Todays electronics is fast. Imagine how much natural resources could be saved if manufacturers delivered software support until device is truly unusable due to hardware limitations.
This post is being written on 3 years old flagship killer that has never dropped any frame, reached 0% battery or crashed but wont get system updates anymore because…
seemingly 3 years old 7nm flagship SoC is too weak to be used for next decade?
🇪🇺🙏
Let’s take that one step further, imagine if once software support ended for a device you could simply install an alternate open source (libre) operating system and keep on using the hardware you paid for. On the computer side you can still use desktops as old as 2 or even 3 decades with Linux. I would take it a step further and argue that you don’t own your devices at all if you cannot install an alternate operating system.
At least for some android phones this is already possible with Lineage OS.
Yes, also Graphene OS for Pixel phones, Murena, and some others try to make a viable alternative OS.
Part of the problem is the chip manufacturers. They provide precompiled device drivers for one version of one kernel only, no source, and refuse to update them ever again. It can be a bit difficult to update the rest of the software stack when there’s no way to shore up the foundations. Device manufacturers need to start insisting on updated drivers and/or provided driver source code before they buy the chips to put in their phones, tablets, and other systems.
Good luck on that.
A lot of it is still on the phone manufacturers. If Fairphone can provide software support for their 2015 model 8 years later, then I have a hard time believing that a company with a 32 billion USD net income cannot provide more than 3 years of software updates. Looking at you, Samsung!
https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/11351328932497-Update-to-the-latest-Fairphone-OS
Samsung also manufactures their own memory and chipset. They could provide long support for those chipset if they wanted to, but that would means giving up short term profit. When smartphone sales truly stagnates and people no longer buy a new phone after 2-3 years anymore, manufacturers may consider this strategy to differentiate from their competitors.
I think a good step towards the school would be forcing bootloader unlocking to be available. Just like any other computer allow people root access to their own devices. This opens up the ability to install any operating system A user desires.
Silly KillSwitch10, thinking we actually own the things we pay for.
/s, obviously.
How is company X supposed to sell you model 2.0? 3? 2.0 RepairCare?
Planned obsolescence. Profits. Shareholders.
I think much of this issue is created directly by the contracts created the phone companies. For example, I needed a new phone after my old Motorola failed to boot. It was in pretty bad shape with a cracked screen and mangled charging port, so a new phone was in the cards. I had expected to get another cheaper Motorola, but the added fees to switch would’ve doubled the cost of the phone. Instead, I opened a new line and got a Pixel 7 for free (plus headphones), and kept my old phone active for a single month.
It’s a finance thing for most ultimately. $400 to get a new Motorola, or $55 to get a new Google Pixel. The contracts are rigged to get you setup with a mainstream phone, so you’ll consider upgrading to the next release for a discounted price.
I changed from a pixel 6 that I loved to a pixel 8 (I love it too) only because changing phones for a new contract gave cost me 20$ less and gave me 60Gig of data instead of 20. So I got a better phone, more data and a cheaper bill for changing to a new phone.
If I wanted to keep the pixel 6 I needed to pay 168$ and keep my old contract.
Why can’t I get the same deal without changing.
P.S. I’m in Canada. Was 76$ a month now is 55$.
