Google now listing EOL for Nexus devices

[komaru]

Quote

...Google formally guaranteed that they would be keeping Nexus devices up to date via monthly security patches for three years after release with major over the air updates continuing to roll out for at least two years. As a slight caveat, devices will continue receiving security updates for at least 18 months after they leave the Google Store even if this support coverage is longer than the three years mentioned previously. Now the company is making public the formal End of Life (EOL) dates for these updates on specific devices.

 

Ready to see how long your device will continue to receive support? Take a look at the current listing:

• Nexus 5X – September 2017
• Nexus 6P – September 2017
• Nexus 9 – October 2016
• Nexus 5 – October 2015
• Nexus 7 (2013) – July 2015
• Nexus 10 – November 2014

So it looks like Google giving a more accurate time frame for when they will no longer support a specific Nexus device. I did find the article a bit miss leading, since the EOL dates listed are when the devices will no longer guaranteed to get Version updates (like Android N). Regarding security updates, Google's documentations states:

Quote

For the longer of 3 years from availability or 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device.

That said, 3 years of security updates still feels a bit short for Nexus devices. What do you all think?

 

Sources: Android Authority & Google

[captain cactus]

So a phone released last year is obsolete by this October.

 

That should be illegal. How to fuck over your consumer, step one.

 

This is where Apple is king. Long-term device support. A iPhone 4S/iPad 2 released in 2011 still got the 2015 iOS 9 update. That was 4 years ago. Hell, make that 5. with iOS 9.3 being released this spring. Because of its 512MB of RAM it's now dropped in iOS 10, but still. That's 5 years of updates.

[Matu20]

My Nexus 5 still goes strong, updated with the latest security patch (1st June).

[RedRound2]

Even if other manufacturers don't do it, I atleast expect Google to have atleast 3 year support of major updates

This is a great example of why I don't mind paying a bit premium for my iOS device as I know it will last long. Replaced my 4S last year with 6S and still use 4S as my secondary phone. Can't say the same thing about Galaxy S II (or S3 or S4 for that matter), Google Nexus S, HTC Thunderbolt, etc

 

Oh and I still rock my iPad 3, only annoying thing being it cant play HEVC videos due to hardware limitations

[Verne]

And here I was thinking of switching from my iPhone 5 to an Android Nexus device but now I'm not sure... maybe I'll just stick to iPhones.

[atrash]

Let the justification game from both side of camps, Apple and Goggle, begin.. Maybe even a third from Microsoft.

 

Let me just sip my cup of tea and enjoy using both my 6S and 950 XL.. lol

[Derangel]

54 minutes ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

So a phone released last year is obsolete by this October.

 

That should be illegal. How to fuck over your consumer, step one.

 

This is where Apple is king. Long-term device support. A iPhone 4S/iPad 2 released in 2011 still got the 2015 iOS 9 update. That was 4 years ago. Hell, make that 5. with iOS 9.3 being released this spring. Because of its 512MB of RAM it's now dropped in iOS 10, but still. That's 5 years of updates.

 

The Nexus 9 released in 2014. So two years of version updates and then another year+ of security updates. Apple's updates are a lot better, though by the time they stop updating a device it feels slow as all hell due to the newer OSes being a lot more demanding than what the devices can actually handle. It would probably be better if Apple stopped at 3 years instead of going to 4 or 5, at least in terms of usability for the devices.

[goodtofufriday]

Kind of upsetting. I bought someone a 6P when it was available and less than 2.5 years its going to lose support? Not cool

[Deletist_Jerk]

6 minutes ago, goodtofufriday said:

Kind of upsetting. I bought someone a 6P when it was available and less than 2.5 years its going to lose support? Not cool

Right!? I'm quite upset too, but it's still longer than other android flagships. Especially when the wireless carriers are in charge of approving and rolling out software updates (in US). 

 

  

 

[Kobathor]

2 hours ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

This is where Apple is king. Long-term device support. A iPhone 4S/iPad 2 released in 2011 still got the 2015 iOS 9 update. That was 4 years ago. Hell, make that 5. with iOS 9.3 being released this spring. Because of its 512MB of RAM it's now dropped in iOS 10, but still. That's 5 years of updates.

 

1 hour ago, Verne said:

And here I was thinking of switching from my iPhone 5 to an Android Nexus device but now I'm not sure... maybe I'll just stick to iPhones.

Also keep in mind that it's almost essential to have the newest iOS if you want the newest apps and app updates. On my Android phone, that is running 4.4.2 (October 31, 2013) still has almost full app support. I can download any app with the newest updates from the Google Play Store.

 

If you had iOS 6.1.6 (February 21, 2014) you probably wouldn't get many (if any) new app updates, only very old versions released before iOS 7 came out.

 

So, even though you don't get all the new features with the newest Android releases, those phone will last years and years with new app updates. My phone runs an OS that is 3 years old and I still get most new app updates (for the apps I use.)

[handymanshandle]

3 hours ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

So a phone released last year is obsolete by this October.

 

That should be illegal. How to fuck over your consumer, step one.

 

This is where Apple is king. Long-term device support. A iPhone 4S/iPad 2 released in 2011 still got the 2015 iOS 9 update. That was 4 years ago. Hell, make that 5. with iOS 9.3 being released this spring. Because of its 512MB of RAM it's now dropped in iOS 10, but still. That's 5 years of updates.

I still like Google but yeah agreed those are some pretty short lifespans. I hope the EOL for the Galaxy S6 is around 2018.

[Tataffe]

52 minutes ago, Kobathor said:

 

Also keep in mind that it's almost essential to have the newest iOS if you want the newest apps and app updates. On my Android phone, that is running 4.4.2 (October 31, 2013) still has almost full app support. I can download any app with the newest updates from the Google Play Store.

