So I now have a pristine, new, Spring S7 Edge, on the original firmware. It's an insurance replacement for my first one, which had both of the OTAs applied. So now I have a conundrum. Do I update, or stay pat?
I've applied the APN dun mod, and know from experience that mod remained through the OTAs. But if I'm ever forced to take a Profile update, it'll go away and likely can't be done again. Tethering isn't something I do very often, and losing it wouldn't kill me, but it's a nice convenience.
My battery life is fantastic, even though the Android System percentage is ridiculously high. The last OTA reduced the percentage of battery assigned to System, but overall battery life seemed worse. But, in truth, it was still good enough for my needs.
If I stay where I am, I'm stuck on the February security patch, instead of April (and probably May in a few weeks). I've never been hit by Android malware, but it would still be safer to be up to date.
The OTAs seemed to speed up, and maybe improve the reliability, of the fingerprint scanner, and in general clean up some rough edges in the way the phone performs, but again, no drastic changes that i noticed. But there are a number of improvements, it seems, according to Sprint's update log.
WiFi calling isn't working on the new phone, and was on the old. Hopefully I can get that fixed without having to take an update. There was another thread around here from someone who had to get Sprint involved to fix WiFi calling on their back-end, but nothing on my provisioning should have changed.
Anyway, does anyone see any compelling value in the OTAs? If not, I'm inclined to wait and see what the next one brings.
If I was in your shoes, I would stay put on the original firmware. I got the best battery life on that version. I oh so wish I could downgrade.
I'm hoping the May update will return things to the way it was.
Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
I'm still on the original. My motto is if it ain't broke don't fix it. I haven't had any problems and have excellent battery life. I haven't seen anything in the updates to motivate me to take one. I'm never first to update, I always wait for the pros and cons
Sent from my SM-G935P using XDA-Developers mobile app
meyerweb said:
So I now have a pristine, new, Spring S7 Edge, on the original firmware. It's an insurance replacement for my first one, which had both of the OTAs applied. So now I have a conundrum. Do I update, or stay pat?
I've applied the APN dun mod, and know from experience that mod remained through the OTAs. But if I'm ever forced to take a Profile update, it'll go away and likely can't be done again. Tethering isn't something I do very often, and losing it wouldn't kill me, but it's a nice convenience.
My battery life is fantastic, even though the Android System percentage is ridiculously high. The last OTA reduced the percentage of battery assigned to System, but overall battery life seemed worse. But, in truth, it was still good enough for my needs.
If I stay where I am, I'm stuck on the February security patch, instead of April (and probably May in a few weeks). I've never been hit by Android malware, but it would still be safer to be up to date.
The OTAs seemed to speed up, and maybe improve the reliability, of the fingerprint scanner, and in general clean up some rough edges in the way the phone performs, but again, no drastic changes that i noticed. But there are a number of improvements, it seems, according to Sprint's update log.
WiFi calling isn't working on the new phone, and was on the old. Hopefully I can get that fixed without having to take an update. There was another thread around here from someone who had to get Sprint involved to fix WiFi calling on their back-end, but nothing on my provisioning should have changed.
Anyway, does anyone see any compelling value in the OTAs? If not, I'm inclined to wait and see what the next one brings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would take the updates, your going to have to face the music at some point as I have already accepted this phone may never have root :crying:
Your on release day software and last time I checked I have never wanted to stick with the earliest builds. It's not like they rolled out OTA's only to block the APN settings, other things were done I'm sure just based on the size of the OTA's. While I didn't have any problems with it, I prefer to be on the latest versions. Not like these OTA's are beta buggy nightly builds, they have to go through the act of congress just to get approval to push them to the public.
I haven't had any issues with the latest build and I rarely used the hotspot anyway. It was nice to use a few times a year but I don't support people who abuse the piss out of it because they are too cheap to buy a wired line.
My golden rule is hard reset after any OTA if you have any issues. I can't tell you how much I will have people ask me, my phone does this, or that or bla bla. Let me guess, you took a big OTA and didn't hard reset. I'm a firm believer in clean installs.
