Future Android support

[jjarmasz 81]

Any discussion anywhere of how many future versions of Android (Q, R...) this phone will support? Maybe it's been discussed elsewhere but I haven't see it...

[ddark-il 100]

Q was promised. R unknown, probably will depend on Google and Qualcomm.

[Noir 112]

ddark-il posted the correct answer. Don't fogret the unlockable bootloader and hopefully some geniuses providing custom roms after the official EoL.

[jjarmasz 81]

Thanks for the answers. The unlockable bootloader and the company working with devs for custom roms is definitely one of the things that made me comfortable with placing a pre-order. That said I'm always curious about the levels of official Android support companies promise... and then deliver :-)

[Hook 2,945]

Thanks for the answers. The unlockable bootloader and the company working with devs for custom roms is definitely one of the things that made me comfortable with placing a pre-order. That said I’m always curious about the levels of official Android support companies promise… and then deliver :-)

 

Yeah. I actually like the fact that they were transparently cautious (as opposed to cagey and elusive), not promising more than they knew they could deliver right now. Clearly their intent is to update as far into the future as possible but they were clear that it depended on not just them, that there were other variables in play.

[_DW_ 628]

I only expect the latest release on any phone and just hope they release the next version other than that it's not likely as companies only see phones with a 2 year life span.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

I only expect the latest release on any phone and just hope they release the next version other than that it’s not likely as companies only see phones with a 2 year life span.

 

I feel much the same way. Unless an update severely destroys vital functionality existing on previous (aPple did that a couple of time when I used an Ip6- ), or a promised functionality is not working, I do not expect new updates, but sure am glad if there are updates.

[Hook 2,945]

There's also two kinds of "updates." There's the OS, Android P, Q, R, whenever, and then there are security updates (probably more accurately termed patches). I honestly don't care which version of Android I'm "stuck on" as long as it works smoothly with my phone. I do care about getting security updates which should be almost Android version agnostic. At least I suspect so because, thanks to the Lineage developers, I am still getting security updates for Android 7.1.2 on my 5 year old Samsung TAB s tablet (all LineageOS, not a stitch of Samsung software on it). It has on it right now the June 2019 update.

 

Honestly, there is nothing that I want to do with Pie that I can't do with Nougat. With updates being largely plateaued in terms of innovative jumps in functionality, there is mostly only a reason to update if your hardware changes and needs new support.

 

So Q will be fine with me if that is as far as we get, but hopefully we might get security updates much longer.

[_DW_ 628]

yes I expect security updates (which I believe they are aiming for 90 days for) its the major OS versions that I don't expect.

[silversolver 849]

I only expect the latest release on any phone and just hope they release the next version other than that it’s not likely as companies only see phones with a 2 year life span.

 

The amount of work that would be involved in making additional official updates to the OS is not nearly as great as the big brands would lead you to believe. The enormous proliferation of useful alternative ROMs proves that. I have an Original Droid with android 4.1 on it and a Droid 4 with 7.1 on it, thanks to smart people who wanted it done and then went out and did it, more or less for the fun of it. Both devices work very well. The big companies simply won't typically provide updates beyond 2 years because that would remove a major reason people upgrade their devices. If they could get away with programming their devices to corrupt the bootloader and reboot 2 years and 1 day after initial activation, they'd do it. :O

 

I think that this company, as a consortium of people who are actively bringing the best of the past into the future, may provide official builds of the OS for a great deal longer than the publicly traded mass market phone makers. These people are making a product because they love it, and it's the phone they always wished someone would build. I have a feeling that we will be pleasantly surprised on this point. :) I think they will see a long useful life as a badge of honor, and a way to enormously boost their credibility in a market dominated by planned obsolescence, which will in turn boost sales and take market share from the monster phone makers.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

I think that this company, as a consortium of people who are actively bringing the best of the past into the future, may provide official builds of the OS for a great deal longer than the publicly traded mass market phone makers. These people are making a product because they love it, and it’s the phone they always wished someone would build. I have a feeling that we will be pleasantly surprised on this point. :) I think they will see a long useful life as a badge of honor, and a way to enormously boost their credibility in a market dominated by planned obsolescence, which will in turn boost sales and take market share from the monster phone makers.

 

An Idea I have wondered over not seen, would be that (any company) close to end of line of updates for a product tried to 'crowd fund' subscription based updates. On a device like this I'm absolutely certain that we are enough keyboard maniacs out there, that if there is no Pro2, 3, ... we would be very interested in paying for the extension of the life of the Pro1.

