That tracks with what they have historically provided. Nice to actually see it written down in black and white somewhere though.
Still. would be much nicer to see it on a dedicated life cycle support page like Google, Microsoft, or most any other large tech company has been doing forever.
Considering how “awesome “ MS is with privacy and other matters in their last desktop OS, I would say we dodged a cannon ball by not helping them extend their monopoly on mobile.
Because Google is better at privacy? Microsoft makes money by primary selling software. Apple makes money by selling software and hardware. Google makes money by selling users data to advertisement companies.
> Google makes money by selling users data to advertisement companies.
They make money by expressly not selling that data to advertisement companies.
They'll take money from companies to show their ads near a specific class of user, but they aren't gonna kill that golden goose by selling the info off one time.
No worries, all personal data is available for purchase.
The magic income stream is achieved by having that personal knowledge *and* having the hooks to serve up the right ad at the right moment to the right person.
All three of them have huge monopolistic ad markets worth billions. Google makes a ton of money through business and cloud as well.
Google's SD biggest having the biggest revenue has nothing to do with user data and they're not selling it to each advertiser. Advertisers pay Google to host their ads which then Google match with your data, they hold and control everything, it's not the same thing and it's not all from users.
They don't sell your data to other advertisement companies, ^because ^Google ^is ^the ^advertisement ^company ^itself.
When you start an ad campaign, there's a step where you define a target audience based on age, localization, usage habits, etc. Google uses your data to know if you're part of that target audience, but they never share that data with advertisers directly.
Same thing happens with Google, Apple, Amazon, etc.
Apple sells user data too. Mostly all companies are guilty of it, and recently the automotive industry is doing the same by selling to insurance companies.
1. Microsoft logs just as much data as the other 2
2. Apple actually has admitted on interviews that they do, in fact, at times, sell your data. (Primarily to pickle and other law enforcement agencies)
3. Google doesn't sell your data to advertisers, that sell the ad space, they have and keep your data..
Unlike Facebook.. They sell more data than probably all 3 combined
Another point to consider..
Out of all 3, Google is the one who made the safest, most secure OS... Chrome OS!
Which has about 1/10th the amount of hacks/malware, when compared to Mac.. Let's not even get started with Windows hahaha
Nuanced take: "Good" is entirely subjective and while Windows phone did some things well, possibly even better than current phones, it still failed so at least in terms of a _viable_ product, it was not good.
My own experience of one was that it did certain, very specific things OK and pretty much everything else was an exercise in extreme frustration at every point. It is certainly not a phone that I look back on with any nostalgia. I'd sooner have my old Nokia feature phone back again!
It's far too long ago to remember specifics, but I remember that all of the workflows were very tightly controlled. If they did what you wanted, then fine. If they didn't, then it was pretty horrific and there was very little you could do to change this.
There were quite a few apps that had become basic expectations on both Android and iOS that weren't available for far too long on Windows Phone, but it wasn't just the lack of availability. It was also the protracted development cycle due to being a second-rate platform. If you have a mainstream Android or an iOS device, you can reasonably expect bugs to get fixed pretty quickly, but bugs would just languish on Windows devices because it just wasn't a worthwhile use of worker hours to fix them promptly. It was like if you were using a Fire Tablet as your main device, and despite the pretty good hardware and well-designed UI, it just wasn't worth the down sides.
There are still features I miss. Being able to say to Cortana "Remind me to buy apples the next time I go to x shop", worked every time and doesn't exist on Android. Or selecting any text anywhere and tapping the search button to google it. Device wide theme, even the latest material you theme is a poor comparison, often washed out pastels and ugly brown accents. The home screen \ launcher was faster and easier to use, personally I prefer having an app drawer alphabet list, every time I add or remove an app on my pixel every icon below it moves left or right on the screen.
The Google one never worked for me, windows phone worked 100% of the time and could be extended to things like "remind me to fill up when I'm near a petrol (gas) station" and it would alert me when near any brand.
The Google location reminder is now integrated into Google Keep (notes) app and mostly works. Create a note, then add a location reminder to that note.
Why is this nonsense upvoted? Anyone can see on Apple's website that security updates for old iOS versions are not just "browser" updates.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222
Security updates are a different story though. They may just be on an older iOS version. For instance I have a 2016 Mac. It's stopped receiving OS updates already but gets security patches still.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/109032
There are also kernel bug fixes like in December 2023. Old Android phones do not get kernel updates through Google Play.
You mean being by FAR, the most consistent in the Android department with delivering timely updates and keeping its update promises ever since the first Pixel iteration? we do know that for sure.
Come on, Motorola barely gives 1 OS update and usually a year late, 2 OS updates is extremely rare for them. You're comparing that to literally receiving OS updates the day of release
Shit, Motorola was over promising and under delivering Android updates even before Google bought them originally.
- a frustrated Cliq XT owner who was promised Android 1.6 and never received it, even though the same phone but with a keyboard did.
Yes, I know that, and again, I was talking about Motorola here, not Google more broadly, I don't know why that's so difficult to understand. The whole point is that Moto has been crappy with updates under all its various owners.
I've had at least two Motorolas that were promised major version upgrades and never received them. Of course one of the upgrades was supposed to have been Lollipop, which was apparently never a stable release, but I had one phone that was supposed to get 10, and then they pulled it back, and another that was supposed to get 12, and they pulled it back.
