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Google Play Services Drops Support For Android Ice Cream Sandwich (venturebeat.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the seven-years-later dept.

Google is pulling support for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich more than seven years after it was first introduced. The company announced in a blog post that Google Play services will no longer provide updates for the APIs (14 and 15) used by applications running on ICS. VentureBeat reports: Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), as Android 4.0 to 4.0.4 is more affectionately known, was a landmark operating system in many ways, ushering in a whole new set of interface guidelines -- with a more minimalist design, not to mention groundbreaking features such as near-field communication (NFC), lockscreen support for camera and music controls, and facial recognition smarts for unlocking devices.

App developers who currently offer minimum support of API level 16 (Android 4.1 Jelly Bean) and over won't have to do anything as a result of these changes. However, if their apps currently support API level 14 or 15, they will encounter a build error when updating to a newer SDK version. Google is now recommending that all developers target API level 16 as the bare minimum, which means those still using Ice Cream Sandwich on their Android device won't even see the app update in Google Play, let alone be able to download it.

85 comments

  1. I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My old tablet running 4.0 has been shit for awhile, with Google apps unexpectedly closing even right after a factory reset. Must've become a neglected version, quality assurance wise.

    1. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      No, you're just running Android. Get a Windows 10 tablet if you want something functional that "just works".

    2. Re:I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Use F-Droid instead, there are lot of great apps available there. Also check XDA Devs and see if someone has made an updated ROM for your tablet.

      These are options that you would never have using Apple or Microsoft products.

    3. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As our dear friend Mr Gates said, supply and demand does not apply to software

    4. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol.

    5. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering you're not specifying what company this v4.0 tablet is from, it's not surprising the your $40 tablet keeps crashing

    6. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RCA or Polaroid. Epic American brands.

    7. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But I thought US made products were supposed to be the best. Why do Americans always claim US made is the best? Why do Americans always try to take credit for things they didn't do? Why are Americans such hypocritical cowards and freedom haters?

      Fuck it, just nuke the place. The world will be better when every last American is dead.

    8. Re: I can tell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stupid auto correct... Get a Windows 10 tablet if you want something functional that "just twerks".

  2. That seems like a fair amount of time... by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Insightful

    To me seven years seems like a good amount of time to keep something supported.

    I think Apple still supports the App Store even for older devices (they can download the last version of apps that support the version of iOS they are on), but not entirely sure if that goes all the way back down the full line at this point.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is a fair amount of time. It's just very unfortunate that most devices only receive security updates to the OS for a small portion of that time. Very few people would be complaining if Android devices received seven years of updates.

    2. Re: That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      time to port linux and make the device last until the device fails.

    3. Re: That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Letâ(TM)s just say I bought my 4.0.4 phone at the end of 2015. Thatâ(TM)s nowhere near 7 years lol...
      Ok it was upgraded to 4.4 but still, fu google lol

    4. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just seven years? For perfectly good working hardware?

      You're nuts. It should be supported at least 20 years, or be easily upgradeable.

    5. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      I think Apple still supports the App Store even for older devices

      I know that iOS 11 was a change that broke a lot of apps, but I don't know if iOS 10 devices could find the old versions. iOS 11 (and 12) are supported on 5 year old devices... which is when Apple switched to 64-bit CPUs. Also, the breaking change is making the apps 64-bit (iOS 10 would show warnings on 32-bit apps but still run them).

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    6. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just seven years? For perfectly good working hardware?

      The phones that ran ICS could not be called "perfectly good" at this point. You're talking about 1gb (and probably less) of ram and probably two cores, both at maybe 1.2ghz or something.

      No thanks.

      It should be supported at least 20 years

      Lol. You got a 20 year warranty on your car? Or on anything?

      Google themselves are only 20 years old, and I bet you aren't running Windows 98, are you?

    7. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The issue is that Android doesn't have OS updates. When Microsoft stops supporting XP or Vista, I can just go and install Windows10. For most hardware there is no way to upgrade Android to a new version. Furthermore, cheap Android hardware generally come with older versions of Android, you can still get hardware with Android 4.4 on it today, so for most hardware it's far less than 7 years.

