[dungdang]

that's cute. 2011 you say? you can run android 10 (current latest release) on galaxy s2. released in 2011. and it's actually usable, because screencandy has been removed to give it a perf boost. can you run ios 13.6 on your 2011 iphone 4s?

i know in the iphone world it's important how long apple updates it. in the android world that doesn't apply. the manufacturer doesn't have to. because literally anyone can, and does.

[culturestate]

> in the android world that doesn't apply. the manufacturer doesn't have to. because literally anyone can, and does.

I have two problems with this model. The first is that it really only applies to the kind of people who would be in this thread on HN - consumers at large are not updating their phones based on some community-supported Android rom.

The second is this: do we really want to train non-technical people that it's ok to let random organizations on The Internet control the operating system on their phones? These are deeply personal devices that can be relatively trivially turned into 24/7 remote surveillance stations, and say what you will about open source but with rare exception these roms are not undergoing line-by-line code audits.

In my opinion, the world is better served when companies support their own hardware.

If it turns out that Apple is spying on users, we have legal recourse. If orchiddroid928 on GitHub is doing it, that's a different ballgame.

[dungdang]

linux is community supported. just like you can get linux from redhat, you can get your android rom from large companies. lineageos is a popular one.

i won't argue with the rest of that, as you are arguing open source is inferior. one you convince every enterprise out there not to use open source, you can revisit this with me.

you are also arguing all servers and consumer pcs should be made by microsoft, since they run windows.

[culturestate]

I don't know what Linux has to do with this and I won't litigate the open source dogma, but on this point:

> you are also arguing all servers and consumer pcs should be made by microsoft, since they run windows.

That's not really what I'm saying at all; this isn't like e.g. expecting to get Windows updates through Dell, it's more like expecting that Dell will continue to deliver compatible drivers for their hardware that enable the updates I get from Microsoft to keep working.

That's a basic expectation when we buy PC hardware, in part thanks to the relative standardization of PC components - if I couldn't update Windows ~2 years after I bought a laptop and Dell's answer was "maybe someone in the community can help you", I'd be incensed.

In the smartphone/tablet market, that's just business as usual.

[scarface74]

The only reason that PC hardware is standardized is because MS and Intel came up with standards in 1995 and continue to update them along with other committees.

Dell doesn’t have to release new drivers. I installed Windows 10 on a Dell E6500 Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz laptop that was sold in 2009.

My mom still occasionally uses my Mac Mini Core Duo 1.66Ghz from 2006 with Windows 7. This was without any drivers from Apple. Windows 7 recognized everything.

Going even further back, I bought a DX/2-66 DOS Compatibility Card from Apple in 1994 that came with Windows 3.1. I upgraded it to Windows 95.

Microsoft figured out how to nourish a platform over 25 years ago. Google and Android - not so much.

[dungdang]

you update drivers on your phone? i just flash a new rom. it's got all the drivers i need in it. and on a phone from 2011, i can put the latest operating system. you cannot. you then spout the superior glory of being stuck on an outdated version because you got a security patch. how is that superior to also security patches, and even latest os if you want?

you don't need anything from dell to update windows. you literally just install windows.

the reason i bring up linux isn't clear? because android runs on it.

[scarface74]

So exactly how does a normal person get Android 10 working on S2? Can they simply get an over the air upgrade directly from Samsung?

[dungdang]

a normal person downloads a recovery app and the rom, and uses the app to flash any rom they want. what you're saying is you'd rather get your windows updates from lenovo. software and hardware are different things.

[scarface74]

No, I get my operating system updates from Microsoft and Apple. Why shouldn’t I get Android updates from Google?

[stallmanite]

I’m all in on Apple phone-wise due to having too many Androids die on me in one year but the point about 3rd parties supporting some old hardware is very true. I have an ancient Barnes & Noble Nook tablet that I flashed with a custom rom and the thing is really snappy and responsive. The battery holds a charge and everything it’s really surprising.

[Tepix]

Can your mom without you helping her?

You can't even go to a store and ask them for help to have a custom rom installed. Plus you don't know what's inside that ROM.

[dungdang]

can your mom upgrade windows 7 to windows 10 without you helping her?

i actually do know what's in the rom. and so does. anyone else who wants to check. and you have hundreds of 3rd party people who do. source code is available. you're literally arguing hardware and software should be tied together to the hardware manufacturer. the entire world of computers disagrees.

what's inside your ios rom?

[vondro]

>can your mom upgrade windows 7 to windows 10 without you helping her?

Quite possibly, yes! I recall Microsoft pushed upgraded to Windows 10 quite aggressively at the beginning to the point it basically scheduled automatic upgrade. That was 5 years ago, I might not recall correctly.

The big difference between iOS/Windows 10 upgrades and installing custom ROM is that in the iOS/Windows 10 case, you click one button (or even let it install automatically!) and it installs itself. It cannot be easier probably. I can expect it was reasonably tested and that it's reasonably safe.

With custom roms, it really needs to be your hobby to do that. For majority of people, it's not viable solution to do that - they lack time and/or knowledge.

Putting Android 10 into Samsung Galaxy S2 is kinda like putting Corvette V8 engine into VW Beetle. It's possible, there are people that did it, but it requires skill and time to do that.