Debate: How many years of software updates should flagship phones get?

Join the discussion
Augustine
Augustine
Arena Master
• 1y ago

Surely the resale value of a phone would be proportional to its being kept current, regardless of how long the first buyer kept it. Given that phones are replaced typically after a couple of years, OS updates for 3 years and frequent, say quarterly, security updates for 5 years wouldn't be unreasonable for any phone, not only flagship ones.

Like
Quote
Charlie2k
Charlie2k
Arena Apprentice
• 1y agoedited
↵MariyanSlavov said:

Faiphone sold around 120,000 devices last year, up from around 88,000 in 2021 and 23,000 in 2018. I'm sure there's a Linux-based phone somewhere that will be updated until the end of time :)), but is it really relevant when nobody has ever heard about it?

Fairphone only retails in Europe and here most people know what brand it is. And they have bigger impact on your favorite brands than you might think. Most new EU laws concerning smartphones stems from Fairphone practices. Right-to-repair, spare-parts-availability, 5year software updates for everyone etc, thats now forcing the big international dragons to involuntary change their entire businessmodels. Man, just give some recognition to trend-setting brands no matter how small they might be.

Like
Quote
propov
propov
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago

For me, more than 3 years does not make sense. Modern phones get old too fast. After 3 years they either fail or their battery is very weak. They also become too slow and buggy. Which of you is using a 3-year-old or older phone? 10% or less. if the phone is still alive, it is given to the children or grandparents. They don't install updates. They are absolutely against it because the changes confuse them. It is better to work more on optimizing the new current models.

Like
Quote
gagiagia
gagiagia
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago

android peaked , any update now is just some gimmick that will make 0 difference in user experience , should get at least security patches

Like
2
Quote
andrewc31394
andrewc31394
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago
↵propov said:

For me, more than 3 years does not make sense. Modern phones get old too fast. After 3 years they either fail or their battery is very weak. They also become too slow and buggy. Which of you is using a 3-year-old or older phone? 10% or less. if the phone is still alive, it is given to the children or grandparents. They don't install updates. They are absolutely against it because the changes confuse them. It is better to work more on optimizing the new current models.

the VAST majority of users has already been proven to be keeping their phones for longer than before due to them getting more expensive. so it'sore. important now than ever to increase update durations. do your research before babbling nonsense.

Like
1
Quote
stferrari
stferrari
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago
↵gagiagia said:

android peaked , any update now is just some gimmick that will make 0 difference in user experience , should get at least security patches

Same can be said for IOS.

Like
2
Quote
Alvee1
Alvee1
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago

Microsoft has always offered 10 years of updates for Windows. No reason why Android and Apple can't do the same for phones. Our smartphones have replaced our computers for most things anyway. I'm sure it's so they can sell more phones.

Like
1
Quote
.KRATOS.
.KRATOS.
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago

5 yrs plus

Like
1
Quote
Mariyan Slavov
Mariyan Slavov
Phonearena team
Original poster
• 1y ago
↵Charlie2k said:

Fairphone only retails in Europe and here most people know what brand it is. And they have bigger impact on your favorite brands than you might think. Most new EU laws concerning smartphones stems from Fairphone practices. Right-to-repair, spare-parts-availability, 5year software updates for everyone etc, thats now forcing the big international dragons to involuntary change their entire businessmodels. Man, just give some recognition to trend-setting brands no matter how small they might be.

Ok, let's give some credit where credit is due. As a matter of fact, one of my best friends (who's a security nerd) bought a fairphone. It was actually pretty laggy and buggy so he switched eventually :)) But you're right, the brand may have swayed the EU in the right direction.

Like
Quote
G1andonly
G1andonly
Arena Apprentice
• 1y ago
↵Annyms said:

There is actually no reason to have a new OS release each year. Both iOS and Android are stable now, with addition of new meaningful features decreasing with each version. We can have OS upgrades similar to Windows. The major versions are spaced 7 to 8 years apart with biannual minor upgrades. We can have a major upgrade every 2-3 years and minor upgrade every quarter. This way users can have new features every quarter and the OEMs can also support the devices for longer(no changes to APIs for major version).

I totally agree

Like
Quote
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless