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It was the single biggest reason I switched to iPhone. Usually I was dying to upgrade after 2 years because the phones would start to suck. Then I got a Pixel 2 and it was great! But after 3 years it stopped getting updates even though the hardware still worked fine, and I looked over at my stepdaughter’s iPhone, which was 6 years old but still getting updates, could still get parts replaced at a local repair shop. It started to feel like that was the better value as flagship phones started costing $800+.
Apple don't guarantee software support but generally it's between 5-6 years of support, with some models going to 7. Samsung and Pixels now have a guaranteed 7 years, which in my book is even better than apple because it's a guarantee. And on top of that, it means that for pixels, you get 7 years of Graphene OS support!
Until Samsung (in particular) actually deliver on their stated promise, I’ll remain skeptical.
Especially as less than a year ago iFixIt had to terminate their relationship/agreement because Samsung failed to deliver on their promises to aid in end-user repairs.
For all their myriad of flaws, Apple at least has a proven track record of providing long term security and feature updates.
A solution is to use GrapheneOS, a privacy focused and security hardened android ROM. They support some very old phones (like some almost a decade old), and continue to support all google pixels going forward. With GrapheneOS you will continue to get security upgrades ported over for a lot longer, and the phone will run better than ever de-googled!
GrapheneOS kills support when Google kills security updates, I believe. Source: my Pixel 4a came out in 2020, and Graphene already strongly recommends against using it and dropped updates entirely a few months ago.
Lineage and Pixel Experience ROMs are better at long-term support. But any custom ROM on older non-officially-supported phones is vulnerable to firmware exploits, since those fixes are typically distributed as binaries by the hardware manufacturer (Qualcomm etc). So I understand why Graphene drops support so quick, since they want all Graphene users to benefit from strong security practices.
That was a great explanation, much appreciated thank you!
That explains why when I looked at Graphene later it didn’t support the Pixel 2
Same problems as ever with custom roms though, Cameras don't work as properly, BT/Wifi issues, have to run old unsecure kernels, etc.
Respectfully, this is not true anymore. GrapheneOS works like a charm for most that use it. There are some issues regarding push notifications (if you decide not to install Google Play Services on your phone), but other than that the phones retain their usual functionality.
Additionally, the part of your comment regarding running old insecure kernels is not at all the case for GrapheneOS. The whole point with the OS is to run the latest security updates/patches and kernel. Take a look at the part on their website regarding patches for more information: https://grapheneos.org/features#more-complete-patching
Also as a result, that opens up Apple's discounting strategy where it sells the one-year-old model as a discounted model. If an Apple model can get updates 6 years after release, then buying an 18-month old model (but as a new phone) still assures you of 4.5 years of updates.
Same here. I would feel much happier to consider shopping around again if more options than just Google offered updates but that never seems to materialize
I believe the later Pixel models have longer support periods. But I'm in a similar boat with my old Pixels; my P1 still works just fine, and I'd love to use it as a makeshift security cam, but it's so far out of date that it's probably not wise to have it on the network at all.
Yeah, at least the last couple have longer support periods now, but at the time my Pixel 2 stopped getting support it looks like the Pixel 5 (then the newest model) was only expecting 3 years. It might entice me to switch back at some point.