    8. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have an older iPod touch. The apps in the store no longer download if the latest version requires features that are not available to the older iOS version.

    9. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      To me seven years seems like a good amount of time to keep something supported.

      I think Apple still supports the App Store even for older devices (they can download the last version of apps that support the version of iOS they are on), but not entirely sure if that goes all the way back down the full line at this point.

      It's a plus and minus.

      It's a plus in that ICS devices were supported for so long. It's a minus in that ICS devices were still around that long. But I think it's basically because until recently, ICS formed a not-insignificant group of users. All this for an OS released around 2011 or so?

      iOS is a bit different - the App Store generally only goes back maybe 2-3 iOS versions, which cover pretty much 99.9% of active devices out there. New iOS versions are generally at 50% without a couple of months of release (usually you have Android out at least 2 or 3 versions back to be at that level - so at least 2 years?)

    10. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > To me seven years seems like a good amount of time to keep something supported.

      If only there was *any* support.

      I own 4 Android tablets. None of them has *ever* had a single OS update. Apps from the store, and bundled apps (that I can't get rid of), sure, it seems like every time I turn on a tablet it's downloading app updates. But not the OS. Which means I can't trust any of my tablets to do any sort of important transaction because it's still vulnerable to well-known and documented vulnerabilities that have been patched by everybody else years ago.

      Meanwhile, my "dead and buried" Windows 10 phone's OS still gets regular updates.

    11. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by epine · · Score: 1

      It's a minus in that ICS devices were still around that long.

      Captain Landfill FTW.

      I asked before purchase if my Galaxy S II would support the forthcoming Jelly Bean (4.1) and the kiosk staff lied, straight up. It never did.

      Merely, one supposes, because my carrier (Telus) couldn't be bothered. Not a single technical issue that I'm aware of—they just didn't want to run an update cycle and then have to deal with the small number of customers (probably less than 1%) who experienced a sour patch. On that assumption, it works out to one additional, annoying support call per $30,000 worth of hardware sold. Sounds cheap to me. On the flip side, that program might have interfered with all that shiny hardware's eager landfill destiny.

      My old phone still basically does its original job, just fine.

      So now to faff around with a rootkit upgrade (is that even a thing any more?) or faff around trying to find something new that doesn't blow goats in some new, horrific, surprising way (aka randomly removing analog audio jacks, and other eye-popping poop in the pool that mainly traces back to a certain turtleneck's turtle head).

    12. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      This whole 'perfectly good working hardware' is tired. I can still whip up 486-class PCs, but why would I expect them to be useful today? Ignore security, HTML has gone past anything that old OS would have ever had.

      My G1 is from the 4.0 era, but while it still works, I need better software. And memory is just so much more useful today, we have Android features that just need better hardware.

      But, BUT the real problem is that there is no real manufacturer support for older revs, because it costs money, and isn't profitable.

      TFB.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    13. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's a lot of good hardware and software that still works, which kit has been paid for and invested in, and it would be a waste to throw it all away. There's really a lot of stuff that still runs on COBOL, for example, but that's a lot of business iron. Why not deny consumers the same, since a device can be made to work as intended for a long time?

      There is no reason why a phone/tablet with '1 Gb of RAM, probaby two cores at maybe 1.2 GHz' should not get an upgrade to at least Android 4.1. I've seen lesser phones on offer with Android 4.4 and 5.0 even, and rather current Nokia 1 and Nokia 2 phones have very similar specs.

      To compare: Nokia 1, announced and released in 2018, has a quad-core 1.1 GHz CPU and 1 Gb of RAM memory. It's got a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a user-replaceable battery, user-replaceable back covers, and Android 8.1 Go Edition. Nokia 2 (late 2017) has a quad-core 1.3 GHz CPU and 1 Gb of RAM. HMD's Nokia phones come with clean Android and reliable security updates.