You can avoid it for a while, but your only going to get more behind and of course I think chances will be higher for root exploits on older builds, this thing is locked down and locked again so I just decided to deal with it. Kinda sad I saw all the threads deleted in the Android development section. Just my opinion if tether was that important or root we would have went with different phones. We got a lucky break with the release software having a loophole which was quickly patched in turn locking you out of any new updates for the life of the phone unless a miracle is achieved.
I'm not worried about rooting. I don't plan to root this device anyway, unless at some point it becomes necessary (and possible) to move onto post Android "N" software.
The main reason I hesitate is that battery life really did seem to get worse with the updates, rather than better. Hotspot is something I would prefer to keep but, like you, is something I really only use occasionally.
I think I'll wait and see what the next OTA, with the May security update, looks like. Unless it causes significant problems, I'll probably update then. I'm not having any obvious issues with the software I have now.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I would Not take the update. I have 2 one updated and one on pb5 amd the one on original software out performs the updated version in every way. Plus i have access to apns Hotspot etc
Sent from my SM-G935P using XDA-Developers mobile app
Do not update!
Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
If you do want to update, switch phones with me ?
Sent from my SM-G935P using XDA-Developers mobile app
Related
I'm still on my G1, but my contracts about to be up! yay!
I was thinking about upgrading to the g2, but it worries me that there is currently no permanent root.
the first thing that comes to mind is that I don't actually ever shut off my g1, so I may theoretically never have to reboot my phone, especially since this one has a nice improvement over battery life.
I find the hinge snapping down to be a bit annoying, but not too bothersome.
and having tethering removed is a major bummer, I haven't checked to see if you guys fixed this or not, but I suppose pda net would still work?
any other issues I should know about?
My main worry is that if a permanent root is not found then development for this device will never progress.
I guess it all depends on how likely this device is to get a perma-root
I'd like a devs point of view as to how likely he thinks it's going to happen.
also: i suppose another option is to wait a bit longer before I buy
pda net works. hinges on my phone arent bad. phone was designed, so that the keyboard could slide out easily with one finger. battery is great, performance is great, camera is great videos/pics, and this is on stock rom. this is my 5th smart phone and its def. by far my favorite. i think i have enough phones to compare and im a heavy user. i provide network support @ a FBO airport, which means phones gets USED alot.
that's great to know, thanks.
but I've just thought of something else:
of course it's probably a stupid question and T-mobile/HTC/Google(I can't tell if this is supposed to be a Google experience phone or not) probably already thought of this but theoretically: would the anti-root 'feature' prevent it from getting an OTA update for Gingerbread?
my main gripe with the phone is just the anti-root. I don't want to be locked into a phone for 2 years if it's software is going to become outdated
HTCs lock of the phone will not have any impact on OTA updates, so still expect gingerbread to be pushed to the phone, and likely not very long after release. Hopefully the OTA update can be captured and hacked by the community to allow for full unlock if it hasn't happened by then.
There are enough people working on it Im sure it'll happen, just a matter of time.
Even if you don't reboot, the phone will randomly lose root as the caches are flushed during normal usage.
grennis said:
Even if you don't reboot, the phone will randomly lose root as the caches are flushed during normal usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine has never lost root thus far without a reboot
you should buy a G2, in fact, you should buy mine! $400 no contract
swee08315 said:
I'm still on my G1, but my contracts about to be up! yay!
I was thinking about upgrading to the g2, but it worries me that there is currently no permanent root.
the first thing that comes to mind is that I don't actually ever shut off my g1, so I may theoretically never have to reboot my phone, especially since this one has a nice improvement over battery life.
I find the hinge snapping down to be a bit annoying, but not too bothersome.
and having tethering removed is a major bummer, I haven't checked to see if you guys fixed this or not, but I suppose pda net would still work?
any other issues I should know about?
My main worry is that if a permanent root is not found then development for this device will never progress.
