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*Receives automatic Android updates for up to 2 years. http://www.android.com/one/ http://www.android.com/one/ I guess the poor can replace their phone every

by hrvbr 12y ago

*Receives automatic Android updates for up to 2 years. http://www.android.com/one/ http://www.android.com/one/ I guess the poor can replace their phone every two years like the rich.

lclarkmichalek 12y ago
Or survive on a slightly older version of Android?
- MichaelApproved 12y ago
  It's not about having the latest & greatest, it's about having a secure device. Imagine hundreds of millions of devices with security holes no longer being patched after 2 years. At least XP was supported for over a decade. Having a device as expensive as a phone (for the market) no longer patched after 2 years isn't a good idea.
  - buster 12y ago
    Seriously, i think many people don't care about the Android version they are running and won't care to check for updates even if they are available.
    - jarek 12y ago
      > won't care to check for updates even if they are available. At least in 4.4 you automatically get a notification when an update is available
      - buster 12y ago
        Yes, but i think this "i want the latest update" argument is much exagerated on HN, but not so much important for Joe User. My gf just bought a cheap android phone and i told her that it won't receive any updates but she didn't care. Offering to check for updates (the nerd that i am) she still refused. She just doesn't want to be bothered with it. I suppose that is true for many people. And, to be honest, Android didn't have truely interesting new features for several releases. I own my google phone, and it's nice for me to be on the latest releases all the time, but truth be told i couldn't tell if my phone ran 4.0 or 4.4.
        jarek 12y ago
        Ah. Yeah possibly, if people are approaching it like they used to approach phones: what's there is what will work. Personally I come to smartphones from a x86 PC point of view, so not being able to reflash/reinstall whatever OS I like is a disaster already, to say nothing of no OS updates :). But on phones not targeted to enthusiasts this is probably not a problem.
        mvp 12y ago
        Isn't this situation rapidly changing? A few years ago, people wouldn't dream of 'installing apps'. But now, many non technical people install apps. In fact, I know many non technical people who are more eager to install apps. A developer might think, ah I'll write a program to do this and do that. Non techies only think in terms of what apps can I do some job. I bought HTC desire for my wife couple of years ago inspite of her insisting she won't have use for a big phone. Now, she uses it for Whatsapp, Facebook, Pinterest etc. In fact, she seems to know more about these than I do some times.
        jarek 12y ago
        I'm not sure how installing currently available apps compares to installing future core OS updates, can you explain what you mean?
        acdha 12y ago
        There are two forms of this argument. Many people don't care about new features but everyone needs to care about security updates and, eventually, a relatively recent browser. If they don't care yet, give them one major exploit and they will next time. Many Android users have a distinctly inferior web experience because they're running a copy of WebKit from 2011 or so but they'd be perfectly okay with an upgraded browser which has the same UI but supports the more recent features supported by the sites they use. Unlike the app situation, this is more noticeable because sites upgrade outside of your control and Android's fragmentation means that many sites won't make it a major priority when deciding whether to backport or simply disable new features on older devices.
        on_and_off 12y ago