      In October, I had to pick up an old notebook to do work, because it's the only notebook I have that's mechanically in a mostly fully-working condition. It has perhaps a few gigabytes on the hard drive, 64 Mb RAM, and Windows Me with Office 2000 -- a factory-installed operating system and office suite that are both eighteen years old. About the newest app was Firefox 2.0, which, thanks to its support for TLS 1.0, allows some limited web browsing, too. The same applies to mobile phones.

    14. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No.

      But I am running old PC hardware, with up-to-date Linux distros.

      If the hardware is still good, the software should be supported.

    15. Re:That seems like a fair amount of time... by someoneOtherThanMe · · Score: 1

      It's NOT seven years. You have to start counting when most of the phones with 4.0 are either upgradeable or stop being sold. I bought my first Android phone in April 2011, an LG Optimus One P500. It was on 2.2, upgradeable to 2.3.

  3. Looks like it's time by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    to run down to Wal-Mart and pick up a new $50 10 inch tablet. /s

    I still have and use the Android 2.1 tablet I bought I have no idea how long ago. It's mostly for reading books on. It also has OSM on it with GPS, so I can download a ton of maps and use it when I'm traveling.

    1. Re:Looks like it's time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you checked to see if there is any newer OS images for it through Cyanogen or such? The 4.X one might still be serviceable. The 2.1 I doubt would have the CPU or RAM for it, however.

  4. Yes I wonder how many devices still in use? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    It's just very unfortunate that most devices only receive security updates to the OS for a small portion of that time

    That's a great point, it would be really interesting to know how many Android devices of that vintage are still in use even after such a long period with no manufacturer updates.

    I'll bet the number is surprisingly high as there aren't many technical reasons a seven year old phone would not still function, even if the OS it had was rather old... I have an Android phone still from back around that era, may have to fire it up and see what it does when powered up and what works.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Yes I wonder how many devices still in use? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I tend to use my old devices for bathroom readers / music players. Might even be useful as a security camera, if the right app is available.

    2. Re:Yes I wonder how many devices still in use? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Might even be useful as a security camera, if the right app is available.

      Hmm, probably terrible insecure but in the right location who cares, good idea...

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Yes I wonder how many devices still in use? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      That's an easy one to answer: Ice Cream Sandwich is in use by 0.3% of Android devices: https://developer.android.com/...

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Yes I wonder how many devices still in use? by tsqr · · Score: 1

      it would be really interesting to know how many Android devices of that vintage are still in use even after such a long period

      Would it be interesting enough to read TFA? According to official Android figures, Ice Cream Sandwich is running on just 0.3 percent of devices, but given that well over 2 billion devices are running Android, as many as 7 million people could be impacted by these changes.

    5. Re:Yes I wonder how many devices still in use? by tsqr · · Score: 1

      That's an easy one to answer: Ice Cream Sandwich is in use by 0.3% of Android devices: https://developer.android.com/...

      Even easier to answer if you'd just, you know, read TFA.

  5. Nice sentence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now there's a headline that would have been completely incomprehensible sense 30 years ago.

  6. Dropping from the SDK is the sucky part. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm curious how hard it would be to merge the latest sdk with the older ones to support the full range of api versions.

    Personally, all my apps come from f-droid, so idgaf if play drops support, but having the android sdk drop support could be problematic, since it affects the minimum memory requirements a device can be expected to have.

    1. Re: Dropping from the SDK is the sucky part. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1 for F-droid.

      Also, #IDGAF

  7. That seems like a fair amount of open. by Ostracus · · Score: 1

    Is it? Linux is suppose to be legendary for supporting ancient hardware. Something about being open I suspect.

    --
    Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
    1. Re:That seems like a fair amount of open. by tepples · · Score: 1

      Linux, yes. Google Play Services, not so much. The latter is proprietary.