I guess it all depends on how likely this device is to get a perma-root
I'd like a devs point of view as to how likely he thinks it's going to happen.
also: i suppose another option is to wait a bit longer before I buy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should wait for November 8th when Samsung announces whatever they're announcing. It might be the Nexus 2. Google it, it sounds like an awesome device. It should be simple to root too. I might exchange mine for it if it comes out within 30 days (I'm in CA)
ahorriblemess said:
You should wait for November 8th when Samsung announces whatever they're announcing. It might be the Nexus 2. Google it, it sounds like an awesome device. It should be simple to root too. I might exchange mine for it if it comes out within 30 days (I'm in CA)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bet money on the Samsung Galaxy Tab... maybe they want to discuss more of it or that off 2-screened Samsung Android phone
thanks for the heads up. I can wait for nov. 8th.
the g2 looks like it would be one of the best devices unless samsung does release a "nexus 2",
I had a G1 for two years, then upgraded to the Vibrant a couple months ago. I got sick of the abysmal battery life and switched to the G2 a few weeks ago, and I am very glad I did. The root issue is a minor annoyance at worst. Having to run the temp root app after the occasional reboot is a small price to pay for all the other benefits of the G2.
Samsung just came out with the galaxy S series. They're not going to do another high end smartphone this soon. Wait a couple days if you want to be sure, but I have no problem recommending the G2 now.
if yes so officially from motorola or by a rom?
It is my understanding that Gingerbread would require a change in kernal that can't be done due to it's locked bootloader. Though I could be wrong on that. As for a OTA update, I've read several lists that list the Droid 2 as a "possible" upgrade. In otherwords, it can happen, but I wouldnt hold my breath.
Yeah, Moto and Verizon have kept silent about what phones are getting upgrades. It would be nice if they would just put out a list, even if they don't give out dates.
I have been told by a VZW insider to not count on it. Note however this same source told me the Eris was dead, and just last week the Eris received an OTA update to fix things that needed to be fixed.
I only wished my Motorola insiders would tell me something, but they won't say a darn word, and they are friends, good friends.
I would imagine it's more of a decision of Moto than Verizon. I don't really see Verizon not releasing an upgrade for a phone that Motorola released. Thus I would pry more at the Moto guys than the Verizon guy, cause they'd likely just be guessing at what Moto will do.
In my personal opinion I really dnt think it matters if we get GB since we already have a lot of stuff better than the blur GB such as gummyjar, liberty! I mean if we do get it, were still going to bootstrap it and change the rom, well atleast I will lol
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
I'm almost positive we will get gingerbread. It would be pretty messed up for a high end device to never get one upgrade. Remember the D2 launched with froyo.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Very true.
I say if we don't get timely upgrades to keep our phones functional, we launch a class action lawsuit against Motorola.
Well the only thing about that is
A. Our phones are functional even without further updates
and
B. As far as I'm aware, there was nothing in the contracts we sign saying they HAVE to update our phones...
So from a legal standpoint, I doubt you could even get a class action lawsuit far.
(I realize you were probably joking, but this is true)
From what I've read, it looks like we could get Gingerbread on our own, because it doesn't require a new kernel.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA Premium App
OMG, why all wants new and new version of Android? GB totally suck, nothing new, only new graphic and ctrl+c and ctrl+v ... I don't like gingerbread almost. Its just only number, nothing more
Actually, I'm quite serious. If they hold us by contract to a single phone for two years, it is their responsibility to keep it updated with patches.
Rooted Droid 2 running Froyo 2.2 with the 2.3.20 update
Actually, unless it is something totally crippling, then once they've sold you the phone they don't have to anything. Because unless it is something crippling then there can be no argument made for usability, and as long as the phone is usable you would have no case.
-Gilgamesh- said:
Actually, unless it is something totally crippling, then once they've sold you the phone they don't have to anything. Because unless it is something crippling then there can be no argument made for usability, and as long as the phone is usable you would have no case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. They are not held by the contract you signed to update the android operating system AT ALL. Patches are one thing, as long as they are critical to the functionality of your phone. Seeing as how the current 2.3.20 is working fine with no major problems, they have no obligation to update android.