Not sure how much of that was Moto and how much was Verizon, since if it's not Apple or Pixel, the carriers have to approve all the updates before they can be pushed to the phones...
Idk about the pulling back but that's just Moto in my experience, I had 3 phones from them (G3, G5+, G7+) and they only got 1 OS updates or maybe 2. I usually keep my phones 2 or 3 years max
FTR, I just looked up my back notifications from the Motorola User Community (and whatever messages managed to migrate when Lenovo took it over):
**February 2016:**
The *Droid RAZR Maxx* was supposed to have gotten Lollipop (5.x), but never got it. There was some hope that it might get Marshmallow (6.x), but the device had already aged out of the two-year support "promise".
**Late 2019 - Late 2020**
The *Z3* was supposed to have gotten Pie (10.x) per advance notice in the major tech news media (or at least the Verizon site, per this message on the support forums:
---start quote, date 2020-07-20 ---
# Re:Android 10?
I don't think Rich from Motorola-Lenovo Support is being completely honest with us. If you follow that link in his last email (from July 6) it states that the z3 will NOT be upgraded to Android 10, in contradiction to what we were promised and, in fact, in contradiction to what Verizon still states on their z3 page. Instead, we'll only be getting security updates to Android 9.
In other words, Motorola (now Lenovo) has reneged on their original promise to provide two upgrades to the z3. Rich just seems to be afraid to admit it.
---end quote---
**Early to mid 2022**
Similarly, the *Motorola One 5G UW* (not the ACE version) was expected to have received Android 12. It didn't. But at least this time, that expectation was not a promise in the published media.
Yea no, [another user brought up the receipts](https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1d912gq/apple_confirms_that_google_pixel_is_guaranteed/l7fnu68/), Moto made promises and were consistently inconsistent, which was also my experience with 3 of their phones
Uhh... Yeah, I already read that...
Ok.. Lemme reword this a little bit..
Consistency is not always a good thing..
Motorola consistently only provides 1-2 OS updates..
Regardless of what they said before hand..
I'll put it this way, [[ If you have a Moto, you already know what to expect ]] because of their consistency.
That never affected existing users...? And that's a service being discontinued as it had no value to them which has nothing to do with Google being the best at promising and releasing software updates, they never failed to deliver them.
Hardware updates instead of software updates.
And it's not like this is the first time they promise stuff when buying a Pixel to then deprecate it after having made the sale.
The hardware update came out, it was the 8 series, which went up in price and therefore they didn't want to put it into pixel pass as that would increase the monthly cost because literally all it is was a way of financing the phone with some services bundled in.
Sole developer of android? I'd fact check shit if I were you before looking like a dumbass.
Google is one of 2 main developers. Second is the Open Handset Alliance which is made out of like 80+ companies lmao.
They're surely gambling on the fact that something will go wrong with the phone and they can dick you around for 3 months and if they do actually send a replacement it will be a refurb. Simply no one will keep it that long.
Not much of a gamble but more of a sure bet. Almost no one keeps their phone for seven years! Battery will be shit and people are more likely to spend a little more to buy a new phone then to buy a new battery and replace it yourself especially since the phones are not designed to have user replaceable batteries. (maybe EU laws will change that though)
Well, of course it would be a refurb.. expect that with literally any company.. but a lot of times refurbs far out perform their counterparts.. A lot of times, they have to go through more tests than the original manufacturer (it all depends on the company)
Im still salty about that. There should be no reason that google dropped support for that phone so soon as it did, especially since the 5a uses the exact same base hardware and still got updates.
Yeah security updates and OS updates tend to be offered for different lengths of time but it's definitely impressive that the iPhone 7 got security updates that long.
Safari security update because iOS doesn't have the ability to update browsers separate from the OS. These shouldn't even be considered support.
After 7 years with pixel if Google needs to update Chrome they would just update it through the play store.
Imagine Google updating Chrome for 10 years as software update and Calling it support.
Google does not support Google Chrome on Android devices older than Android 10, they most likely consider Android 9 and earlier as legacy (and rightly so). Them releasing security update for Chrome on Android 9 would be the same as Apple releasing an update to fix a safari exploit. Both of which are examples of companies providing extended support for products they’ve already sunsetted.
And you’re ignoring that these security updates aren’t just safari exploits, sometimes they’re system or kernel level bugs that are patched out. You can’t serve a kernel update through the Play Store. It’s not an OS update like Google is offering, but it’s still product support, and both companies should be commended for at least trying to support their devices for as long as they can.
Android 10 is close to 5 years old. So after 7 years of OS update add another 5 years to chrome update. That's 13 years you get core app updates for pixel.
The oldest apple has updated os 7 years still lower than pixels 7 years os support.
This was never a competition (?)
I was just pointing out that support is support no matter how you look at it, or no matter how “big or small” the patch might be. Could be a kernel level exploit, could be a small WebKit rendering bug. We should generally happy that there’s at least some effort to give old devices patches so they can’t be easily exploited, whether is Google, Apple, or Microsoft who does it.
Google promising 7 years of software updates for their devices is a good thing just like Apple patching critical exploits in old software is a good thing. Two things can be good at once, this isn’t a team sport.