    2. Re:That seems like a fair amount of open. by msauve · · Score: 1

      Android ICS: 7 years (security updates: ha ha, when's the last time you got one?)
      Debian Linux "Long Term Support" (Wheezy): 5 years (2013-2018, to end of security updates)
      Windows 7: (released 10/2009, security updates to 1/2020), a bit more than 10 years.
      MacOS: it's a mess. They don't really offer ongoing support for an OS version, but upgrades to newer versions. And, running those depends on what hardware you have. Near as I can tell, the current 10.14 (Mohave) version only runs on hardware from mid-2012. So, a bit over 6 years.

      I have issues with Windows, but will freely admit that they do a better job of long term support than the alternatives. But overall, they're in the same ballpark.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:That seems like a fair amount of open. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don't know you picked Debian, when you could have also picked Gentoo or one of the other distributions that has infinite support (rolling updates). For traditional systems CentOS and Redhat provide 10 year support.

      But even this is a bit unfair comparison, because when the support for my Ubuntu stops, I can simply just update to new version of Ubuntu for free and the support continues. It is pretty much like normal update, except whole system gets updated in one go, including the repo URLs where new updates are downloaded.

    4. Re:That seems like a fair amount of open. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, but the 10 years for RedHat isn't correct even.
      RHE6 will have extended life-cycle support until 2024. That will have been 14 years.

  8. why can't phones get updates? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why is google so shit at everything? i should just be able to download and install android. but no, i'm stuck at 4.4 or some shit because these retards want all our electronics to go in landfills.

    1. Re:why can't phones get updates? by Shikaku · · Score: 3, Informative

      This one's easy but you're not gonna like the answer. The drivers aren't open, usually ever, so you're fucked because only the manufacturer could update or supply the newer versions. Also the RAM usage and feature creep is very high on later Android versions, so for example anything not 4.4 requires 2GB or a lot more RAM. If you need such a feature, get a device that supports LineageOS, which fixes the problems you just outlined. The device support is kind of limited however: https://download.lineageos.org...

    2. Re: why can't phones get updates? by astrofurter · · Score: 1

      "why is google so shit at everything?"

      Because they have utter contempt for their users/products?

    3. Re: why can't phones get updates? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "why is google so shit at everything?"

      Because they have utter contempt for their users/products?

      Because they are making billions of dollars doing things the way they do.

    4. Re:why can't phones get updates? by swillden · · Score: 1

      The drivers aren't open, usually ever, so you're fucked because only the manufacturer could update or supply the newer versions.

      If you get a device that launched with Oreo or Pie, this shouldn't be a problem. Those devices must support project Treble, which imposes a well-defined hardware abstraction layer between vendor space (those drivers you mention) and the system (everything above). It should then be possible to install any newer system image on the device, leaving the vendor partition unchanged, and it should work. For some number of releases, at least; at some point new systems will stop supporting old HALs.

      Note that this assumes your device has an unlockable bootloader. If the bootloader can't be unlocked then you can only install OEM system images, so as soon as your device maker stops providing updates, you're done. Don't buy an Android device whose bootloader you can't unlock.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    5. Re:why can't phones get updates? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Theoretically, even the older devices could be ported to Project Treble. It would however require a shim layer for each device to map the interface APIs from Project Treble to the binary blob drivers. Kinda like how Wine implements such a layer for Win32 userland, just in reverse.

      I'd imagine only the most popular devices, or the devices with a common vendor API set, would even have the attempt made however. Heck it may just be easier to port the individual blobs and allow them to be assembled into a final package. Like how coreboot gets support for new chipsets.

  9. i still use a 9 year old android tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    although i dont think i've installed any apps or allowed any of the apps to receive updates within the last 5 years, so maybe this isn't that big of a deal.

  10. They came for the ice cream sandwiches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    They came for the ice cream sandwiches, but I said nothing for I was not an ice cream sandwich.
    Then they came for the jelly beans (4.2.2), and I said nothing because the chat apps no longer supported my phone.