Google could require manufacturers to make any patches they put out available.
2.3.20 has problems, such as the phone sometime rebooting itself or not coming out of sleep mode when the power button is pressed. Those are issues that Motorola is supposed to address and fix. I paid for a working phone, not a problem.
silverfang77 said:
Google could require manufacturers to make any patches they put out available.
2.3.20 has problems, such as the phone sometime rebooting itself or not coming out of sleep mode when the power button is pressed. Those are issues that Motorola is supposed to address and fix. I paid for a working phone, not a problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see your point. However, 2.3 isn't a patch, its a complete system upgrade. Besides, forcing phone makers to push out EVERY udpate google puts out would be very expensive for the makers, and deter them from making further android phones.
I do think Moto should fix problems like those with maintenance releases, but that still does not obligate them to update them to 2.3
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have 2.3 on my d2, but I'm not holding my breath.
Sorry to jump in but what about the security issues present in the phone? They put people in harms way by not attempting to patch phones.You could make a case that the the security issues were unknown at the time you signed the contract making it invalid. I understand your point but the security factor is why just saying the phone works its not acceptable..at this time there is nothing a person can do to patch these exploits and we have the text message bug that could ruin your life..Its an interesting situation that needs too be fixed.please correct me if I am missing something here.
Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk
I actually love how people keep bringing up the contract. You have your service with Verizon, whom is also who sold you the phone, thus your contact is with Verizon, not Moto. Thus, your contract has not thing one to do with Moto, thus they could care less what your contract says. And because Moto is the one responsible with issuing the updates, not Verizon, Your contract doesn't relate in any way to any type of updates.
If you want class action, it should be against Motorola for their eFuse malware. This is the real reason we have no gingerbread on our phones. Custom ROMs would already be here which would be good enough for everybody but the most incompetent non-techies too afraid to even root.
I'd also argue that Motorola is fraudulauntly branding these devices as android. Every other manufacturer that sells android devices does not cripple them. I even did a little bit of research before I purchased my device and saw nobody warning about this. I figured "hey, android is open source, these are the most popular devices, what could go wrong?"
Absurd.
As soon as the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was available at T-Mobile, I bought it. And as soon as I got it home, I rooted it. Only later I found out about the KNOX security counter which I unknowingly tripped when I rooted it. I can't be the only one who has done this. Luckily I haven't had any issues or defects with my Note 3. But if I had, I would be stuck, wouldn't I? And if there are OTA fixes for bugs, which I heard there were, I'm also stuck, aren't I?
I just wanted to know, are some of these OTA fixes being provided via zip files that can be flashed for those unfortunate enough to root and trip the KNOX sensor before the XDA-Fix was released?
Also, I don't know if this is the first phone with this problem but has anyone had experience with a defective device that is KNOX-compromised but still received a replacement unit?
I know I'm grasping at leaves in the wind but the more I started to dwell on the possibility of future issues, it really made me feel uneasy, especially after paying a full $801.44 for this beast.
Tha Watcher said:
As soon as the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was available at T-Mobile, I bought it. And as soon as I got it home, I rooted it. Only later I found out about the KNOX security counter which I unknowingly tripped when I rooted it. I can't be the only one who has done this. Luckily I haven't had any issues or defects with my Note 3. But if I had, I would be stuck, wouldn't I? And if there are OTA fixes for bugs, which I heard there were, I'm also stuck, aren't I?
I just wanted to know, are some of these OTA fixes being provided via zip files that can be flashed for those unfortunate enough to root and trip the KNOX sensor before the XDA-Fix was released?
Also, I don't know if this is the first phone with this problem but has anyone had experience with a defective device that is KNOX-compromised but still received a replacement unit?
I know I'm grasping at leaves in the wind but the more I started to dwell on the possibility of future issues, it really made me feel uneasy, especially after paying a full $801.44 for this beast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I did not root straight away as I was certain an update might come out fairly close to the launch.. which it did... and as soon as that happened I rooted... only to find 2 days later that another update was released and a KNOX friendly root method came out! I was so frustrated by this, but I guess my root needs were pressing.