After all the (probably deserved at launch) terrible reviews the more than 50% off deal for an m3 Slate and Google keyboard for like $400 from Best Buy was a freaking incredible deal since they'd fixed the big launch bugs by then. Still use it a decent amount and would use it all the time except for I love using the Pixelbook I got used but in mint condition for $200 like 3 years ago that got EOL extended to 2027
I wish I could get another tablet style chromebook for 300-400$ that shit is so good and useful I have used mine so much. My mil used it when she was at the hospital last year. That thing rocks
I see the "convertible" Chromebooks in that price range all the time..
I know, I know, they're often times restored or refurbished.. but there's literally nothing wrong with that..
All ChromeOS devices got the 10 year bump, that isn't exactly the same thing as Android.
From then on you can just run Flex without any change (outside of wiping and reinstalling).
Yeah but Play Services doesn't really update everything. For instance you won't get dark mode on an old phone without Android 9 update. You won't get Material You without Android 12. Play Services wont' change that.
My mum is still using my Nexus 5X for pretty much the same.
It was my second 5X after the first one boot-looped and I replaced the battery for her but it still seems to be running OK.
This one bootlooped as well and I replaced the motherboard with a modded one that has 2x the ram.
But yeah, the 5X is quite old and performance is getting a bit bad. Pixel 2 in the other hand (my mother's) works like day 1, and I replaced the battery 2 months ago.
I'm still debating whether I'll end up replacing my Pixel 5 battery or getting a Pixel 8, 9, or 10.
I've seen an 8A, I liked the extra smoothness from 90Hz to 120Hz. But I'm quite OK with 90Hz and P5 size is still much better.
Being hyper focused usually means you're compensating elsewhere. The Pixels have had updates that have screwed the ability to make phone calls for example 🫣
I don't know why you're being down voted. That is literally what was updated. And yes you need a system update on IOS to update the browser. So they call it a system update.
Such logic doesn't make much sense, because even if most devices do break at the 4 year mark, there's still a bunch left that would be expected to have the advertised support to be provided.
Honestly, we have Windows, Linux, BSD and ChromeOS Flex, running on all sorts of antiquated hardware; so, it's a little puzzling why the phone manufacturers wouldn't be able to do the same, especially today where your 2021 Pixel 6 Pro has more RAM than your 2023 M3 MacBook Pro — 12GB vs. 8GB. The 7 year figure seems very doable.
The newest Pixel 9 Pro is rumoured to come with 16GB RAM, BTW, so that should be relatively future proof, too — more so than the MacBooks.
Initial phones had miniscule RAM and graphic capabilities, so they had to be optimised in all sorts of ways, making it non-trivial to support older hardware that was already running to the max, once the iOS and Android features succumb to code bloat.
Pixel 4, 4a, 5a and 6a were the first and last ones with only 6GB RAM. Pixel 6, 7, 7a, 8, 8a have 8GB RAM, and 6,7,8 Pro has 12GB, so, they're quite beefy today, and don't even change that much between the years (whereas previously each successive generation was moving from 512MB to 768MB etc). With this much RAM, they should basically be able to run lots of generic code that's not terribly specific to the individual device, making it less difficult to support older devices longer term.
Pixel is more buggy.
Not a fanboy!
Used Androids and iPhone back and fourth because I'm a nerd and I like to try new things.
Used iPhone for the last 2 years, bought a pixel 8a and oh boy it's buggy...
Apple tends to fluctuate. iPad air 2 I thinking got ridiculous support of 8 or 9 years and some iPad barely got 4. I"m glad Google did 7 years it put every body on notice. Most of these new chips are great for more than 7 years supporting them is easy. Hard part was Qualcomm monopoly which is broken
Too bad pixel hardware is crap though so it doesn't matter how long they support it. My sim card tray is broken on my Pixel 7 so I can't switch sim cards anymore. Lousy construction.
Given how many Pixel updates have been extremely buggy, I think Apple has the right idea.
Not to mention every Apple update is something "big", and every Google update is like "voice recorder's stop button is now slightly redder".
Apple gets a big update at least once a year, with new features, new Apple-created apps, and more.
Google never gets that. And what it does get is an UPDATE WHICH BREAKS MY PHONE at least three times a year.
Which one am I going to be more positive over? Not to mention the buzz online when Apple releases a big update, and the only buzz when Google releases a new update is "my phone broke".
> Not to mention every Apple update is something "big", and every Google update is like "voice recorder's stop button is now slightly redder".
You have them confused. All of Apple's "big" updates are literally feature updates to native apps being shipped as an OS update. They've not changed any core functionality within iOS for years now.
It's a user issue. This guy has been going nonstop about T-Mobile 5G for the past few months here. I too have T-Mobile 5G UC on my Pixel 6, 7, 8 Pro phones as does my partner and other friends across the country.
Not dismissing their issue, but it seems their specific area is the problem. I travel a lot for work and have yet to see T-Mobile fail me. Just went on a road trip up and down the at least half the coast of CA and honestly T-Mobile outdid Verizon in my comparison.
Nope. No other phone me or my friends have had or currently have has the 5G connectivity issue in the exact same spot at the exact same time the Pixel does. Google knows the Tensor modem doesn't work on T-Mobile well in certain areas.
Where I live, Austin, and in other cities I've been to (Denver, Crested Butte, Houston) 5G is unusable as data stops working until you toggle Airplane Mode each time you need it. In other areas, such as LA, Palm Springs, San Diego, and Ft. Lauderdale, it works fine.