    1. Re:They came for the ice cream sandwiches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just started a couple of weeks ago making the transition from a phone with 4.1.2 Jelly Bean to one with 6.0.1 Marshmallow, all for the sake of a single closed-source app. I'm still not sure it's worth it.
      My old phone still had a slider keyboard, and apps could write to the external SD card. I don't want to use adoptable storage, because the purpose of an SD card is to copy files between my computer and phone (since MTP sucks).
      Why must newer phones suck so much? You would think there would be some sort of compensating improvements.

    2. Re:They came for the ice cream sandwiches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I just started a couple of weeks ago making the transition from a phone with 4.1.2 Jelly Bean to one with 6.0.1 Marshmallow, all for the sake of a single closed-source app. I'm still not sure it's worth it.
      My old phone still had a slider keyboard, and apps could write to the external SD card. I don't want to use adoptable storage, because the purpose of an SD card is to copy files between my computer and phone (since MTP sucks).
      Why must newer phones suck so much? You would think there would be some sort of compensating improvements.

      The SD card makes your phone use more power and accesses much slower. They are also much less reliable.
      With 128G on a new phone, you really don't need one.

      So what I'm saying is, newer phones suck so much to you because they force you to stop using old crappy stuff.

      You're like an old person lamenting that they had to buy a new TV to watch OTA broadcasts, and that their favorite movies aren't released on VHS anymore.

    3. Re:They came for the ice cream sandwiches by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You totally ignored what I said the purpose of an SD card is. What is your solution for copying files between your superduper phone and your computer?
      My new phone has no hardware keyboard, so typing speed and accuracy are both way way down, and I have to look at the phone to type.
      The only improvement you listed was bigger internal storage. I guess to you that's enough to compensate for everything I'm giving up.

      You're like an old person lamenting that they had to buy a new TV to watch OTA broadcasts

      I didn't have to. The government gave out vouchers for converter boxes. But digital TV is a lot less reliable than analog was.
      That's about the time I stopped watching. Or is that another example of "forcing you to stop using old crappy stuff"?

  11. It's Android so... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...we'll give it a pass on any support drops or end of life.

  12. Windows 10: 18 months. Red Hat: 10 years by raymorris · · Score: 1

    Indeed Microsoft *was* forced to provide security updates for Windows 7 when nobody wanted to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 or 10.

    If you do go to Windows 10, MMicrosoft says your new OS will be supported for 18 months.
    https://support.microsoft.com/...

    Redhat provides security updates directly from them for at least 10 years.
    https://access.redhat.com/arti...
    After 10 years, updates would be from upstream.
    One could back port Linux security patches for 20 years if you needed to. Ten years from Red Hat is probably enough.

    1. Re: Windows 10: 18 months. Red Hat: 10 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      18 months are for Windows 10 feature updates that get rolled out twice a year. Not Windows 10 itself. What a pathetic attempt to mislead.

    2. Re: Windows 10: 18 months. Red Hat: 10 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The feature updates are full OS upgrades that uninstall all drivers and reset all settings in the OS.

    3. Re: Windows 10: 18 months. Red Hat: 10 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes sure... you donâ(TM)t even know what you are talking about!

    4. Re: Windows 10: 18 months. Red Hat: 10 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And in addition to resetting all the settings, the upgrade deletes all user data, too. As it happened with Windows 10 buid 1809 (aka the 2018 October update).

  13. Unless they are being used by raymorris · · Score: 1

    > are still in use even after such a long period with no manufacturer updates. ...
    > there aren't many technical reasons a seven year old phone would not still function

    People tend carry their phones with them everywhere they go. With more than seven years of *use* I'd expect an unfortunate drop onto concrete, tile, or water is pretty likely.

    Sitting in a drawer as opposed to in use, sure, other than the battery. A working battery for a seven-year-old phone may be difficult.

    1. Re:Unless they are being used by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      My phone is a 6310. It does need a new battery, but otherwise, I'm still using it. It does what I need it to just fine.