So I would also like to know how I can update my phone now, as I used CF Auto Root which keeps the stock recovery. I have learned a lot about these issues in the past with other phones but all this KNOX stuff has muddied the solutions somewhat.
I think there should have been a big warning somewhere to let people know that triggering knox you will lose your warranty.
I didn't root right away so I am lucky.
All my devices get rooted within minutes of receiving. For some reason I said "naw I will leave this alone for awhile"
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I am in the same boat, rooted as soon as I got it, knox now void.
I struggle to see why it should bother me. I can think very few eventualities where I would want to claim on the warranty, and maybe I'm naive to the way companies treat those claiming under warranty, but if a fault is hardware based, why should what I do to the software stop them from accepting responsibility? If the battery explodes it wasn't cause I deleted bloatware changed some UI elements.
I'm used to this sort of thing, I rooted immediately as I'm a typical power user that makes avid use of being able to read/write/delete system files in order to improve my overall experience with the phone.
The loss of the warranty is the only biggie, however, I ensured everything works like I feel it should from the speakers to signal strengths. Then I got insurance through squaretrade on the phone so I'm not particularly worried about much else now. If something does go wrong with the phone, it's almost guaranteed to be an insurance matter at this point.
Not receiving OTAs is fairly irrelevant; I'm probably going to stick with with stock or stock-based rom with this phone as I have been thrilled with the experience of the latest iteration of Touchwiz and I know I will always be able to get the latest updates through XDA as this community is just that amazing here. So yes, to directly answer your question, it is very likely that either on the general note 3 XDA forums or one of the carrier specific Note 3 XDA forums you'll be able to get the updates that correct particular elements of the software. So you won't ever miss out on anything, however you'll have to be more diligent in keeping up on the releases now since you won't just get a notification about them.
Same boat, but half the OTA updates are to unroot us anyways, and fortunately you can still flash the good ones.
Just WATCH OUT if you make a back-up. DO NOT FLASH RECOVERIES until you read about the efs, and brickloop
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I really want to get this Moto X because I loved the 1st gen so much, but I feel like we will get screwed over when it's time for Android N and Android O. I'm not sure if I should go Moto X for the next two years or Nexus 6p. I'm coming from a Nexus 5 as my daily driver and I love the Nexus advantage man. Opinions?
Prestige_DOPE said:
I really want to get this Moto X because I loved the 1st gen so much, but I feel like we will get screwed over when it's time for Android N and Android O. I'm not sure if I should go Moto X for the next two years or Nexus 6p. I'm coming from a Nexus 5 as my daily driver and I love the Nexus advantage man. Opinions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nexus guaranteed. Any other phone its up in the air. If you really care about immediate updates and bug fixes then its nexus. If updated are secondary or you can wait then moto. Plus anything can happen.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
monkeypaws said:
Nexus guaranteed. Any other phone its up in the air. If you really care about immediate updates and bug fixes then its nexus. If updated are secondary or you can wait then moto. Plus anything can happen.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how anyone could not have the latest update right away. I get so excited for new features I can't sit back and watch. Motorola claimed to be able to send get updates out faster due to no carriers but that doesn't guarantee support for the coming years its depressing this just hit me.
Really your preference, they are both solid devices. The better performer is the 6p, the moto x is a pretty close second. There's really no evidence comparing the two devices just yet, if that matters to you then wait a few more days until YouTubers post some comparison videos so you can get a closer look. Motorola is usually a month behind nexus devices for updates, but remember they are two to three months faster than your typical Samsung, lg etc..
playerone_ said:
Really your preference, they are both solid devices. The better performer is the 6p, the moto x is a pretty close second. There's really no evidence comparing the two devices just yet, if that matters to you then wait a few more days until YouTubers post some comparison videos so you can get a closer look. Motorola is usually a month behind nexus devices for updates, but remember they are two to three months faster than your typical Samsung, lg etc..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly the reason I went with moto instead of nexus. I also use my sd card (64gb) which I can't use in a nexus. They both run stock Android and are the best contenders right now for quick updates. Anyone else is going to be lagging behind or left behind.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
I really want marshmallow right now because of the memory merge feature sdcard will become internal memory no need to separate things anymore.