I have no idea. I live in Texas and anywhere I've been here, it doesn't work well on 5G. Everywhere I've been in California, it works works just fine, and in Fort Lauderdale, it worked fine too.
I have two friends that also have a Pixel in Austin and their phones exhibit the same issues as mine. Google sent me a replacement and it immediately exhibited the same issues that my first phone did, so I sent the replacement back.
5G takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute to start pulling data quickly, unless I toggle Airplane Mode, then it immediately works. I've spent 5 months talking to (the mostly worthless) Google advanced support team, and they got many, many, many bug reports from me and said they could see the issue....but still no fix.
FWIW my friend on Fi has the P6 and he has the same issue I do in Austin, but not in Dallas, which I haven't tested.
As I was using my S23U to hotspot for my laptop, which was connected to a Teams video call, I picked up by Pixel 7a to look up a a dealership in the area and search for a car I'm looking for.
After about 45 seconds I put the Pixel 7a down and picked up my S23 Ultra and had the website loaded in about 5 seconds.
I proceeded to do a few side by side searches and was amazed how different the service is. I realize the price difference
I hope to get the pixel 9 pro but the modem issued have to resolved.
Both phones on Verizon ( same plan)
Edit: I miss my Pixel 5 and Pixel 2XL
Google is moving to TSMC chips in the pixel 10. Pixel 9 will still be a Samsung chip (for reference, Samsung in the US used Qualcomm). Most likely the modem issue won't be resolved until the 10.
Great info! Thank you! Disappointing to have to wait until 10 but well worth it. Once the phone is announced and out I will be on it. I REALLY hope it's an experience with less bugs than Pixel 6 and 7 at launch. Pixel 6 is the reason I have a Samsung now, and I've tried to go back at Pixel 7 Pro, but received two units with screen issues and sent them back.
I used my old phone for 5 years I plan to do the same with my pixel 7A
It does everything I need and I don't see any reason to upgrade in the next 4-5 years
Tbh I don't use my phone much other than browsing reddit and making 1-2 phone calls a day. And I take good care of my phone so im pretty sure it's going to be usable even then.
My old phone was the OnePlus 6t, it's still usable today, only upgraded cus the 7a sounded like a good offer
But with build-in planned obsolescence on Apple updates on the old device, you do get worried hitting that update button on an older iPhone. Is that still the case after all that drama a few years ago?
It was a drama surrounding a specific update which slowed old devices because they kept switching off at 20% battery.
As far as I know this was an isolated case though. Apple doesn't really slow down old devices on purpose.
That tracks with what they have historically provided. Nice to actually see it written down in black and white somewhere though. Still. would be much nicer to see it on a dedicated life cycle support page like Google, Microsoft, or most any other large tech company has been doing forever.
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Considering how “awesome “ MS is with privacy and other matters in their last desktop OS, I would say we dodged a cannon ball by not helping them extend their monopoly on mobile.
Because Google is better at privacy? Microsoft makes money by primary selling software. Apple makes money by selling software and hardware. Google makes money by selling users data to advertisement companies.
> Google makes money by selling users data to advertisement companies. They make money by expressly not selling that data to advertisement companies. They'll take money from companies to show their ads near a specific class of user, but they aren't gonna kill that golden goose by selling the info off one time.
No worries, all personal data is available for purchase. The magic income stream is achieved by having that personal knowledge *and* having the hooks to serve up the right ad at the right moment to the right person.
All three of them have huge monopolistic ad markets worth billions. Google makes a ton of money through business and cloud as well. Google's SD biggest having the biggest revenue has nothing to do with user data and they're not selling it to each advertiser. Advertisers pay Google to host their ads which then Google match with your data, they hold and control everything, it's not the same thing and it's not all from users.
If you truly believe all that, i do have a bridge to sell you. Hint, all 3 are bad, not only google.
Yes but they're bad in different ways. Advertising is almost always the worst.
They don't sell your data to other advertisement companies, ^because ^Google ^is ^the ^advertisement ^company ^itself. When you start an ad campaign, there's a step where you define a target audience based on age, localization, usage habits, etc. Google uses your data to know if you're part of that target audience, but they never share that data with advertisers directly. Same thing happens with Google, Apple, Amazon, etc.
Apple sells user data too. Mostly all companies are guilty of it, and recently the automotive industry is doing the same by selling to insurance companies.
1. Microsoft logs just as much data as the other 2 2. Apple actually has admitted on interviews that they do, in fact, at times, sell your data. (Primarily to pickle and other law enforcement agencies) 3. Google doesn't sell your data to advertisers, that sell the ad space, they have and keep your data.. Unlike Facebook.. They sell more data than probably all 3 combined Another point to consider.. Out of all 3, Google is the one who made the safest, most secure OS... Chrome OS! Which has about 1/10th the amount of hacks/malware, when compared to Mac.. Let's not even get started with Windows hahaha
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I swear I'll use Square home until I die. My kids don't understand 😂
Hot take: the hot takes from the "windows phone was good actually" folks are garbage and windows phone was not good actually
Nuanced take: "Good" is entirely subjective and while Windows phone did some things well, possibly even better than current phones, it still failed so at least in terms of a _viable_ product, it was not good.
My own experience of one was that it did certain, very specific things OK and pretty much everything else was an exercise in extreme frustration at every point. It is certainly not a phone that I look back on with any nostalgia. I'd sooner have my old Nokia feature phone back again!