      The problem here is that the way google does things android very often isn't upgradable, while the hardware ought to be fine yet. Sure, I get that you made a new shiny! thing and no longer want to "support" the old shiny! thing, but the issue is completely arbitrary, entirely software-based, and with proper organisation could just up and vanish. But that's not how google works. So it's entirely because google are shitting you that you have to shell out for new hardware.

      So the end result is that users get shut out and have to fork out quite a lot to "stay in the ecosystem". Long term it means that android devices are poor man's iDevices. The same shitty deal, only less shiny! but a crappier user experience.

      It means that there are really no viable OSes in "mobile"; all you get is a hit-or-miss "experience" from a fly-by-night vendor ("couldn't even cook up their own OS!"), and pretty soon you'll be forced to buy a new phone just to be allowed to keep playing.

      On the desktop the situation is different, but there, too, for entirely different reasons, there's no viable OS available, you'll have to assemble something yourself from scratch to keep the most eggregious bullshit out. Servers, likewise. To me it's becoming increasingly clear that "the industry" is going to have to grow up and come up with something we can actually build upon, and pretty soon, too. Nobody wants houses that collapse on their own in seven years.

    2. Re:Unless they are being used by epine · · Score: 1

      A working battery for a seven-year-old phone may be difficult.

      No.

      My phone is seven years old, on its original battery. I haven't beaten the crap out of it. (Turns out, there's life after the club scene.)

      My original battery only became a PITA a few months ago after accidentally discharging it to 0%.

      And even so, this problem exists mainly because I have crap signal strength at home (metal isolation between suites works wonders to suppress unwanted noise, but also makes for a decent Faraday cage). Most of my calls from home involve maximum Rx power (a little less if it's nice out, and I can sit in rear patio, which is still situated at an inconvenient angle, right at the midpoint between my two local towers, one of which primarily serves a small but busy international airport which happens to be situated right beside a podunk marine airport, whose substantial bay forms the third side of my cell-phone coverage triangle, which would give me a sweet direct signal, if off-shore cell towers were all the rage).

      I'm pretty sure my carrier gives me a bigger signal boost outside of the heavy usage window (from what I've read, more power for me means fewer concurrent customers in total). All my bars disappear when I'm indoors on a rainy day during mid-week office hours. Thirty character text messages take over a minute to send, if they send at all. (My wife's iPhone generally manages to maintain enough of a connection to function, but even her phone sometimes drops calls, especially on rainy days.)

      I have no problem with this geriatric battery lasting for as long as I ever leave the house. But indoors, for longer calls, I usually plug it into a supplemental portable battery, and sit on the comfortable couch right beside the best window. Can't wander into the kitchen though, call loss rate is over 90%.

      Works for me, though I'm sure many would trade up for a better cell phone signal, and more not-so-muffled sex noises from adjoining suites.

      Additionally, my battery is replaceable, which I was thinking of doing, except that this phone is seven years old, which means it's about to explode for no particular hardware reason, as it just did today.

  14. Support is NOT the problem by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    The question is not about support or no support. The question is on removing access for apps that work fine on certain platforms. API levels in Android are not backwards compatible so these apps will disappear from the Play Store for anyone with an older OS. Next time they factory reset their phones they will find the Play Store no longer loads any of their apps.

  15. NAZI PROPAGANDIST RAY MORRIS CAUGHT DEAD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nazi homosexual recruiter RAY MORRIS pushing debunked Nazi propaganda even after corrected, #ROPE

  16. This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by ckatko · · Score: 2

    This wouldn't be such bullshit if you could actually CHOOSE to upgrade your operating system the way you can upgrade Windows or Linux to the newest (or at least much newer) versions.

    I've got a Samsung S5 with Android 5... how long before they kill off my only phone? A $650 (no contract) flagship phone. I dare you to find a 2014 laptop that cost SIX-HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS that can't run any new applications because "it's too old."

