Google discontinues 1st Generation Pixel and Pixel XL as the End of its Android OS Updates approaches

[AlTech]

Google has discontinued it's 1st Generation Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones (from 2016) as it is nearing it's End Of Android OS Update Support from Google.

 

The Google Pixel 2016 series will be supported officially with Android OS updates until October/November of this year.

It will receive Official Android Security Patches until October 2019.

 

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Google is apparently done selling its flagship smartphones from 2016. The Pixel and Pixel XL have both been removed from the Google Store and the Project Fi store, suggesting the stock is all dried up and no more will be made.

 

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Google's current flagships, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, launched in October 2017, but the old Pixel phones stayed on the store and got discounts of $80 to $100. For a time, it seemed like Google wanted to employ an Apple-like pricing lineup, with flagship phones moving to a lower tier and getting a discount. Even with the Pixel 2's release, though, the Pixel 1's perennial stock problems remained, and the phones were never readily available in Google's Store.

 

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If you still have an original Pixel phone, major updates should still arrive until October 2018, while security updates will last a year longer, until October 2019.

 

So yeah, if you have a Google Pixel 1st Gen, now might be the time to think about buying a new phone or installing LineageOS on it.

 

Source: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/04/google-stops-selling-the-pixel-and-pixel-xl/

[ItsMitch]

That's sad, really loving this XL, guess I'll have to get a 2 XL. 

[mynameisjuan]

Just now, SC2Mitch said:

That's sad, really loving this XL, guess I'll have to get a 2 XL. 

Why? OS upgrades are not that big anymore and security updates are all that really matter.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, mynameisjuan said:

Why? OS upgrades are not that big anymore and security updates are all that really matter.

Some people like OS Upgrades.

 

When i buy a phone, I'm usually interested in how it is supported either Unofficially or Officially. With a huge preference on Official OS Support.

 

Yes, Android OS updates have become a bit of a Joke but they still make improvements to the OS.

[mynameisjuan]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

When i buy a phone, I'm usually interested in how it is supported either Unofficially or Officially. With a huge preference on Official OS Support.

And 2-3 years is a good support window as phones begin to chug along at that point

 

3 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Yes, Android OS updates have become a bit of a Joke but they still make improvements to the OS.

What about android updates have been a joke? 

[AlTech]

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

And 2-3 years is a good support window as phones begin to chug along at that point

No?

My OnePlus 3 is still really fast and yet it came out in 2016 even before the Google Pixel phone. Granted I've owned it since late 2017 but the specs are still very capable even today.

 

A Snapdragon 820 is still a very viable SOC in 2018 for those on existing devices. Especially when paired with 4GB or 6GB RAM.

 

As the Smartphone market plateaus, OEMs need to find more unique selling points and one of those is OS support. Google has committed to 3 years of OS support for the Pixel 2nd Generation. Samsung is rumored to be considering it and a lot of people buy Apple products for their support.

 

If i had to only rely on Official Support and unofficial support didn't exist for my device, I'd pick Apple any day of the week because Apple provides the best in class Official Device OS Support.

 

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

What about android updates have been a joke? 

the fact that most Android OS Updates don't contain enough changes. They're just minor improvements and the few major improvements there are usually are one off stuff.

[mynameisjuan]

1 minute ago, AluminiumTech said:

No?

My OnePlus 3 is still really fast and yet it came out in 2016 even before the Google Pixel phone. Granted I've owned it since late 2017 but the specs are still very capable even today.

 

A Snapdragon 820 is still a very viable SOC in 2018 for those on existing devices. Especially when paired with 4GB or 6GB RAM.

The chip is never the problem. The NAND that shits the better over time especially for people who take a lot of photos or on an lot social media. This is dependent on user. 

 

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

the fact that most Android OS Updates don't contain enough changes. They're just minor improvements and the few major improvements there are usually are one off stuff.

Because we've reached the point where fine tuning needs to happen. What the fuck else do you want? You cant have a over haul ever time and phones are already packed with features most dont use. 

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, mynameisjuan said:

The chip is never the problem.

Low End Devices in my experience age a lot worse than previous gen flagships do.

1 minute ago, mynameisjuan said:

The NAND that shits the better over time especially for people who take a lot of photos or on an lot social media. This is dependent on user. 

 

Because we've reached the point where fine tuning needs to happen. What the fuck else do you want? You cant have a over haul ever time and phones are already packed with features most dont use. 

The last time there was a proper overhaul of the OS was with Android 5.0 . Android 7.0 was also fairly major but we just keep on having minor incremental improvements and not enough changes.

[mynameisjuan]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

The last time there was a proper overhaul of the OS was with Android 5.0 . Android 7.0 was also fairly major but we just keep on having minor incremental improvements and not enough changes.

Again what the fuck needs to change? Im sick of the people who say there wasnt enough changes but we dont need any more. Its time to optimize more.

[Drak3]

7 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

Again what the fuck needs to change? Im sick of the people who say there wasnt enough changes but we dont need any more. Its time to optimize more.

