This device is going to get at best around 2 years of proper security updates due to using an SoC launched in late 2020 with 3 years of support. They're claiming they'll be providing something they won't really be providing without doing the work for it.
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It'd be nice if journalists looked beyond marketing and press releases for evidence/substance. It's probably expecting too much. Apple has done the work to provide 6 years of proper support. Fairphone has no actual plan or intention to do it. It's not enough to want to do it...
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OEMs can provide 4 years of proper support by using the latest and greatest Snapdragon SoC and timing their device releases based on SoC generations.
Google never timed Pixel releases that way but will very likely be providing 5+ years of proper support via their own SoC now.
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Providing 2 years of delayed security updates and hacked together major version updates several years late is hardly being an industry leader.
Even Samsung does better despite having a ridiculously bloated line of phones and immense changes to the OS.
Compare it to an iPhone...
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Im guessing they are gonna slap GSIs on it when qualcom kills the platform, and just barely touch what ever kernel (probably 4.19?) is on there beyond that?
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So they'll be missing half of the privacy/security updates. They don't even do a good job shipping the privacy/security updates when the hardware is still being supported. Can look at their existing devices and see that the support they actually deliver is not actually very good.
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They should focus on shipping 3 years of monthly privacy/security updates on time along with 3 years of major version upgrades. Pixels and Android One devices are able to provide that without timing their releases with SoC generations. Could do 4 years now if it was timed better.
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3-4 years of day one monthly privacy/security updates and near day one major version updates is what you get from simply shipping AOSP paired with Qualcomm's support for their SoC platform. Pixels are moving to Google's own SoC before Qualcomm switch from 3 to 4 years of support.