    Imagine if Windows made any application compiled on an OS earlier than Windows 10, not supported. Not because of a missing feature (like their arbitrary disabling of DirectX ~11/12 on Windows 7)... not because of hardware specs... no, just a complete cutoff based on version number. No 7zip. No VLC. No Chrome. Unless it's recompiled with a "new enough" SDK. All those Steam games that weren't compiled in 2018 because the developer moved on? Gone. Got that great 2017 game? Too bad, it's still not 2018. Battlefield 1 is officially legacy.

    If that happened, there would be rioting on the streets and Steve Ballmer and Nadella would be forced to dig their own graves with boxed sets of Microsoft Dynamics NAV as shovels.

    WTF are you supposed to do when your CARRIER arbitrarily decides to not offer updates to a phone that costs over half a grand?

    1. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you are still running a phone with ICS, then you need to get a new phone.

      And your analogy is wrong in so many ways.

    2. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Voyager529 · · Score: 1

      I wish I had mod points right now, because I 100% agree.

      Even if the locked bootloaders were a thing for the first few months and then an unlocking tool was provided so LineageOS and other aftermarket ROMs were able to be installed for those who wished to do so, it certainly should be possible to utilize hardware until it simply can't function anymore, rather than because OEMs stopped caring.

      There was a guy who, just because he could, got Windows XP running on a Pentium 1, clocked down to 8MHz (https://www.winhistory.de/more/386/xpmini.htm.en). It wasn't of much practical use, obviously, but it was only possible because there were no artificial limitations preventing it. It would be nice if mobile device OEMs would start thinking like that, but the disposable mentality seems to make the answer, "meh, just replace it" the way to deal with these issues.

    3. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you are still running a phone with ICS, then you need to get a new phone.

      And your analogy is wrong in so many ways.

      His phone probably works fine, but has old software. Considering phones keep getting bigger, nobody wants a new piece of crap.

    4. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He said Android 5, you ignorant slut.

    5. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So stop supporting the companies that do that sort of crap. Buy a flip phone and move on with your life.

      Oh, you have to have all those other features? Too fucking bad. Heroin addicts feel like they have to have their next fix, but that way just leads to an endless spiral down. The only solution is to break those habits and move on.

    6. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF are you supposed to do when your CARRIER arbitrarily decides to not offer updates to a phone that costs over half a grand?

      You're supposed to budget \$$(( PRICE / SUPPORT_MONTHS )) per month and buy a new phone when they stop providing security updates.

    7. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by trampel · · Score: 1

      That's why for me "unlocked bootloader" and "community support" are key aspects when selecting a new phone.

      FWIW, I used a Samsung S5 running LineageOS 14 (Android 8.1) this October to replace my dying Nexus 5, and it was a pretty good experience (OLED screen, replaceable battery, wireless charging).

    8. Re:This wouldn't be such bullshit if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just like me, we'll have to root our devices and upgrade it on our own if we want to.
      I never bothered rooting my tablet because I had a decent selection of apps I use regularly, and I already never installed shitware like Facebook or such. If a service never worked in the web-browser, it simply wasn't used.
      Only other apps I use besides those is VPN, VNC, Floating Apps, task manager and a couple games. All of those are blocked from ad networks via said VPN using our very own resident nutcases favourite blocking method.

      Mind you, this tablet is my last pre-built tablet. I'm making my own with a RockPro64 SBC and a few extras.
      I currently have a Note 10, first model. It's done a good job. I even like Touchjizz. A lot of people hate it, but even today it is still better multi-win than Androids default crap. (not anywhere close to rooted Android, though)
      I'll either be installing my own Android or Linux. Depends. Maybe even both. Slap Android on the eMMC and Linux on SD perhaps. (or SSD if I hook up the SATA card)
      That's my project for next year. Can't wait.
      Certainly better than the shitware tablets out there now. Including Surface. I'd rather end myself than use Windows 10. Surface would be great if it weren't for that shitfest of an OS. Not even the developers know how that damn OS works. (when it works)

  17. Get a grip. by aleph · · Score: 1

    Look at the dashboard.

    ICS is 0.3% of current devices checking in. Gingerbread is 0.2%

    Half a percentage point is a very very small number, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of those were emulators, at that.