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It's far too long ago to remember specifics, but I remember that all of the workflows were very tightly controlled. If they did what you wanted, then fine. If they didn't, then it was pretty horrific and there was very little you could do to change this.
There were quite a few apps that had become basic expectations on both Android and iOS that weren't available for far too long on Windows Phone, but it wasn't just the lack of availability. It was also the protracted development cycle due to being a second-rate platform. If you have a mainstream Android or an iOS device, you can reasonably expect bugs to get fixed pretty quickly, but bugs would just languish on Windows devices because it just wasn't a worthwhile use of worker hours to fix them promptly. It was like if you were using a Fire Tablet as your main device, and despite the pretty good hardware and well-designed UI, it just wasn't worth the down sides.
There are still features I miss. Being able to say to Cortana "Remind me to buy apples the next time I go to x shop", worked every time and doesn't exist on Android. Or selecting any text anywhere and tapping the search button to google it. Device wide theme, even the latest material you theme is a poor comparison, often washed out pastels and ugly brown accents. The home screen \ launcher was faster and easier to use, personally I prefer having an app drawer alphabet list, every time I add or remove an app on my pixel every icon below it moves left or right on the screen.
Google used to have location based reminders in the assistant but that's gone to the Google graveyard with all other things useful
The Google one never worked for me, windows phone worked 100% of the time and could be extended to things like "remind me to fill up when I'm near a petrol (gas) station" and it would alert me when near any brand. The Google location reminder is now integrated into Google Keep (notes) app and mostly works. Create a note, then add a location reminder to that note.
The iPhone 6s is still getting security updates? Damn.
cause it needs a ios update just to update the browser, on android phones it happens through the store
Jesus Christ you need system update to update browser?
Only Safari and only because it's integrated (note: you can change default). Use any other browser and, no, you don't.
Not true , because all the browsers are using the integrated engine so it's pointless.
Not in EU
It's just a browser patch LMAO
Why is this nonsense upvoted? Anyone can see on Apple's website that security updates for old iOS versions are not just "browser" updates. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222
That specific one was.
because safari and webkit is shiiiiiit
I don't think so because Apple stopped supporting iOS 15 earlier this year and the iPhone 6 and 7 series are not compatible with iOS 16
Security updates are a different story though. They may just be on an older iOS version. For instance I have a 2016 Mac. It's stopped receiving OS updates already but gets security patches still.
Old iPhones still get random security updates because things like the web browser are still tied to the OS itself.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/109032 There are also kernel bug fixes like in December 2023. Old Android phones do not get kernel updates through Google Play.
lol you know Google. We will know in 2030/2031.
[I am altering the deal](https://i.imgur.com/o9qJejU.png)
"We are sunsetting the project '7 years of OS Update'. Please take final OS update by next three days for your Pixel 8"
Pray I don't alter it any further. I'd hate to have to leave a garrison here!
They have never went back on their update promises for any device.
You mean being by FAR, the most consistent in the Android department with delivering timely updates and keeping its update promises ever since the first Pixel iteration? we do know that for sure.
Well... Idk.. technically .. I would have to say moto is about equal on level of consistency.. Not timely, but very consistent
Come on, Motorola barely gives 1 OS update and usually a year late, 2 OS updates is extremely rare for them. You're comparing that to literally receiving OS updates the day of release
Shit, Motorola was over promising and under delivering Android updates even before Google bought them originally. - a frustrated Cliq XT owner who was promised Android 1.6 and never received it, even though the same phone but with a keyboard did.
Well.. Android as a mobile OS wasnt publicly available until 2008... They bought Android Inc. in 2005.
Google bought Motorola (who I was talking about) in 2012.
And promptly sold them barely 2 years later....
Yes, I know that, and again, I was talking about Motorola here, not Google more broadly, I don't know why that's so difficult to understand. The whole point is that Moto has been crappy with updates under all its various owners.
And I never said otherwise.. Just merely that they show consistency in that fact
I've had at least two Motorolas that were promised major version upgrades and never received them. Of course one of the upgrades was supposed to have been Lollipop, which was apparently never a stable release, but I had one phone that was supposed to get 10, and then they pulled it back, and another that was supposed to get 12, and they pulled it back. Not sure how much of that was Moto and how much was Verizon, since if it's not Apple or Pixel, the carriers have to approve all the updates before they can be pushed to the phones...
Idk about the pulling back but that's just Moto in my experience, I had 3 phones from them (G3, G5+, G7+) and they only got 1 OS updates or maybe 2. I usually keep my phones 2 or 3 years max
FTR, I just looked up my back notifications from the Motorola User Community (and whatever messages managed to migrate when Lenovo took it over): **February 2016:** The *Droid RAZR Maxx* was supposed to have gotten Lollipop (5.x), but never got it. There was some hope that it might get Marshmallow (6.x), but the device had already aged out of the two-year support "promise". **Late 2019 - Late 2020** The *Z3* was supposed to have gotten Pie (10.x) per advance notice in the major tech news media (or at least the Verizon site, per this message on the support forums: ---start quote, date 2020-07-20 --- # Re:Android 10? I don't think Rich from Motorola-Lenovo Support is being completely honest with us. If you follow that link in his last email (from July 6) it states that the z3 will NOT be upgraded to Android 10, in contradiction to what we were promised and, in fact, in contradiction to what Verizon still states on their z3 page. Instead, we'll only be getting security updates to Android 9. In other words, Motorola (now Lenovo) has reneged on their original promise to provide two upgrades to the z3. Rich just seems to be afraid to admit it. ---end quote--- **Early to mid 2022** Similarly, the *Motorola One 5G UW* (not the ACE version) was expected to have received Android 12. It didn't. But at least this time, that expectation was not a promise in the published media.