george241312 said:
I really want marshmallow right now because of the memory merge feature sdcard will become internal memory no need to separate things anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Soon.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Think we're forgetting the benefit of being able to unlock the bootloader and easily load ROMS with the MXPE. This will allow the unit to endure long past other limited phones that were not unlockable or rootable. Before the MXPE I owned a Note 3. And in the last month I installed a lollipop ROM that was side loadable and that really boosted its lifespan and useability. I owned that phone for two years which could easily have lengthened that useability to another year or better. I came pretty close to not even purchasing the MXPE due to this fact but I figured a unlocked BL phone along with the improved camera on the MXPE made it wise to upgrade at this time. Not too many phones anymore can be unlocked and that, to me, is a huge factor-allowing for future upgrades regardless what the carrier or Moto does.
Our bootloader is unlocked. Motorola has been good about releasing sources so far. We already have one or two ROMs for our device. I'm waiting for CM official to be released, personally. I think the chances of us getting these updates are decent, at least from the community development standpoint. Officially, I'm a little concerned beyond M, but I won't be staying on stock that much longer.
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
Prestige_DOPE said:
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well...not all new versions of operating systems are better than their predecessors... ie. Windows 8.
Now I am one who usually is a bleeding-edge technology user but with that comes the whole bugs issue. There are those who are a bit more conservative. These guys do not mind waiting for a more perfected solution. You sound like you are a bleeding-edge kind of guy and that is a very frustrating position to be in when there is something new and you can not have it due to your choice of phone/manufacturer. In that case I feel your pain. But for me the MXPE seems to be the the best balance in the regard.
Prestige_DOPE said:
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought this phone rather than a Nexus because of its SD. That's more important to me than waiting a month or two for M. Now, if a new Android version drops in a year and Moto denies MXPE owners the upgrade, I'll grit my teeth and think about moving back to Samsung. I'll admit, it would shock me though...
<rant>Headslap for Googler who nixed SD for the Nexus. Stupid.</rant>
george241312 said:
I really want marshmallow right now because of the memory merge feature sdcard will become internal memory no need to separate things anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prepare ur UHS-II card.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
In my honest opinion I don't think Motorola will abandon this device, they have put a lot of emphasis on their definition of the word "pure" and what it entails. Also, like a few people have stated, you can significantly increase the lifespan by easily unlocking the bootloader and installing custom roms. Once cyanogenmod rolls out a stable release they are usually followed by nightly updates, literally almost every night for a long, long time. My LG G2 has been getting nightly updates since 2013.
playerone_ said:
In my honest opinion I don't think Motorola will abandon this device, they have put a lot of emphasis on their definition of the word "pure" and what it entails. Also, like a few people have stated, you can significantly increase the lifespan by easily unlocking the bootloader and installing custom roms. Once cyanogenmod rolls out a stable release they are usually followed by nightly updates, literally almost every night for a long, long time. My LG G2 has been getting nightly updates since 2013.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all fun cool until their new flagship comes out. We'll see how they treat the 2014 Pure edition.
Prestige_DOPE said:
It's all fun cool until their new flagship comes out. We'll see how they treat the 2014 Pure edition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was the driving point for me leaving Samsung after the s3. Samsung would not even push any otas of the newest version of Android until their newest flagship with that update was released and had enough time in the light. They also hardly updated it to the newest version of touchwiz that the new flagship had, almost forcing those users to upgrade to get those features.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
monkeypaws said:
This was the driving point for me leaving Samsung after the s3. Samsung would not even push any otas of the newest version of Android until their newest flagship with that update was released and had enough time in the light. They also hardly updated it to the newest version of touchwiz that the new flagship had, almost forcing those users to upgrade to get those features.
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EXACTLY and to think... Carriers expected us to keep a phone for 2 years at that time.
