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Comment by bootlooped | Hacker News Reader

With Android I think the case is not that they'll push updates that cripple older models; they just don't push updates at all.

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And Apple seems unlikely to do this given their growth is focused on services now. They need as many people on their devices as possible in order to sell them services.

iOS 12 has a pretty long list of supported devices, and objectively improved performance on the specifically the oldest ones on that list.

So what? I have a Huawei Mate S, from 2016. Quite good at the time, it's still totally serviceable. The lack of a replaceable battery is the only reason I'm starting to consider a replacement. I know, I'm not getting security updates anymore, but the average consumer doesn't care about that. I don't feel I'm losing much in terms of functionality from having an older version of Android.

At least with Android though you can install different, current, updated roms which are often better without the bloat that usually comes from the carrier, and a lot of them still get OTA updates. https://www.xda-developers.com/

And that helps a few geeks with a few phones. That is not a long term solution for most people.

Even worse, with most Android phones, you’re already starting out with slower processors than the iPhone of the same year.

The processor speed hasn't mattered to me for the last few years. I'm still using an "old" Galaxy S6 and it does everything I need it to just as fast as the day I bought it. I don't plan on upgrading anytime soon except maybe a battery replacement at some point, but a charge still lasts me most of the day. I'm not a part of the rat race for the latest and greatest to run apps that I don't care about, or want. I used to. Most apps are crap imo and a waste of time. I use my phone mostly as a work and communication tool and really just have like 5 apps installed. I've removed myself from the pointless yearly upgrade game. I no longer care about having the newest and shiniest gadget in my pocket. My quality of life is improved as I don't spend much time on my phone, and I've saved quite a bit of money since I bought the phone outright at the time of purchase. Nothing during the last few years is really revolutionary. You can throw more resolution at it and my eyes see it the same. I mean on something that is 5" or 6", 1080 looks about the same as 4k. You can throw in a higher clock speed and more memory, but my apps run just as fast.

> That is not a long term solution for most people.

I agree. Someone just needs to make an app to install roms from a repository source easy, so anyone can do it. Like how easy it used to be to jailbreak an iphone simply by just visiting a website and pressing a button.

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