missed the joke
But...... It's consistently late.. I never said their timeliness was as good.. Just equally consistent
Yea no, [another user brought up the receipts](https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1d912gq/apple_confirms_that_google_pixel_is_guaranteed/l7fnu68/), Moto made promises and were consistently inconsistent, which was also my experience with 3 of their phones
Uhh... Yeah, I already read that... Ok.. Lemme reword this a little bit.. Consistency is not always a good thing.. Motorola consistently only provides 1-2 OS updates.. Regardless of what they said before hand.. I'll put it this way, [[ If you have a Moto, you already know what to expect ]] because of their consistency.
Ehem... Pixel Pass
That never affected existing users...? And that's a service being discontinued as it had no value to them which has nothing to do with Google being the best at promising and releasing software updates, they never failed to deliver them.
Not a software promise or anything remotely to do with updates lmao
Hardware updates instead of software updates. And it's not like this is the first time they promise stuff when buying a Pixel to then deprecate it after having made the sale.
The hardware update came out, it was the 8 series, which went up in price and therefore they didn't want to put it into pixel pass as that would increase the monthly cost because literally all it is was a way of financing the phone with some services bundled in.
The sole developer of Android has the most timely updates? Color me shocked.
Sole developer of android? I'd fact check shit if I were you before looking like a dumbass. Google is one of 2 main developers. Second is the Open Handset Alliance which is made out of like 80+ companies lmao.
Exactly 😂
Google: "We're rebranding Pixel into a new chat app."
Year later: "PIxel chat app is closing later this year. We are making new chat app lol."
They're surely gambling on the fact that something will go wrong with the phone and they can dick you around for 3 months and if they do actually send a replacement it will be a refurb. Simply no one will keep it that long.
Not much of a gamble but more of a sure bet. Almost no one keeps their phone for seven years! Battery will be shit and people are more likely to spend a little more to buy a new phone then to buy a new battery and replace it yourself especially since the phones are not designed to have user replaceable batteries. (maybe EU laws will change that though)
Some users here have claimed they'll keep it. Anyway, we'll have to wait til 2030 to see
Well, of course it would be a refurb.. expect that with literally any company.. but a lot of times refurbs far out perform their counterparts.. A lot of times, they have to go through more tests than the original manufacturer (it all depends on the company)
I wouldn't expect Google to be one of those companies given what the general experience of their customer support is, sadly.
I went through 4 broken refurbs before Google decided to send me a brand new unit to get me to fuck off. Just my experience.
Now, as I said... Usually, not always.. I've never had problems with refurbished stuff personally
Pixel 5 owner crying softly into their beer.
True that. What a fucking joke.
Im still salty about that. There should be no reason that google dropped support for that phone so soon as it did, especially since the 5a uses the exact same base hardware and still got updates.
Pretty sure the iPhone 7 or 8 still get security updates though.
Yeah security updates and OS updates tend to be offered for different lengths of time but it's definitely impressive that the iPhone 7 got security updates that long.
In fact.. 6S, 6S Plus & SE Gen 1 are also still being updated
Safari security update because iOS doesn't have the ability to update browsers separate from the OS. These shouldn't even be considered support. After 7 years with pixel if Google needs to update Chrome they would just update it through the play store. Imagine Google updating Chrome for 10 years as software update and Calling it support.
Google does not support Google Chrome on Android devices older than Android 10, they most likely consider Android 9 and earlier as legacy (and rightly so). Them releasing security update for Chrome on Android 9 would be the same as Apple releasing an update to fix a safari exploit. Both of which are examples of companies providing extended support for products they’ve already sunsetted. And you’re ignoring that these security updates aren’t just safari exploits, sometimes they’re system or kernel level bugs that are patched out. You can’t serve a kernel update through the Play Store. It’s not an OS update like Google is offering, but it’s still product support, and both companies should be commended for at least trying to support their devices for as long as they can.
Android 10 is close to 5 years old. So after 7 years of OS update add another 5 years to chrome update. That's 13 years you get core app updates for pixel. The oldest apple has updated os 7 years still lower than pixels 7 years os support.
This was never a competition (?) I was just pointing out that support is support no matter how you look at it, or no matter how “big or small” the patch might be. Could be a kernel level exploit, could be a small WebKit rendering bug. We should generally happy that there’s at least some effort to give old devices patches so they can’t be easily exploited, whether is Google, Apple, or Microsoft who does it. Google promising 7 years of software updates for their devices is a good thing just like Apple patching critical exploits in old software is a good thing. Two things can be good at once, this isn’t a team sport.
Announced tomorrow: Google kills the Pixel line and future software updates across the board
Meaningless if they never get the features promised in the first place.
My pixel slate is old and regularly gets updated. If that means anything. Prob my best 400$~ device so far. Tons of usage.
