Pixel 5 gets its last security update, in think my choices are either the Pixel 8 or wait a few more months and get the pixel 8a, I think it will come down to price. Regardless, it will be running GrapheneOS.
Shit it's that time is it? I will probably keep it with the intention of installing something else on it. And then not look at it for a few years at a time, stumble across it and it's older siblings and think "I should do something with these".
I guess I better hunt down a new Pixel. Sucks because unlike the last one (2XL) this one -- which I bought used, by the way, first time doing that -- isn't painfully slow, battery still holds up fine. I don't need it for any other reason than I would rather not risk running an unpatched device.
Waiting for my new Pixel 7 to be delivered right now actually. And then I'm installing GraphenOS on it.
Have a 5G (custom ROM Graphen and some modifications) but i use it until it breaks or becomes so slow it doesn't fit my needs anymore and afterwards it gets a Cremation in my furnace, the remains go to recycling.