cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60123252
Unihertz is one of the only phone manufacturers still making small phones. The Jelly Max is the only compact 5G Android phone on the market.
BUT… Unihertz has a terrible track record when it comes to supporting their phones. Most OEMs issue Android and security updates for years. Unihertz phones often get less than 1 year of software/firmware support, including security updates. In a recent email to me, Unihertz confirmed, verbatim, “We don’t update our phones very often. And we’re not sure of the exact frequency of updates.”
This is crazy, and it doesn’t have to be this way. Chris Allegretta has argued that Unihertz could allow the Lineage project to take over the Jelly Max and ensure that the phone is supported for years to come, simply by sending them some restore zips and 5 pre-prod units. That’s it!
Tell Unihertz: Either support the Jelly Star, or help the Lineage team take it over.
Unihertz also told me, “we do collect user feedback and forward it to our technical department. They will evaluate the feedback and implement updates if necessary.” So let’s give 'em some feedback!
Their email is:
service@unihertz.com
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LineageOS support would definitely make me more interested in the Jelly Max. I have considered it a few times but there’s just no way I could justify the purchase with the doubts I have over its long-term viability.
now that I look into it other phones of theirs are interesting too. I mean 3" with jack and IR, and still a lot of memory.
unfortunate that o far none of them have clean rom support
Yeah they are all interesting ideas that appeal to some kind of niche, but their inability to support them as a small company undercuts most of that. It is a problem for most manufacturers though, even relatively big ones like Motorola are quite poor when compared to the big three (with regards to software support) of Apple, Samsung and Google.
How is the situation with banking apps and DRM stuff on Lineage? Would the following be possible?
- Unihertz would give all files necessary for LineageOS to support Jelly Max
- The Lineage community would provide the sources with support for Jelly
- Unihertz would build and sign an official build of LineageOS
Their update policy is pretty bad, but to be honest, nothing to complain for their price points. I guess they pretty much live by selling new devices regularly, because at their margings and with their tiny market, you’ll need volume by any means.
Thank you @mulcahey@lemm.ee