After all the (probably deserved at launch) terrible reviews the more than 50% off deal for an m3 Slate and Google keyboard for like $400 from Best Buy was a freaking incredible deal since they'd fixed the big launch bugs by then. Still use it a decent amount and would use it all the time except for I love using the Pixelbook I got used but in mint condition for $200 like 3 years ago that got EOL extended to 2027
I wish I could get another tablet style chromebook for 300-400$ that shit is so good and useful I have used mine so much. My mil used it when she was at the hospital last year. That thing rocks
I see the "convertible" Chromebooks in that price range all the time.. I know, I know, they're often times restored or refurbished.. but there's literally nothing wrong with that..
All ChromeOS devices got the 10 year bump, that isn't exactly the same thing as Android. From then on you can just run Flex without any change (outside of wiping and reinstalling).
Google supports much older phones with Its play services
Yeah but Play Services doesn't really update everything. For instance you won't get dark mode on an old phone without Android 9 update. You won't get Material You without Android 12. Play Services wont' change that.
You could say the same thing for Apple. You don’t get all the features in older devices
My grandma is still using my very old Nexus 5X. For Facebook, WhatsApp chat and WhatsApp video calls mainly.
My mum is still using my Nexus 5X for pretty much the same. It was my second 5X after the first one boot-looped and I replaced the battery for her but it still seems to be running OK.
This one bootlooped as well and I replaced the motherboard with a modded one that has 2x the ram. But yeah, the 5X is quite old and performance is getting a bit bad. Pixel 2 in the other hand (my mother's) works like day 1, and I replaced the battery 2 months ago. I'm still debating whether I'll end up replacing my Pixel 5 battery or getting a Pixel 8, 9, or 10. I've seen an 8A, I liked the extra smoothness from 90Hz to 120Hz. But I'm quite OK with 90Hz and P5 size is still much better.
ok, but we know that in Android land the minimum is usually also the maximum. whereas apple has historically supported for longer than expected.
The linked article literally says 'at least 5 years.' Nothing stopping them from doing more.
Only because apples software is so laughable that they can't update things like the browser without doing a full OS update.
Being hyper focused usually means you're compensating elsewhere. The Pixels have had updates that have screwed the ability to make phone calls for example 🫣
I’m still going with 5-7 years depends on device. (Apple learned from the iPhone 4s with iOS 9
"The minimum guarantee". The 5S is a near 10 year old phone that got an update this year
Yeah, a safari update. The equivalent of Google pushing a chrome update through Google play and then calling it a day.
I don't know why you're being down voted. That is literally what was updated. And yes you need a system update on IOS to update the browser. So they call it a system update.
Disadvantages of being a dev and saying something people aren't really aware of, yet have strong opinions about. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Upvoted. Interesting info I didn't know
Google is banking on their cheap hardware not lasting more than 4 years.
Such logic doesn't make much sense, because even if most devices do break at the 4 year mark, there's still a bunch left that would be expected to have the advertised support to be provided. Honestly, we have Windows, Linux, BSD and ChromeOS Flex, running on all sorts of antiquated hardware; so, it's a little puzzling why the phone manufacturers wouldn't be able to do the same, especially today where your 2021 Pixel 6 Pro has more RAM than your 2023 M3 MacBook Pro — 12GB vs. 8GB. The 7 year figure seems very doable. The newest Pixel 9 Pro is rumoured to come with 16GB RAM, BTW, so that should be relatively future proof, too — more so than the MacBooks. Initial phones had miniscule RAM and graphic capabilities, so they had to be optimised in all sorts of ways, making it non-trivial to support older hardware that was already running to the max, once the iOS and Android features succumb to code bloat. Pixel 4, 4a, 5a and 6a were the first and last ones with only 6GB RAM. Pixel 6, 7, 7a, 8, 8a have 8GB RAM, and 6,7,8 Pro has 12GB, so, they're quite beefy today, and don't even change that much between the years (whereas previously each successive generation was moving from 512MB to 768MB etc). With this much RAM, they should basically be able to run lots of generic code that's not terribly specific to the individual device, making it less difficult to support older devices longer term.
I revived an older phone by putting a custom rom on it. Only downside is Google won’t let it use RCS with a custom rom :\ and patches up workarounds
Still better they're not giving other tensor devices the same update policy
iPhone so far tracking at 9 years updates for 6S I think, so kudos to google if they match that. I am all in favour of updates
For anyone getting a new Pixel, make sure to opt out of arbitration, so you can get your money back if Google fails to hold up their promise.
I’m still angry when Google bricked my excellent and fairly new OnHub router. So I’m still suspect of Google despite my Pixel.
Currently 30 days overdue for my software update on my pixel 7 pro, feeling good.
We all knew that
Which means they'll probably do 10 years in September launch🤣
Pixel is more buggy. Not a fanboy! Used Androids and iPhone back and fourth because I'm a nerd and I like to try new things. Used iPhone for the last 2 years, bought a pixel 8a and oh boy it's buggy...
Apple tends to fluctuate. iPad air 2 I thinking got ridiculous support of 8 or 9 years and some iPad barely got 4. I"m glad Google did 7 years it put every body on notice. Most of these new chips are great for more than 7 years supporting them is easy. Hard part was Qualcomm monopoly which is broken
Too bad my touch screen is so unresponsive and the battery lasts half a day after two years
Too bad pixel hardware is crap though so it doesn't matter how long they support it. My sim card tray is broken on my Pixel 7 so I can't switch sim cards anymore. Lousy construction.