    - krisgenre 12y ago
      Ya, the people don't care and that's the problem for us developers. App development sure is easy if large percentage of the user base are on the latest version of the OS, Apple does win here.
      - aianus 12y ago
        Stop supporting them after two years and they'll have to upgrade.
  - NotOscarWilde 12y ago
    I completely agree. The point is even worse for "the next five billion" because they are the people that buy the previous generation phones. No matter what Android One costs, previous generation Android One will cost less and be almost equally useful. I really feel the right, responsible thing to make the next five billion secure is to support previous generation phones as long as the phones are still the same functionally. Continuing with my Galaxy Nexus comparison: GN is a 2011 phone and it seems nothing is on the horizon for 2015 that's going to make it obsolete -- the new phones look and feel the same as it does. (I know it's anecdotal, but being Central European, I am the only one in my family with a phone that runs Android 4.0 or higher (no iPhones either) -- they all have either Android 2.0 or pre-OS phones. I say this to stress that people here really do stick with their phones as long as they work.)
    - danieldk 12y ago
      The Galaxy Nexus is a special case, because its SoC producer (TI) stepped out of the smartphone market and apparently the drivers were closed source. The Nexus 4 and 5 will probably fare better. Although in contrast to e.g. Safari on Android, Chrome does get continuous updates, even on older phones. But, of course, the general point is still true - most Android phones are updated for a miserably short period. Cyanogenmod deserves a lot of credit of lengthening the lifespan of devices.
  - blueskin_ 12y ago
    Didn't you get the memo? This is the Brave New World where everything runs in Javascript or on Google's servers. Security? Isn't that one of those 'privacy' things that terrorists like? </s>
fpgeek 12y ago
To be fair, Android One's "up to 2 years" is a huge improvement over the typical update policy in this price bracket: not in a million years.
- kmfrk 12y ago
  It also happens to be the EU's consumer-warranty period.
  - column 12y ago
    hardware warranty does not mean software updates
    - danieldk 12y ago
      The EU warranty regulations say that a device should function properly for two years. So, the scope is definitely wider than just hardware warranty.
      - jotm 12y ago
        Well, in this case, 1st/2nd generation devices do function properly with Android 2.3/3.0 - you just can't install some apps on them...
zz1 12y ago
He'll have to, unless he prefers to choose Firefox OS
danford 12y ago
Isn't it likely that two years from now the price for a new phone will have dropped? So it could go from ~$100USD to maybe ~$70USD. Even if you upgraded something like an iPhone every 5 years it would cost more though. I could buy these for 10 years at $100 and still only pay $500, which is about what a high end phone costs that lasts half of that 10 year span (maybe). Anyway, I think a lot of the complaints about not being able to update your OS stem from iPhones turning into bricks.
panzerboy 12y ago
cough iPhone 4S, released in 2011, can be upgraded to iOS 8 cough Just sayin'
on_and_off 12y ago
because the phone explodes automatically after these 2 years ?
kumarm 12y ago
In countries where Android One is targeted, Data is expensive. Also the main target for these phones: People that are not used to Tech (Including people who never went to school). I don't think Auto updates even for two years is a good. Most of the target audience would not appreciate a Major Upgrade of OS.
- chetanahuja 12y ago
  In the India launch at least, Android One is launching with FREE mobile data for OS updates and Play store downloads.

