One of the plagues of cheap smartphones is limited long-term support.
This is also a unique Android problem:
- Apple isn’t stepping into that territory: it just doesn’t sell phones for $ 150 to $ 200.
- Accordingly, it offers its iPhones longer-term updates for as long as possible, both in terms of security and functional breakdowns.
- The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from 2014 received updates in 2021, also because so many of them are still in use.
With all the goodness that has come from brands like Oppo and Xiaomi and their subsidiaries like Redmi and Realme to cheap, relatively powerful phones, there’s the problem of support.
My colleague Dhruv Bhutani, who at least has an eye on the Indian smartphone market, points out that adware and bloat are problems where ads give manufacturers the opportunity to make their phones, which are mostly produced at cost plus a few dollars. (And Apple also runs ads for its own products and services.)
But the real problem is software updates:
- “Samsung and OnePlus are getting better and better at providing long-term support for their phones. Unfortunately, these three year updates are only limited to premium devices. It’s the entry-level and mid-range hardware that really suffers. The OnePlus Nord N100, for example, is getting a pathetic single major update. “
- “Unfortunately, it’s important for companies to maximize their profits, and the cost of supporting an entry-level phone could well outweigh the potential revenue. Long-term software support requires a dedicated team that works on the phone, tests and issues monthly patches. Major Android updates require investments in license, certification and deployment costs. For many smartphone manufacturers, the calculation simply does not fit together between the variety of variants and costs. “
- And updates make hardware more durable. Longer support from apps, fewer security issues – even just the latest and greatest emojis to text friends with.
The solution? Well it means paying more for what no one wants, not even Dhruv suggesting it. And some have already pointed out that open source projects and small players like Fairphone manage to provide updates for older devices. Another argument is that planned obsolescence should be placed in history.
But listen to this discussion point:
- “A premium tier that offers an ad-free experience and the promise of extended support could strike a balance between hardware costs and software support.”
- “A subscription model could be the way out. It could reduce costs for buyers and make quality software more accessible while guaranteeing sustainable income for the manufacturer. “
- “Realistic, do I want that? Absolutely not. In an ideal world, your smartphone should be completely yours, both in software and hardware. However, the state of the smartphone market in regions like India is such that no brand wants to risk breaking the status quo. Smartphone buyers are so used to affordable hardware that trying to return at higher prices would be pointless. “
🌈 Huawei patent takes curved display design to a new extreme (Android authority).
⌚ Fitbit Charge 5’s latest leak is teasing a solid under $ 200 fitness tracker (Android authority).
📺 Watch: Naomi Wu tries to enforce GPLv2 compliance by simply going to a wireless brand office in Shenzhen to get the Android source code (Android authority).
📁 I always enjoy a Mr. Mobile look at flip phones and declare the third generation to be the first to bring flip phones … back: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 review(Youtube).
🍎 Apple news from Mark Gurman: A high-end M1X Mac mini with more ports than the current M1 version will be coming in the next few months (November I estimate, based on the M1 launch 2020) and Apple tested an iPhone 13 with touch ID, but probably won’t hit the market this year and Apple may only opt for Face ID in the display (Bloomberg)
🧠 Constant Desire: How Digital Media Made All of Us Dopamine Addicts (The guard).
🤦♀️ Facebook suppressed its first transparency report from Q1 because it didn’t look good, later revealed a second report from Q2, and then just called it the first report. Why? The post most shared in months was a questionable COVID story (The registry).
💻 Why not just make chips … huge? Fewer Chips, More Plates: Cerebras, a $ 450 million startup, is building massive plate-sized chips for AI applications (New Yorker).
🕸 It’s not your spider’s mind playing up – the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home has leaked (AV Club).
🛵 Honda’s new cute electric scooter U Be is only $ 475 and you can pedal it (to bypass the regulations, not because it’s a great electric bike) (CNET).
🔋 How Tesla engineers (before Elon Musk) solved the problem of exploding EV batteries, with information from journalist Tim Higgins’ new book, Power Play (Engage).
🚣♂️ Pelotons app indicates that a rowing machine could finally come (The edge).
🐟 Squids remember the what, when, and where of meals – even into old age, as opposed to human memories that fade (Ars-Technica).
🤔 “What paradoxes make your brain hurt?” (“Wrong password – change password – you cannot use the same password”) (r / askreddit).