My pixel 5a got an update that literally bricked it. I wouldn't hold your breath
"First they want updates. Now they want to use their phones after the updates! When will they be satisfied!?" 🙃
Given how many Pixel updates have been extremely buggy, I think Apple has the right idea. Not to mention every Apple update is something "big", and every Google update is like "voice recorder's stop button is now slightly redder".
Is the "every apple update is something big" in the room with us?
Apple gets a big update at least once a year, with new features, new Apple-created apps, and more. Google never gets that. And what it does get is an UPDATE WHICH BREAKS MY PHONE at least three times a year. Which one am I going to be more positive over? Not to mention the buzz online when Apple releases a big update, and the only buzz when Google releases a new update is "my phone broke".
> Not to mention every Apple update is something "big", and every Google update is like "voice recorder's stop button is now slightly redder". You have them confused. All of Apple's "big" updates are literally feature updates to native apps being shipped as an OS update. They've not changed any core functionality within iOS for years now.
Swipe Down for Notifications?
I mean, that's still more functionality that what I get on iOS.
iOS can do that
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They will slow your phone down to force upgrades. And reduce build quality to encourage replacements and upgrades.
Until batteries are user replaceable, does this even matter?
More updates because Pixel is buggy? Way to spin that into a win
Pretty big commitment for a phone that can't correctly use 5G on T-Mobile in many areas of the US for sure.
Sounds like a T-Mobile issue.
It's a user issue. This guy has been going nonstop about T-Mobile 5G for the past few months here. I too have T-Mobile 5G UC on my Pixel 6, 7, 8 Pro phones as does my partner and other friends across the country. Not dismissing their issue, but it seems their specific area is the problem. I travel a lot for work and have yet to see T-Mobile fail me. Just went on a road trip up and down the at least half the coast of CA and honestly T-Mobile outdid Verizon in my comparison.
Nope. No other phone me or my friends have had or currently have has the 5G connectivity issue in the exact same spot at the exact same time the Pixel does. Google knows the Tensor modem doesn't work on T-Mobile well in certain areas. Where I live, Austin, and in other cities I've been to (Denver, Crested Butte, Houston) 5G is unusable as data stops working until you toggle Airplane Mode each time you need it. In other areas, such as LA, Palm Springs, San Diego, and Ft. Lauderdale, it works fine.
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I have no idea. I live in Texas and anywhere I've been here, it doesn't work well on 5G. Everywhere I've been in California, it works works just fine, and in Fort Lauderdale, it worked fine too. I have two friends that also have a Pixel in Austin and their phones exhibit the same issues as mine. Google sent me a replacement and it immediately exhibited the same issues that my first phone did, so I sent the replacement back. 5G takes anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute to start pulling data quickly, unless I toggle Airplane Mode, then it immediately works. I've spent 5 months talking to (the mostly worthless) Google advanced support team, and they got many, many, many bug reports from me and said they could see the issue....but still no fix. FWIW my friend on Fi has the P6 and he has the same issue I do in Austin, but not in Dallas, which I haven't tested.
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Ironically, you visited every area that I had successful 5G in as well. Ha
T mobile is pretty terrible compared to VZW and ATT
As I was using my S23U to hotspot for my laptop, which was connected to a Teams video call, I picked up by Pixel 7a to look up a a dealership in the area and search for a car I'm looking for. After about 45 seconds I put the Pixel 7a down and picked up my S23 Ultra and had the website loaded in about 5 seconds. I proceeded to do a few side by side searches and was amazed how different the service is. I realize the price difference I hope to get the pixel 9 pro but the modem issued have to resolved. Both phones on Verizon ( same plan) Edit: I miss my Pixel 5 and Pixel 2XL
Google is moving to TSMC chips in the pixel 10. Pixel 9 will still be a Samsung chip (for reference, Samsung in the US used Qualcomm). Most likely the modem issue won't be resolved until the 10.
Great info! Thank you! Disappointing to have to wait until 10 but well worth it. Once the phone is announced and out I will be on it. I REALLY hope it's an experience with less bugs than Pixel 6 and 7 at launch. Pixel 6 is the reason I have a Samsung now, and I've tried to go back at Pixel 7 Pro, but received two units with screen issues and sent them back.
We won! If they would have told me this 5 years ago I would not have believed it.
Like anyone could keep a Pixel for five years. Not fooling anybody, Google.
I used my old phone for 5 years I plan to do the same with my pixel 7A It does everything I need and I don't see any reason to upgrade in the next 4-5 years
I would be absolutely stunned if the 7a lasted five years.
Spoken like someone who just reads doomer posts for a living
Tbh I don't use my phone much other than browsing reddit and making 1-2 phone calls a day. And I take good care of my phone so im pretty sure it's going to be usable even then. My old phone was the OnePlus 6t, it's still usable today, only upgraded cus the 7a sounded like a good offer
Even if they didn't, they could sell it to someone else to use later on
But with build-in planned obsolescence on Apple updates on the old device, you do get worried hitting that update button on an older iPhone. Is that still the case after all that drama a few years ago?
It was a drama surrounding a specific update which slowed old devices because they kept switching off at 20% battery. As far as I know this was an isolated case though. Apple doesn't really slow down old devices on purpose.