• Square Singer@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    That’s some long-term support. If your iPhone doesn’t get OS updates, it almost instantly turns into a brick. Android doesn’t get updates for nearly as long, but you won’t lose apps and stuff nearly as fast.

    • Polar@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      My Nexus 4 still runs Android 12 and gets all of the latest apps. Same with my Nexus 7.

      Kinda crazy how long Android phones can outlast iPhones if you take a few minutes to root them.

      Currently using my Nexus 4 as a WhatsApp server, and my Nexus 7 as a digital stream deck.

      • Square Singer@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Sure, with custom ROMs you can carry phones much farther than intended, if you are lucky enough that your phone gets updated custom ROMs.

        But I wouldn’t equate 3rd-party support with 1st-party support.

        Also, custom ROMs that provide newer Android versions than the original 1st-party support often don’t upgrade everything, e.g. the kernel is usually not upgraded, which can cause issues in some circumstances.

        But yeah, it’s pretty great that there are people who spend their spare time to get newer versions of Android on old phones. Should be standard, that phone manufacturers are doing this themselves, sadly it’s not.

        • Aasikki@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          if you are lucky enough that your phone gets updated custom ROMs.

          Less about luck and more about having a popular enough device. Less popular ones are way more unlikely to have them unfortunately.

          • Square Singer@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            Sure, but for the not super popular ones it’s mostly about whether there’s some random dev who owns that phone and wants to keep it alive.

            The Droid 3/4 for example where kept alive for much longer than their popularity would suggest.

        • krimsonbun@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          In my opinion it’s not that they were equating 3rd party support to 1st, it’s just impressive that we even have 3rd party support that is actually useful.

          Should it be the phone manufacturer does this? Yes. But personally I prefer to use community ran (and FOSS) solutions.

          • Square Singer@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            You are totally right that it is mightily impressive that basically some randos on the internet are able to better support old phones than manufacturers are willing to do.

        • Square Singer@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          Usually yes, if you want it to.

          By default, though, a device with a custom ROM or root (basically anything but an unmodified stock ROM) will not have SafetyNet or Play Integrity API certifications. This means, apps that check for that (e.g. banking apps) won’t run on the device.

          There is a tool (Universal SafetyNet Fix) which tries to fake these certifications and will give you full SafetyNet but only partial Play Integrity API status.

          (Play Integrity API is split into MEETS_BASIC_INTEGRITY, MEETS_DEVICE_INTEGRITY and MEETS_STRONG_INTEGRITY. Depending on how lucky you are, you’ll get basic and/or device, but you will not get strong).

          With Universal SafetyNet Fix I have yet to encounter an app that doesn’t run, but theoretically apps could be checking for MEETS_STRONG_INTEGRITY and then there is nothing you can do to get it running (short of modifying the app itself).

  • ArugulaZ@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    You could still sideload apps to these, right? The apps themselves would have to be pretty old, though…

  • SSUPII@sopuli.xyz
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    1 year ago

    And with that, the absolutely best Android version that has ever been released is starting to get put on the side.

  • Sarsaparilla@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Heh. Well that’s interesting. I’m using an old mobile for my VOIP. Happens to be KitKat OS. Was able to extend it’s life with a replacement battery off ebay, but VOIP softwares were starting to all update beyond the limits of my device anyway.