This month is the final month of guaranteed major and security updates, and we already know Android 14 won’t land in the Pixel 4a (though it will in the Pixel 4a 5G as it has guaranteed updates until November).
So for those of you who own that phone, what do you plan to do with it? Are you going to keep using it for a couple more years without the updates? Install a custom ROM (which one?)? Or are you maybe planning to get a new phone (a Pixel?)?
If you still own an older Pixel phone, how are you keeping it alive?
It’s such a shame that Google will no longer support a phone that is only 3 years old.
They dropped their “Don’t be evil”-claim for a reason, and that reason is lots and lots of cash.
I think part of this is that manufacturers don’t want to keep writing drivers for every new Android release. Not an Android dev, but maybe Google’s driver API is just not stable and keeps introducing breaking changes with every Android release, such that old drivers can’t work anymore? But even then, I still don’t get why that has to be the case. Linux still supports drivers for very ancient hardware.
Meanwhile desktop OSes can easily support 10+ years old hardware. So maybe Google should be putting some effort into standardizing mobile hardware and firmware enough to allow the same instead of ripping off their users. Maybe new laws that demand longer support time will force them to do that, but unfortunately I don’t think the 5 years demanded by the EU will be enough.
But even then, I still don’t get why that has to be the case. Linux still supports drivers for very ancient hardware.
Linux is kinda infamous for not having any stable driver interface - it doesn’t really have a concept of drivers in the way Windows does, Linux drivers are just indistinguishable parts of the kernel and their only way to interact with the rest of the kernel is to use the internal kernel functions that have no stability guarantee.
The idea is that if someone wants to change any of the internal functions, they will also be expected to go and find all parts of the kernel that would be affected and update them to work with the change. That works great for “drivers” that are part of Linux, but it makes maintaining out-of-tree drivers a nightmare.
This isn’t going to get any better until either Linux gets a stable driver API (fat chance) or SoC manufacturers decide to release their drivers under GPLv2 and go through the effort of mainlining them into the kernel (also a fat chance - current situation works great for them and guarantees more sales of new SoCs).
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.
Calyx os
I’d say Graphene, but that tends to end support for non-google supported devices due to firmware security
🤔 -Sent from my Pixel 3
I actually think the pixel 3 is underrated it’s basically the same size as a pixel 4 a but it has better chip and the glass build and the squeeze for assistant functionality. No headphone Jack though and stuck on android 12.
But still I often recommend it to people that really don’t have much money and need something in a pinch . Got a pixel 3 for $70 on woot. I absolutely love the texture. Unfortunately I think the version I have cannot use a custom rom so it’s definitely dated. But I think it’s still basically fine to use.
I don’t think I would have loved to pay 8 or $900 for it at MSRP when it came out but at 70 bugs it’s fucking amazing
Install a rom that continues to receive updates
Disclaimer: I’m a 15 year iPhone owner, so I don’t have practical experience with this, but this is the angle I’d be researching, were in your situation. Or considering an iPhone, lol, Apple is still updating 10 year old phones. Of course, I don’t expect this crowd to take that last comment seriously ;)
Apple is still updating 10 year old phones. Of course, I don’t expect this crowd to take that last comment seriously ;)
Least smug Apple user
Nothing but love. I know better than to think I’m going to convince anyone. And honestly, I think everyone has the right to personal preference.
My dude, I’m right there with you.
It’s all down to preferences. I hate iOS, but only for myself. I can’t stand using it, I don’t like the way iPhones are designed, etc, etc. But (other than joking with friends), that’s where it ends. This isn’t a religion, we don’t have to convert people lol.
Hell, I end up bitching about google’s bullshit more than I go around praising android.
I haven’t used the same iPhone for 15 years… I upgrade every 4 years or so.
Apple only has to care about 1 phone, Android has to work on countless phones from flagships down to piece of shit under $100 ones. More people have cheap phones than flagships, if the Pixel were the only one, it could possibly be very different. But constantly forcing newer OS’s into aging hardware also screws everything up, as Apple found out when they attempted to secretly down clock phones because of the beating they were taking from more demanding OS’s after upgrades. Tech expires in any way that matters, people need to accept that. Just because something still turns on doesn’t mean it can keep up anymore.