by hrvbr 12y ago

*Receives automatic Android updates for up to 2 years. http://www.android.com/one/ http://www.android.com/one/ I guess the poor can replace their phone every two years like the rich.

lclarkmichalek 12y ago

Or survive on a slightly older version of Android?

MichaelApproved 12y ago
It's not about having the latest & greatest, it's about having a secure device. Imagine hundreds of millions of devices with security holes no longer being patched after 2 years. At least XP was supported for over a decade. Having a device as expensive as a phone (for the market) no longer patched after 2 years isn't a good idea.
- buster 12y ago
  Seriously, i think many people don't care about the Android version they are running and won't care to check for updates even if they are available.
  - jarek 12y ago
    > won't care to check for updates even if they are available. At least in 4.4 you automatically get a notification when an update is available
    - buster 12y ago
      Yes, but i think this "i want the latest update" argument is much exagerated on HN, but not so much important for Joe User. My gf just bought a cheap android phone and i told her that it won't receive any updates but she didn't care. Offering to check for updates (the nerd that i am) she still refused. She just doesn't want to be bothered with it. I suppose that is true for many people. And, to be honest, Android didn't have truely interesting new features for several releases. I own my google phone, and it's nice for me to be on the latest releases all the time, but truth be told i couldn't tell if my phone ran 4.0 or 4.4.
      - jarek 12y ago
        Ah. Yeah possibly, if people are approaching it like they used to approach phones: what's there is what will work. Personally I come to smartphones from a x86 PC point of view, so not being able to reflash/reinstall whatever OS I like is a disaster already, to say nothing of no OS updates :). But on phones not targeted to enthusiasts this is probably not a problem.
      - mvp 12y ago
        Isn't this situation rapidly changing? A few years ago, people wouldn't dream of 'installing apps'. But now, many non technical people install apps. In fact, I know many non technical people who are more eager to install apps. A developer might think, ah I'll write a program to do this and do that. Non techies only think in terms of what apps can I do some job. I bought HTC desire for my wife couple of years ago inspite of her insisting she won't have use for a big phone. Now, she uses it for Whatsapp, Facebook, Pinterest etc. In fact, she seems to know more about these than I do some times.
        jarek 12y ago
        I'm not sure how installing currently available apps compares to installing future core OS updates, can you explain what you mean?
      - acdha 12y ago
        There are two forms of this argument. Many people don't care about new features but everyone needs to care about security updates and, eventually, a relatively recent browser. If they don't care yet, give them one major exploit and they will next time. Many Android users have a distinctly inferior web experience because they're running a copy of WebKit from 2011 or so but they'd be perfectly okay with an upgraded browser which has the same UI but supports the more recent features supported by the sites they use. Unlike the app situation, this is more noticeable because sites upgrade outside of your control and Android's fragmentation means that many sites won't make it a major priority when deciding whether to backport or simply disable new features on older devices.
      - on_and_off 12y ago
  - krisgenre 12y ago
    Ya, the people don't care and that's the problem for us developers. App development sure is easy if large percentage of the user base are on the latest version of the OS, Apple does win here.
    - aianus 12y ago
      Stop supporting them after two years and they'll have to upgrade.
- NotOscarWilde 12y ago
  I completely agree. The point is even worse for "the next five billion" because they are the people that buy the previous generation phones. No matter what Android One costs, previous generation Android One will cost less and be almost equally useful. I really feel the right, responsible thing to make the next five billion secure is to support previous generation phones as long as the phones are still the same functionally. Continuing with my Galaxy Nexus comparison: GN is a 2011 phone and it seems nothing is on the horizon for 2015 that's going to make it obsolete -- the new phones look and feel the same as it does. (I know it's anecdotal, but being Central European, I am the only one in my family with a phone that runs Android 4.0 or higher (no iPhones either) -- they all have either Android 2.0 or pre-OS phones. I say this to stress that people here really do stick with their phones as long as they work.)
  - danieldk 12y ago
    The Galaxy Nexus is a special case, because its SoC producer (TI) stepped out of the smartphone market and apparently the drivers were closed source. The Nexus 4 and 5 will probably fare better. Although in contrast to e.g. Safari on Android, Chrome does get continuous updates, even on older phones. But, of course, the general point is still true - most Android phones are updated for a miserably short period. Cyanogenmod deserves a lot of credit of lengthening the lifespan of devices.
- blueskin_ 12y ago
  Didn't you get the memo? This is the Brave New World where everything runs in Javascript or on Google's servers. Security? Isn't that one of those 'privacy' things that terrorists like? </s>

fpgeek 12y ago

To be fair, Android One's "up to 2 years" is a huge improvement over the typical update policy in this price bracket: not in a million years.

kmfrk 12y ago
It also happens to be the EU's consumer-warranty period.
- column 12y ago
  hardware warranty does not mean software updates
  - danieldk 12y ago
    The EU warranty regulations say that a device should function properly for two years. So, the scope is definitely wider than just hardware warranty.
    - jotm 12y ago
      Well, in this case, 1st/2nd generation devices do function properly with Android 2.3/3.0 - you just can't install some apps on them...

zz1 12y ago

He'll have to, unless he prefers to choose Firefox OS

danford 12y ago

Isn't it likely that two years from now the price for a new phone will have dropped? So it could go from ~$100USD to maybe ~$70USD. Even if you upgraded something like an iPhone every 5 years it would cost more though. I could buy these for 10 years at $100 and still only pay $500, which is about what a high end phone costs that lasts half of that 10 year span (maybe). Anyway, I think a lot of the complaints about not being able to update your OS stem from iPhones turning into bricks.

panzerboy 12y ago

cough iPhone 4S, released in 2011, can be upgraded to iOS 8 cough Just sayin'

on_and_off 12y ago

because the phone explodes automatically after these 2 years ?

kumarm 12y ago

In countries where Android One is targeted, Data is expensive. Also the main target for these phones: People that are not used to Tech (Including people who never went to school). I don't think Auto updates even for two years is a good. Most of the target audience would not appreciate a Major Upgrade of OS.

chetanahuja 12y ago
In the India launch at least, Android One is launching with FREE mobile data for OS updates and Play store downloads.