I'm interested in the Pixel 4a. What is Google's track record with software updates like?

[john01dav]

I'm interested in buying a Pixel 4a, but I'm concerned about software updates. They guarantee updates until August 2023 (source), which while maybe sufficient, isn't ideal. I want to keep this phone for at least 5 years, and ideally 10 years (I just expect it to continue working as well as when I originally bought it for this duration of time — features should not effectively go away, e.g. due to hardware failure, viruses due to lack of updates, etc.), so I'm wondering what Google's track record is like wrt updates after their guaranteed window. Have they ever actually stopped pushing updates? I feel like this would make news, given their overall good reputation in this regard, but I'm not sure. Ideally I'd see a table of every phone model they've ever sold with the guaranteed update date, the date when it actually ended (if it has), and the circumstances behind it ending (e.g. no clear reason, market share dropped below some threshold, some feature was impossible to backport).

[jaslion]

They do about 3 years of updates and that is it. The pixel ended after about 3 years of support and so is every phone they sold since the original pixel.

 

5 years for a phone? The battery will not even last half a day by then. 10 years? Are you nuts? No smartphone is built for that. These phone are built to last till warranty goes away and that is it. Nothing is easily replaceable and the battery will be long dead by the time you get to 10 years.

 

I know you won't like the answer but buy a more budget phone use it for some years till it starts having battery issues and lack of security updates and get a new one.

[EL02]

1 hour ago, john01dav said:

I want to keep this phone for at least 5 years, and ideally 10 years 

There's no way this is happening. You cant expect a $350 phone to last more than 5 years. Yeah, there still are iphone 6s users out there, but due to battery degredation and app updates it doesnt do the job as well as it did back in 2015.

[Darkseth]

Google's Pixel 1 got 3 years and 2~ Months Updates.

Release: October 2016

Last Update: December 2019

 

 

That's what you can expect.

5 Years? No problem: Custom Roms. Or if you use it with brain.apk, even with a 1-2 year old Security level. Usually no issues.
But 10 years? Holy hell, if i imagine a 10 year old Device now (2010 i had a Motorola Milestone)... I start getting tourette just thinking about the horrible performance you could expect here. That thing had 0,5 gb Internal Storage, and 0,25 gb RAM. Even with Custom Roms and alot optimization, no halfway modern OS would run on that.

i've seen like 5-6 year old Android devices that didn't got an Update since YEARS, but still have Custom Rom support and got modern OS versions.

 

10 years is so long, you just can't plan so much.

 

Not even talking about the battery degradation. If you're careful with charging and using the battery, i'll give it 3-4 years, maybe 5 years untill it's still somewhat useable. But at 4-5 years it WILL already be due for a battery change.

 

 

My advice for your case: Get the Pixel 4a, it gives you a very good package for the Price, a good allrounder.
Use it untill it falls apart, or untill any reason appears for a change (battery dead, software too old to be secure etc).

 

Paying 350€ every 5 years can be just like paying 700€ every 10 years.
Just... Even a 150€ device in 5 years will destroy a 5 year old phone.

 

 

Or you get an iPhone. Usually, you'll be up-2-date for 5 years, sometimes even 6 full years (iPhone 5s for example got 6 full years every Update, then it was dropped).

 

[Donut417]

On 9/11/2020 at 4:51 PM, john01dav said:

want to keep this phone for at least 5 years, and ideally 10 years

Yeah 5 years its about all your going to get and Google only supplies updates for 3 years I believe and thats GOOD for an Android device as most maybe provide 2 years. You're lucky on many phones if you get one to two OS upgrades per its life cycle. Apple provides 5 years of support from what a device is released. Thats pretty much the MAX I have ever seen. 10 years is not going to happen PERIOD. 

 

That being said, Android devices are more mod able. Meaning you can install your own Android based ROMs on them. Even then you're still not going to get any where near 10 years. Most phones at this point have non user replaceable batteries, so once its dead you either have to pay a bunch of money to have it serviced or get a new device. 

[Zodiark1593]

If you’re looking for 5+ years of up-to-date software, and aren’t willing to install custom ROMs, your literal only choice is to go iPhone. Be sure to factor in a battery replacement or two down the road. iPhones tend to be easier than most flagships to replace the battery in, though if you aren’t inclined to DIY, then will be a bit pricey. 
 

Alternatively, buy devices cheap enough to not care about and keep the bulk of your computing on desktop/laptop platforms.