• Positronic@lemdro.id
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      7 months ago

      It costs less than any of Apple or Google’s offerings and they do not make money through software and services unlike Apple or Google. I think it’s unreasonable to expect 7 years or more of OS updates on a phone that costs $300-400. They should do better on their flagship though, it costs double but still has the same support.

      • setVeryLoud(true);@lemmy.ca
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        7 months ago

        It’s still hardware in the trash in 4 years, regardless of cost to the end user. I intend to keep my Pixel 6 until it dies or runs out of security updates in 3 years, whichever comes first.

        • Positronic@lemdro.id
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          7 months ago

          I don’t know if the hardware will be good enough in 4 years anyways. They’ve cut corners to get to that price point, the chip is similar to the 778G from 3 years back and it’s using UFS 2.2. Honestly the phone feels like it was made for India and the marketing indicates that. They don’t have many options with a clean OS and 3 years of OS updates at that price point there.

          • setVeryLoud(true);@lemmy.ca
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            7 months ago

            I don’t see why cheaper hardware would have to last less long, or even if it should, from an ethical and e-waste standpoint.

            • Positronic@lemdro.id
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              7 months ago

              It might not be powerful enough to run the software longer and the hardware may show it’s age. Secondly the cost of the phone cannot be ignored either, more software updates means more money spent on software development. Android updates have to be certified by Google. This process costs money. It isn’t feasible to expect a company to provide more than 4-5 years of updates at that price point unless they start charging for updates or make money through services or ads.

              • setVeryLoud(true);@lemmy.ca
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                7 months ago

                I guess that’s fair, it’s wishful thinking on my part that mobile computing could be like laptops or desktops. I still personally wouldn’t get a device without a long update guarantee, you get better bang for your buck even with a pricier device since you’re keeping it longer and it’s better for the environment.

                • Positronic@lemdro.id
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                  7 months ago

                  True, although you’d have to pay quite a bit extra to get 7 years of updates as this phone is half the MSRP of a Pixel 8. The 7a is a year old now so it’ll likely only get two more years of OS updates and four years of security patches. Tbf it is good Nothing are providing 3 updates since the phone is $300 in India and €349 in Europe. The Poco X6 Pro matches the update commitment but MIUI had a reputation for being buggy outside China. HyperOS (MIUI’s successor) also has ads in system apps and a lot of pre-loaded bloatware. It does have a faster chip and storage compared to the Phone 2a though so there are pros and cons to both devices.