Prestige_DOPE said:
But how do you guys feel on staying on a older version of Android when the new one gets released? Does it bother you any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This depends on the version I am left with. My G2 was left on a very buggy version Lollipop. I elected to stay on KitKat due to better battery life and overall better performance of the phone. I like to be on the latest version if it is better but am satisfied staying on an older version if it does everything I need. Granted, I am not a gamer and use my phone mostly for voice calls, emails, Tapatalk, web surfing as needed, and text messages.
None of the Android phones are getting updates on a schedule sufficient to come anywhere close to mitigating security vulnerabilities. Not even Nexus. Most phones are likely infected with malware, even Nexus. All it takes is one of hundreds of infected apps, still up for download from the Google Play Store.
This aspect of the Android ecosystem is shameful. Evidently, there is not enough money in the business model to do a good job at this. Google made a big PR release promising better updates for all including cheap Android One devices, and ratcheted the promises up further after the first Stagefright exploit hit the news, and what really came of all the promises? Not much. A little better update performance for the few big names already known for better (but still pathetic) update performance.
So since security is already nonexistent, and updates will never resolve that, the only remaining reason to care is fault corrections (aka bug fixes) and features/support. The XT1575 is not perfect but it does OK in those two categories for me at 5.1.1, no worse than other phones I've had. I'll take an OTA to get LTE Band 12 /VoLTE when it comes, but otherwise don't see a compelling reason to care much about updates since the security vulns are going to be there anyway, and updates always introduce at least as many faults as they fix.
As for long-term support: This whole thing converges on a 2 year life cycle. You run into rapidly diminishing returns after that, it's not worth it to keep the phone going after 2 years. (Spent a lot of time and money keeping phones going past 2 years, believe me it's not worth it, chunk it and get a new one after 2 years.) So who cares if updates stop somewhere after a year?
Prestige_DOPE said:
I don't see how anyone could not have the latest update right away. I get so excited for new features I can't sit back and watch. Motorola claimed to be able to send get updates out faster due to no carriers but that doesn't guarantee support for the coming years its depressing this just hit me.
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I don't jump on the newest Android versions immediately, for two reasons.
1). Compatibility issues.
For example, you have a new major version of Android out that changes the way some UI elements are displayed. Not every app you have installed will be updated to support that on day 1. A fully-functional-but-slightly-older phone beats a bleeding-edge-mostly-functional phone.
2). You lose root.
This isn't an issue on an unlocked bootloader phone like the MXPE. But to date, most Android phones have locked bootloaders, and only got root through discovering some exploit. A new version of Android means potentially losing root, and potentially requiring the dev community to find another exploit to gain root. A rooted-but-slightly-older phone beats an unrooted-and-carrier-bloatware-loaded phone.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
One of the strong points of the Nexus and Pixel line is that you can get frequent updates (https://developers.google.com/android/images). How will the updates look like from Essential? One time upgrade, and then abandon us? Or frequent ASOP updates with fixes?
Whatever they may say about it, we won't really know until the updates come or not. It's being said it's either very close to stock or stock so getting upgrades out should be easy enough in a practical sense.
I'm pretty sure Rubin said in his hour long interview witih Walt Mossberg that it would get regular month security updates, if not better.
The bigger concern is how long will they support the phone for? Just two or three years like Google (making the phone insecure and obsolete after that)? Or five years like Apple? Even more importantly, what if they just don't succeed. If the company folds after a year or two, there will certainly be no updates after that. That's a chance one takes with a new company.
The community will carry it for a while if they move enough of them. As to Rubin, the proof is in the pudding. We've been sold the regular updates thing before and never actually got them or had them stop short. Time will tell.
I don't see updates being a problem. It seems to pretty much be stock Android with a few added features for the cameras and their modules to be released.
Right, but the question is how long they will lag. Lots of manufacturers make claims about updates.
Have they made any statements?
I played with one yesterday and it is almost completely stock 7.1.1 except for the camera software and the little bits in the code that control the modules. I see Andy making sure this gets updated to Oreo by the time the new pixels drop. that is 2 months out. dont quote me though
This is what I wanted to know, since its basically stock. Will it get Oreo (Android 8.0) fairly soon?
