Help Where do you find out how long a phone will get updates for?

[kite]

I want to know how long individual phone models will get updates for before I buy one and I want to be able to look it up for every model I'm interested in. For example in this quote from a review, where did they get that information?

"Samsung promises four years of update support—including upgrading from Android 11 to 12 in summer 2022—so the A13 5G is safe to use through early 2026. Other phones in this price range often only receive security patches for half that long."

Link removed. Not needed
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Right now I'm looking at Samsung A22 5G and M23 5G but I'll want to check on some others too.

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[ocnbrze]

there is no list and it will depend on the manufactures and cell phone providers as to when and how many updates a certain will get.

you can pretty much say that most phones will get about 3-4 major updates from the manufacturers and a few more security updates from the time a phone model is released. most phones will get support for about 3-4 years.

 

[kite]

The thing is, when you read the article it strongly implies the information is actually published, for example where they say "Samsung promises.." - yes theoretically it could be that a Samsung rep personally told this to the New York Times reporter who wrote the article but the phrasing makes it sound somewhat like it's publicly available information.

 

[Dannydet]

I agree with ocnbrze, there is no list for what you are requesting.
Don't believe every story you read online either.

 

[svim]

There is no such thing as an actual, definitive list of which phone models will or won't receive long-term security updates or Android version upgrades. Basically you need to research each model you're interested in individually to see what are the published terms are for each one.

Samsung for instance provides pretty good long-term support for those monthly patches and version upgrades for it's upper tier and flagship models, but for the rest of its product line it depends. Motorola has a relatively poor long-term support policy in comparison but this issue is also a big variable as the time frames constantly get changed as new phone models get released. Plus there's an issue where Google is gradually making base changes to Android itself to take control back control of security patch releases so in the near future at least that aspect won't be such a dismal mix of confusion. This goes back to when the manufacturers and carriers bullied their way on insisting they control how we receive (and more often don't receive) updates and upgrades. The resulting mess has made the Android environment something of a joke as far as security issues since they've failed is major way at actually keeping up on the responsibilities they insisted they have.

 

[Deleted member 2157292]

Some manufacturers only pronise one or two further OS updates from RELEASE DATE.

Some, like Xiaomi brands have improved their promise on recent Xiaomi branded models, and have mentioned (in an article interview I can't find) they are extending support on their Poco, Mi and standard Redmi models.

OnePlus as far as I can see will offer 2 further OS updates and 3 years of security patches.


https://www.nextpit.com/how-many-android-updates-manufactures-offer

https://motosmartphones.com/how-long-does-motorola-support-their-phones/

 

[svim]

Some manufacturers only pronise one or two further OS updates from RELEASE DATE.

That's a really significant point to consider. Most statements on scheduled updates/upgrades will be based on the release date of the particular model. So if you buy a one-year old phone that the manufacturer stated will receive two years of update patches, you're getting a phone that has one year left of updates.
Really, if long-term support is a primary factor in which phone to buy get an iPhone. Apple has a much better and more consistent update/upgrade policy in place. We're still stuck in a bizarre mix of some Android phones will, some won't get the same kind of long-term support.

 

[Hadron]

The thing is, when you read the article it strongly implies the information is actually published, for example where they say "Samsung promises.." - yes theoretically it could be that a Samsung rep personally told this to the New York Times reporter who wrote the article but the phrasing makes it sound somewhat like it's publicly available information.

You can find the information on Samsung's websites with a little searching (probably easiest to find a press article that cites sources and go from there). For example: https://security.samsungmobile.com/securityPost.smsb

But that's Samsung, and comes with the disclaimer that some territories may differ. Other manufacturers may place their "promises" where they want, or may not put it in writing anywhere. And they do vary a lot.

 

[nickdalzell]

I actively seek out phones that NEVER get updates. I personally hate updates. A lot of them change things that should be left alone, or totally re-arrange functions in the app forcing me to relearn everything again, which annoys me, or flatten the UI which I outright despise. Using older phones guarantees I'll never have my flow interrupted by a prompt to 'please update this app to continue using it' or be bothered by a full-screen dialog saying 'a new software update is available for you phone'

I consider lack of updates a feature. However, there's tons of FUD out there that people will get hacked just by using old software. I can assure you that unless you're stupid, that will not happen. In fact, a lot of phones well out of support completely still support some modern apps including payment apps like Walmart or Kroger, and one example is the Galaxy S5. That's 8 years of support. Android support is actually better than Apple. Since Play Services can be updated without the need for an OS update, apps will be supported even on old versions of Android for the foreseeable future, while an iPhone that is a year out of date will have many apps up and stop working asking the user to 'update to iOS xx to continue using this app'.

So while OS support is lacking, app support is not. Also, continuing to consume by buying new phones when your old one works perfectly fine (despite not getting updates) is bad for the planet. e-waste is a horrendous problem that will not be solved by recycling alone. We have to all reduce, reuse, then recycle, in that order. Also, our wallets are bigger when we stop buying new things we don't need.