Agree 10,000,000x.

Honestly, Kitkat was the best version IMO. Lollipop and above have just been buggy shitfests up until the month before the next major release, only exception I've seen being the Xperia lineup.

[BuckGup]

5 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

Again what the fuck needs to change? Im sick of the people who say there wasnt enough changes but we dont need any more. Its time to optimize more.

And maybe some proper security too

[Docretier]

23 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

Again what the fuck needs to change? Im sick of the people who say there wasnt enough changes but we dont need any more. Its time to optimize more.

Optimization is more preferable than new features. It would be like having a phone that could do literally everything, but most of the time doesn’t work like it should or at all.

[AlTech]

3 minutes ago, Jack_of_all_Trades said:

 

This reminded me, did we actually find out for how long they slowed down iphones with updates before being officially caught doing it ?

They haven't slowed down phones deliberately except for with regards to battery endurance and ensuring safe amounts of power is delivered to the battery by the Apple SOCs.

 

And since IOS 11.x, there's been a toggle to disable it.

[Starelementpoke]

55 minutes ago, SC2Mitch said:

That's sad, really loving this XL, guess I'll have to get a 2 XL. 

Can I have your XL when you do?

[AHaskin14]

Not 3 hours ago I was on the fi website to make sure the moto x4 was still on discounted sale, as I plan to sign up with that soon. The pixel was on there then, and sure enough is gone now.

[The Benjamins]

1 hour ago, SC2Mitch said:

That's sad, really loving this XL, guess I'll have to get a 2 XL. 

I would hold out until nov-oct to get the pixel 3

[ItsMitch]

55 minutes ago, Starelementpoke said:

Can I have your XL when you do?

I mean, Google sent me the wrong model Pixel during my RMA 4 months ago, so sure.

[Docretier]

2 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

So yeah, if you have a Google Pixel 1st Gen, now might be the time to think about buying a new phone or installing LineageOS on it.

What is Lineage OS, this is my first time hearing of it. Or should I just start a new thread if I’m asking this.

[AlTech]

7 minutes ago, Docretier said:

What is Lineage OS, this is my first time hearing of it. Or should I just start a new thread if I’m asking this.

Lineage OS is a very popular open source Stock Android distribution which is maintained for lots of devices.

 

They have small tweaks here and there but it's basically the closest you can get to pure Android on your phone. And devices are supported by maintainers. Some devices as old as the Galaxy S2 were receiving new builds until 2017 ish (idk if it's still maintained in 2018).

 

Basically, the appeal is that you can get Android OS support and security updates after your device is no longer officially supported. And it's open source.

[MyName13]

Wait, a Google's 2 year old phone is going to lose OS updates?Amazing, it's really impossible to buy a phone that will last at least 5 years.How many resources are we going to throw away?

[AlTech]

2 minutes ago, MyName13 said:

Wait, a Google's 2 year old phone is going to lose OS updates?Amazing, it's really impossible to buy a phone that will last at least 5 years.How many resources are we going to throw away?

Google moved to 3 years with the Pixel 2nd gen but 3 years is still not enough imo.

[Docretier]

34 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Lineage OS is a very popular open source Stock Android distribution which is maintained for lots of devices.

 

They have small tweaks here and there but it's basically the closest you can get to pure Android on your phone. And devices are supported by maintainers. Some devices as old as the Galaxy S2 were receiving new builds until 2017 ish (idk if it's still maintained in 2018).

 

Basically, the appeal is that you can get Android OS support and security updates after your device is no longer officially supported. And it's open source.

Once the pixel loses support, should I get it for mine? I looked at the website but couldn’t find pixel under their supported devices.

[AlTech]

5 minutes ago, Docretier said:

Once the pixel loses support, should I get it for mine? I looked at the website but couldn’t find pixel under their supported devices.

It might be supported by maintainers outside of the official website. You'd have to double check. If there is a community build for the Pixel then maybe when your Pixel doesn't get Android OS updates it might be worth it.

[Nowak]

3 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

So yeah, if you have a Google Pixel 1st Gen, now might be the time to think about buying a new phone or installing LineageOS on it.

Can't afford a new phone yet and I have a Verizon model Pixel, so no unlockable bootloader for me. Press F to pay respects.

[Commodus]

1 hour ago, MyName13 said:

Wait, a Google's 2 year old phone is going to lose OS updates?Amazing, it's really impossible to buy a phone that will last at least 5 years.How many resources are we going to throw away?

If you want a phone to get software support for more than two or three years, you need to get an iPhone.  You'll still get new iOS versions for about four to five years if you buy one of Apple's latest models.

 

Like it or not, Google doesn't see a need to guarantee OS updates beyond two to three years -- it uses Play Services as a sort of catch-all for compatibility and feature updates on older devices.  The problem, of course, is that some of these feature updates will require a newer operating system, and many OS-level security updates aren't going to come through Play Services.