I would gladly use my Pixel 4a (5G) another few years but its support ends in two months [1]. Even though I run GrapheneOS, the open source community is not capable of maintaining firmware, kernel and vendor code [2].
* Subject to of course willing volunteers.
While LineageOS can easily extend a phone's lifetime by several years, it's not a real replacement for manufacturer support. I think GrapheneOS's take makes sense, especially for a security-oriented ROM.
[1] https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/qualcomm-vuln...
More common exploits target things like the GPU drivers. They require code execution on the device (i.e., an app you've downloaded) but they can be an easy path to root access for attackers targeting specific devices.
Realistically, people use phones long beyond their official software support lifetime. Plenty of unhacked phones going around still running Android 8. Android's fragmentation makes it hard to write a one-size-fits-all exploit chain like on you can on iOS.
Just make sure to only run apps from sources you trust and to update your browser, and I'm sure you should be fine for another few years.
If you want to, you can run ROMs like LineageOS. They won't fix the binary blobs, but they'll patch the open source version of Android and keep you up to date in that regard. My phone stopped receiving updates after an Android 11 update and now it's running last week's Android 13 build, patching a whole bunch of Android runtime vulnerabilities. Many phones in use today are vulnerable to a zero-click Bluetooth exploit that would be fixed by installing LineageOS or something similar to that. The newer Android version also provides me with all of the privacy improvements that have been made in Android 12 and 13. I'm hopeful that it'll run Android 14 as well, though depending on a volunteer project isn't a guarantee of course.
In theory my phone could probably be hacked quite easily though the outdated GPU drivers, but in practice I don't think I'm at that great a risk unless I try to start pirating games or something.
It's worth noting, however, that all of their newer flagships (based on a CPU design they have more control over) have guaranteed security updates for 5 years after release.
FWIW I despise Google and do my absolute best to avoid compensating them, but I do think things like their guaranteed security updates are a step in the right direction, and hopefully we can only get further improvements from here.
I’m not against economy but it should be a tool to empower humanity, not the opposite.
There would still be warranty periods. But the company would be required to indefinitely continue selling replacement parts, provide repair services (or support third party repair services with manuals, schematics, etc), issue security updates for critical vulnerabilities, etc.
No way am I getting rid of my Pixel 5 in a month, it still runs like a champ. Can anyone tell me realistically what are the risks of running a phone without security updates? If it's worth anything, I almost exclusively run FOSS apps from F-Droid.
Wonder why it is so short: is support that expensive for many models? or simply to force users into unneeded upgrades (F* that).
I've never understood people talking about "support", still rocking a 7 year old phone (have changed the battery) with fairly recent lineageos. Only really use floss apps though and don't browse weird sites.
I use a computer for serious stuff.
If you really cared about waste you could a) not buy a phone with limited support if for some mystical reason you care for that or b) find ways to use the phone without support.
When you are being targetted, you soon find out that these big and small businesses cant save you from criminals.
The antibiotics were stolen in the hour or so it took for me to walk my dog and the only person in the house during this time was Lorraine Botwright https://www.lakenheath.af.mil/News/Features/Display/Article/...
I should add, from a very young age I've been drugged by my own parents and made to do stuff naked with what can only be described as something like scopolamine.
But you know the govt doesnt teach you what parents can and cant do to you, just like the legal system doesnt teach law to anyone either!
Makes me wonder who are the real criminals?
I'm pretty sure I've managed to do something late night and wake up to it thinking the same (and as far as I know I dont have CO build up lol)