 

I for one would not mind after the first two-three years to pay something like £50 a year (or maybe more) to keep it up to date with security patches, and perhaps feature and OS updates, if there were no alternative devices available. And if say just thousand of us feel the same way, it could be really profttable for them, win-win...

[James.vizo 3]

I'd be completely on board with subscription based updates for more current OS longevity.

[silversolver 849]

that if there is no Pro2, 3, …

 

Oh wash your mouth out with soap for speaking such dirty words! :O

 

Then again, I agree that its successor needs a catchier name. How about Droid 5? :P

 

At any rate, I'm sure good custom ROMs for this will keep this alive at least as long as the Droid 4 (it just lost mainstream support recently at 7 years old) and by then this outfit should have at least 2 new devices out, featuring newer processors, a flat screen option for those who prefer it, and keyboard layouts tweaked based on user feedback. :)

[EskeRahn 5,427]

Oh wash your mouth out with soap for speaking such dirty words! :O

 

*LOL*, Well even if WE want them to make it there is a risk that they find other endeavours to follow.

 

But I agree that the name is not optimal. Especially the typography Pro¹ over Pro1 is not Google-friendly. I Hope they will adjust that before release, say lower and enlarge the 1 only have it slightly raised and/or in a different colour, so everyone just types it as "Pro1"

[_DW_ 628]

Well my pre-order number is 8686 so if they went from 1 they are not doing to bad on pre-orders and if the device is solid a lot of them people would back a second device I would expect as well.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

Well my pre-order number is 8686 so if they went from 1 they are not doing to bad on pre-orders and if the device is solid a lot of them people would back a second device I would expect as well.

 

Yeah, I too expect to buy at the least one spare.

[silversolver 849]

Jason Bassett wrote:

Oh wash your mouth out with soap for speaking such dirty words! :O

*LOL*, Well even if WE want them to make it there is a risk that they find other endeavours to follow.

 

But I agree that the name is not optimal. Especially the typography Pro¹ over Pro1 is not Google-friendly. I Hope they will adjust that before release, say lower and enlarge the 1 only have it slightly raised and/or in a different colour, so everyone just types it as “Pro1”

 

I think everyone types it that way anyway. There's not really any other way to type it in unformatted text. It's hard to find a name that's catchy and original these days because so many have already been used. Also, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. :)

[EskeRahn 5,427]

There’s not really any other way to type it in unformatted text.

 

Well there is, Superscript numbers are characters you can find in e.g Windows Character map: Pro¹ .

Actually just checked again, and it (now) is supported by Google https://www.google.com/search?q=Pro¹ but it does not match Pro1 or vice versa. So you need to remember both in your text if you want to make sure a Google search finds it...

[silversolver 849]

Well there is, Superscript numbers are characters you can find in e.g Windows Character map

 

I question how many people use that just to type something into Google. LOL I agree having both present is smart just in case.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

I question how many people use that just to type something into Google. LOL I agree having both present is smart just in case.

 

Yup, I forgot that in my preview initially, so Googling Pro1 does not find it, though Pro¹ do... *LOL*

[silversolver 849]

StartPage actually does find it from pro1 although it's not the top result. So does Google, at least for me.

[Noir 112]

Well my pre-order number is 8686 so if they went from 1 they are not doing to bad on pre-orders and if the device is solid a lot of them people would back a second device I would expect as well.

 

Mine is at 44xx, and I am sure I was one of the first.. In other threads you can read about order numbers 18xxx.. I tried talking to Liangchen about that, but we won't get any numbers anytime soon, I doubt they started at 0, and I don't know if single orders always add a +1 to the number, maybe even and 'add to cart' counts for this number.

Again, lots of speculation. I personally would not trust these numbers as they are.

[netman 1,424]

EskeRahn wrote:

Well there is, Superscript numbers are characters you can find in e.g Windows Character map

I question how many people use that just to type something into Google. LOL I agree having both present is smart just in case.

 

I like to think most people are like me, normal, and just type a normal 1 for searching something on google.

[EskeRahn 5,427]

I like to think most people are like me, normal, and just type a normal 1 for searching something on google.

 

Exactly and hence using Pro¹ is a bad idea, as it is not found when anyone searches for Pro1 - that was the whole point.

[netman 1,424]

netman wrote:

I like to think most people are like me, normal, and just type a normal 1 for searching something on google.

Exactly and hence using Pro¹ is a bad idea, as it is not found when anyone searches for Pro1 – that was the whole point.

 

Some SEO magic could fix that but i guess it's impossible to expect all reviewers and alike to think of and take this into account. Like meta keywords tag, if google and the likes still respect those.