Most apps on the App Store only require iOS 7 as of now, which means that all devices down to the iPhone 4 (released 2011, when the current Android version was 2.2), the iPad 2 and the iPod touch 5 can have them.

[Kobathor]

1 minute ago, Tataffe said:

Most apps on the App Store only require iOS 7 as of now, which means that all devices down to the iPhone 4 (released 2011, when the current Android version was 2.2), the iPad 2 and the iPod touch 5 can have them.

Which apps?? Before my grandmother updated her phone from 7.2 (something like that,) lots of the things she wanted to download to her phone were incompatible.

[Tataffe]

2 minutes ago, Kobathor said:

Which apps?? Before my grandmother updated her phone from 7.2 (something like that,) lots of the things she wanted to download to her phone were incompatible.

I had that in my head, but I'll look my own apps up to give a better answer, because it looks like I'm slightly off here.

• Twitter: 8.0
• Snapchat: 8.0
• YouTube: 8.0
• HERE Maps: 8.0
• Instagram: 7.0
• Google Maps: 7.0
• SwiftKey: 8.0
• FB Messenger: 7.0
• imgur: 8.0
• ebay: 8.0
• Sleep Cycle: 8.0
• Steam: 6.1

So for the apps that require iOS 8.0 you need the iPhone 4S (launched some days before the release of Android 4.0). None of the apps I tested (which I pulled from my "recently updated"-list) required any higher than iOS 8.0. The Steam app can be updated even on the iPhone 3GS (launched 06/2009 / Android 1.5).

 

I wonder how this will continue after the release of iOS 10.

[Ohlyver]

Says that the monthly  update for my Nexus 5 should have stopped by October  2015,. But I still receive them ! 

 

I don't think that big of a deal 

[Trixanity]

This is merely an obligation from Google; meaning that they commit to providing updates according to the listed dates. After that, Google can choose to stop updating the device. It doesn't mean that they will, just that they're no longer obliged to do so. So you might still get updates after the date listed; conversely you might not.

 

Edit: let me expand further on that.

 

Historically, Google has given at least one extra version update after the so-called EOL date.

Notice how the Nexus 5 is listed as receiving Android N but wait: its EOL date is October 2015 - that's like in the past, man. It will be almost a year after the EOL date when Android N is released. What is this witchcraft? Could it be that this EOL nonsense is all media bullshit clickbait trying to get advertisement money? Yup.

 

 

[MSWindowsinside]

Well, my Nexus 5 is unsupported already. This is why my next phone will be a Windows Phone. Support over a period of 10 years is basically guaranteed on Windows phones  

[Curufinwe_wins]

Just saying...

 

I'd rather be running a previous version of an OS and still be able to use everything at the same speed as when it was new, then be forced to install a new OS and have my device slow to a crawl (I've had both of these happen... I still use a Nook Tablet first gen).

[Yog]

Hmm...so my phone is essentially vulnerable next year after buying it this year. I'm not entirely happy with that. I don't find it necessary to update my phone every year...in fact, this is my first phone in probably 7 years and my first smartphone. I don't know if I'll stick with android if this is the way it will be. I might second the idea of moving onto windows phone.

[Coaxialgamer]

5 hours ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

So a phone released last year is obsolete by this October.

 

That should be illegal. How to fuck over your consumer, step one.

 

This is where Apple is king. Long-term device support. A iPhone 4S/iPad 2 released in 2011 still got the 2015 iOS 9 update. That was 4 years ago. Hell, make that 5. with iOS 9.3 being released this spring. Because of its 512MB of RAM it's now dropped in iOS 10, but still. That's 5 years of updates.

Don't forget the ipad 1 was released in 2010,  and was rendered obsolete by apple in 2012 when they stopped updating it...  Just saying both sidea are guilty of this. 

[captain cactus]

5 minutes ago, Coaxialgamer said:

Don't forget the ipad 1 was released in 2010,  and was rendered obsolete by apple in 2012 when they stopped updating it...  Just saying both sidea are guilty of this. 

That was for a technical reason: it only had 256MB of RAM. Here we're talking about perfectly fine phones capable of all the new stuff and they're not getting any of it.

[Coaxialgamer]

1 minute ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

That was for a technical reason: it only had 256MB of RAM. Here we're talking about perfectly fine phones capable of all the new stuff and they're not getting any of it.

Well i mean the smartphone industry is evolving pretty fast though.  You could argue that the ipad is still usable now if it wasn't for the lack of apps 

[Doobeedoo]

Sucks when devices can't be updated for longer period. I have my original Sony Xperia Z and there was no new for 6.0 upgrade so I'm on 5.1 =/
Would like to put custom ROM though.

[thekeemo]

5 hours ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

So a phone released last year is obsolete by this October.

 

That should be illegal. How to fuck over your consumer, step one.

 

This is where Apple is king. Long-term device support. A iPhone 4S/iPad 2 released in 2011 still got the 2015 iOS 9 update. That was 4 years ago. Hell, make that 5. with iOS 9.3 being released this spring. Because of its 512MB of RAM it's now dropped in iOS 10, but still. That's 5 years of updates.

they screwed them over by supporting them for ios9

its barely usable on the ipad 2 and you cant stop it from nagging you to update

[potoooooooo]

2 hours ago, Ohlyver said:

Says that the monthly  update for my Nexus 5 should have stopped by October  2015,. But I still receive them ! 

 

I don't think that big of a deal 

That's not what it says at all.

 

It says that you'll stop getting new Android version in October 2015. You'll receive monthly security updates until it's been 3 years since the Nexus 5 was for sale by google.