Android versions...

[Eighjan]

Why do I feel that the emphasis on having as new a version of Android as possible is something worthy of being paranoid about, that I need to replace - by the thinking outlined here - "my decrepit Sony Xperia L3" that only has Android 8(.1?) with immediate effect...?

 

IS Android 8 REALLY that bad that it has no place in society, in general, any more...?

[Commodus]

12 minutes ago, Eighjan said:

Why do I feel that the emphasis on having as new a version of Android as possible is something worthy of being paranoid about, that I need to replace - by the thinking outlined here - "my decrepit Sony Xperia L3" that only has Android 8(.1?) with immediate effect...?

 

IS Android 8 REALLY that bad that it has no place in society, in general, any more...?

The main issue is security. Your phone probably hasn't received security fixes for years, so you're potentially a prime target for exploits.

 

Also, as of the end of August, new and updated apps in the Play Store have to be targeted at Android 13 or newer. Your existing apps won't necessarily break, but it does mean that you may either miss out on app features or not run those newer apps at all.

 

Think of it this way: that notorious WannaCry ransomware from 2017 succeeded because many of the targets were running an old operating system (usually Windows XP) that was vulnerable to an attack that wasn't possible on newer OS versions. Moving to a newer OS (in your case, that means getting a new phone) isn't always necessary, but when you're about to be six releases behind... yeah, I'd upgrade.

 

 

[Levent]

Lack of security updates is what makes older versions of android a hard sell for me. If its going to be used by a 6 year old to watch youtube videos with a dummy google account, by all means its perfectly reasonable.

https://endoflife.date/android

[Eighjan]

I still don't get what is meant by security updates... I know that makes me sound thick, but when it comes to mobile/cell phones I probably am.

I still 'only' use my Xperia L3 for calls and texts and anything that requires any serious computing power I do on my desktop PC.

 

Is there no need for me to have a heightened state of paranoia &/or FOMO if I don't actually live on my mobile phone...?

[saintlouisbagels]

5 hours ago, Eighjan said:

I still don't get what is meant by security updates... I know that makes me sound thick, but when it comes to mobile/cell phones I probably am.

I still 'only' use my Xperia L3 for calls and texts and anything that requires any serious computing power I do on my desktop PC.

Is there no need for me to have a heightened state of paranoia &/or FOMO if I don't actually live on my mobile phone...?

I tried checking several Reddit threads and I couldn't find a practical answer regarding how it would affect a normal user.

I personally only go on the same like 10 websites on my phone, and use like 3 social media apps.

 

I don't see how "missing out on security updates" would affect me in any way. I think it's just paranoia. Of course, if you're some power user checking out dozens of possibly sketchy websites regularly and sideloading apps, I think security patches would be very important.

 

I think you should just upgrade your phone whenever you feel like it.