SS2006 said:
This is what I wanted to know, since its basically stock. Will it get Oreo (Android 8.0) fairly soon?
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Considering how Android Oreo is built I say there is a good chance of quickish updates. 8.0 keeps the make Android code separate from any customizations now. They leave the hooks open do to your own thing besides their code. I think this is why Andy went super stock with 7.1.1 to make it easier later on and they can do more customization leader with their software because it will be easier after Oreo.
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MKBHD and I were talking to one of their software engineers (who use to work for Google as well) at the event on Monday and he told us they were already working on Oreo. In MKBHD's unboxing and first impressions video he mentioned a few of the things that were talked about in that discussion like it being easier to quickly update because it's so close to stock etc.. Although, once they release their home device with Ambient OS I bet we see more customizations on the phone firmware to accommodate that
One thing I question, why 7.1.1 vs 7.1.2? .2 offered a few neat last bit of features before 8.0 so its interesting why almost all OEM's have stuck with 1.1 before possibly jumping to 8.0.
IM0001 said:
One thing I question, why 7.1.1 vs 7.1.2? .2 offered a few neat last bit of features before 8.0 so its interesting why almost all OEM's have stuck with 1.1 before possibly jumping to 8.0.
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Unless I'm reading it wrong it looks like the 7.1.2 update was targeted for Nexus and Pixel devices. Most of the fixes fix issues specific to those devices so why would an OEM port an update that doesn't affect their device.
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superchilpil said:
Unless I'm reading it wrong it looks like the 7.1.2 update was targeted for Nexus and Pixel devices. Most of the fixes fix issues specific to those devices so why would an OEM port an update that doesn't affect their device.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
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This may be true, but it did also bring thins like the long touch shortcut feature as well as the fingerprint sensor swipe feature that may work on other hardware that had the same sensor hardware.
It's not a big deal, and though we have 8.0 now, I might want to wait a bit for Google to release a update to that as well hearing what I am from early adopters that have 8.0 now on their Pixel's. New features and battery life improvements plagued with persistent notifications, worse BT, and other odds and bits that seem like rushed bugs.
Exactly what I would expect from Version X.0 for a major OS change so not surprising at all.
cb474 said:
I'm pretty sure Rubin said in his hour long interview witih Walt Mossberg that it would get regular month security updates, if not better.
The bigger concern is how long will they support the phone for? Just two or three years like Google (making the phone insecure and obsolete after that)? Or five years like Apple? Even more importantly, what if they just don't succeed. If the company folds after a year or two, there will certainly be no updates after that. That's a chance one takes with a new company.
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A very valid concern. Especially since these sorts of people and companies throw a bunch of money at stuff and if it doesnt look like it is going to get the giant return on the investment they hope within a year or so then they do shut it down and move on to their next big thing.
My other concern with this is if we will get full kernel source or not as well. I would assume yes, since Andy helped make the deal about Andsroid being so open and sources available, but you never know with phone OEMs. Even though this is basically stock ROM, I bet the kernel source will be needed so we can interface the best with the accessory pins and make use of the custom camera stuff.
EniGmA1987 said:
A very valid concern. Especially since these sorts of people and companies throw a bunch of money at stuff and if it doesnt look like it is going to get the giant return on the investment they hope within a year or so then they do shut it down and move on to their next big thing.
My other concern with this is if we will get full kernel source or not as well. I would assume yes, since Andy helped make the deal about Andsroid being so open and sources available, but you never know with phone OEMs. Even though this is basically stock ROM, I bet the kernel source will be needed so we can interface the best with the accessory pins and make use of the custom camera stuff.
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Also, even if they make the kernel source available, will the phone be popular with developers? It seems like the sort of phone that might. As you say, Rubin is very supportive of open source (even on the hardware for the modules). But on the other hand, it's an expensive and quirky phone. Even the Pixel (with its huge price jump and move away from the Nexus brand) took much longer to catch on with developers than previous Nexus phones had. I'm hoping the devs like it.