Just as long as you get one of the few models that are unlocked or offer a long lifetime of updates.
I ended up installing LineageOS and have been getting updates almost weekly ever since.
getting updates almost weekly
Quantitiy ≠ Quality.
I’d use it more as a gauge on how active this device is developed for.
or offer a long lifetime of updates
In Samsung unpacked event Samsung announced that it will extend Android And Security updates to 7 years
Samsung still doesn’t allow for unlocking the bootloader in the US, so after 7 years, the phone basically becomes ewaste due to lack of security updates. Repairability, I can’t speak on, but they probably still glue their screen.
That’s not even counting the fact that SoC vendors put these unmaintainable amount of patches on top of the Linux kernel instead of contributing to upstream Linux, so that their device can use a generic kernel. This leads to the use of ancient Linux versions on embedded devices with no room for upgrade without a third party porting mainline Linux.
“Smart” TVs/IoT devices have the same issue, but often times worse. You’d be lucky to get a new Android version on an Android TV, let alone a new kernel version, or the ability to run a custom OS, with documentation on how provided by the manufacturer, along with stock firmware.
There’s also the problem of companies (mainly ones based in China) not releasing source code for the GPL-licensed software they use, such as the Linux kernel. Very common issue, especially with Mediatek products.