    I wouldn't worry about Android 5+ just yet, as one poster was. Lamentably, 5.0 still has 3.5% of the market, 5.1 over 14%.

    https://developer.android.com/...

    1. Re:Get a grip. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the statistics of my app (18k users) it looks a bit different, with a clear cliff-edge for 4.0 and older.
      Though older phones might be under-represented since Play Store is unusable on old devices so some might have switched to F-Droid...
      The stats I get look like:
      1 (!) user on 4.0
      2 users on 2.3
      86 users on 4.3 (~0.5 %)
      0.8 % on 4.1
      1% on 4.2
      2.7% on 9
      3.8% on 5.0
      4.5% on 4.4
      4.9% on 5.1 (- completely off compared to official stats which have 14.4%)
      6.8% on 7.1
      9.5% on 8.1
      16.6% on 6.0
      16.9% on 7.0
      32% on 8.0 (- also vastly off, official stats have 14.0%)

    2. Re:Get a grip. by theCoder · · Score: 1

      It's hard to say how big a number it is because I don't know the denominator. Though in 2017, this number was 2 billion. 0.2% of 2 billion is 4 million devices. 0.3% is 6 million devices. In total, that is 10 million active devices. That's more than the number of people who live in New York City. It doesn't sound like a "very very small number" to me.

      --
      "Save the whales, feed the hungry, free the mallocs" -- author unknown
    3. Re:Get a grip. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clearly someone skipped percentages in Maths class.
      Small percentages don't necessarily mean small install-base.
      Never listen to percentages, people misinterpret them all the time.
      Unless it is specifically listed relative to a value, it's worthless data created with the very intent of misleading others.
      See theCoders reply as to why.

  18. Your App Shouldn't use GPS anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, it can be easier to implement certain functions, but anybody with half a mind for privacy on Android blocks access to everything for play services. Everything I can block from getting synced back to Google is blocked, even my contacts. If your app can't function without play services, I'm not granting permissions, I'm remove your app because your laziness is encouraging Google to continue spying.

  19. Android LTS by sebrk · · Score: 1

    Tell me is there any Android device that has received updates more than possibly 1 or 2 years? All I see are these pump and dump devices that Samsung et al throw out there and then simply stop caring.

    1. Re:Android LTS by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      My Nexus 7/2013 tablet shipped with Jelly Bean (just escaped ICS) and got updates from 2013 to 2015. Then I got thirdf-party updates to Nougat.

      Sadly, this tablet had serious hardware issues, from touch panel to general display to WiFi problems. Sad, it was superb in every other way. But it drove me to a Surface Pro 3 which is just what I want. Oh, actually, I want a 6, but...

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  20. I may be delusional, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a) What to do with old phones?

    I have a 4.0.4 one (therefore no longer supported) and a 4.3 one (soon...). The usual reuse questions apply:
    -- What good is it for? (specially if we cannot or are unable to mess with the hardware)
    -- What can it run? (maybe some open software stack, if the model is compatible and can be identified)
    -- How to identify it?

    b) Hangouts is going to be discontinued. Uh, OK, there's Allo. But, you know, Allo is being discontinued. Then what? Facebook and getting your bathtub photos on the net?

    OK, smartphones are like that -- if someone wants better usability, get a Linux notebook. The problem is I'm not a woman, I look weird with a handbag and criminals would be delighted to alleviate me from a 2Kg note.

    So we're back to square one: how to run Linux on such things (*) and get it constantly updated?

    (*) By such things, I mean any phones not some special device with 8GB RAM available in Estonia.

  21. Annoying, but by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    7 years is more than most will do..

    It will kill off one of my specialized devices that i still care a little about ( 3D glasses free tablet ), but its not the end of the world i guess.

  22. If you didnt get to upgrade along the way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't blame Google, blame your carriers..They are the ones that manage it, and prevent it, due to proprietary blobs ( or yourself for buying a low-end piece of hardware that could never handle newer OS even if you could upgrade it )