This is old news, 5 months old. I thought they meant more manufacturers apart from google and samsung.
The article says “manufacturers” but then only mentions Samsung in the article…
Not exactly a surprise tbh because they have to compete with iPhone. And I bet it’s only for flagship devices. I can’t see the budget devices getting this.
That’s typical clickbait: give a vague title to make people click.
Google is also giving support for its Pixel devices since the Pixel 8 line.
And their Pixel 8a is also going to get 7 years of support, which is neat.Hopefully others follow.
That is good news.
Cynical me says there’s some sort of catch though. They are commiting themselves to sell fewer phones. How else are they going to make their money?
Then again perhaps they are accepting they can’t keep going on as they have been.
This is for the S series lineup. Samsung still have their A series and M,F,C series in other markets.
I see it as the other way around. People are going to keep their phones for longer whether or not they fix the security issues that emerge. It’s better to fix the issues, to improve user perception and user experience.
Smart phones are on increasingly longer replacement cycles before the announcement. Perhaps they see the writing on the wall.
Ignoring the fact that few folks keep the same device for 7 yrs to begin with, this is only good news for app support life.
The actual title of the topic should be:
“Android app support is getting even better”
This is essentially a nothing burger for hardware in the grand scheme of things but sure. We’ll take it. Whatever.
I suppose it’s a pretty big win for the aftermarket selling off older devices. More than a few brands still absolutely refuse to adopt this, however. Looking at you, Motorola.
What about the battery? I doubt they support free battery replacements for 7 years…
Insane request.
That would be too far fetched in reality.
They should at least make it easy to buy a genuine battery over that lifespan. Nobody should have to browse eBay & AliExpress for a replacement component that could theoretically explode.
Manufacturers should also be forced to promote battery recycling practices & initiatives too. They are tossing endless amounts of them onto rubbish piles via planned obsolescence and yearly updates.
Attempts have been made to improve battery longevity in software, but at the end of the day battery chemistry sets the rules.
