[charcircuit]

No, this response was not generated by ChatGPT. I would like to point out that there is one part of the Linux ecosystem that does automatic updates well which is Android based operating systems. What this post is about, desktop Linux, is much further behind so a more generic response is deserved.

Before we get the point where we are discussing aspects like under what conditions should updates be applied or the priority of which updates should be installed first, desktop Linux needs to show that it can handle the basics.

[tttttt5ts]

My phone hasn't gotten update in over a year as Google dropped support for my old pixel. My 10 year old Linux desktop updated yesterday... Oh, and I didn't have to reboot my machine (live patching for the win). Android update is not "better" it is different with different goals.

[charcircuit]

The support duration of an operating system is different from the quality of how it handles autoupdates. Unsupported Android devices can still receive updates to apps from the Play Store. We were talking about application updates specifically and not operating system updates which while similar, are typically handled differently.

Upgrading Android apps does not need a reboot of the device either. Again live patching is a separate feature from automatic application updates. If you read the article it shows a case where a Roussel is fruterated with how live patching is broken on desktop Linux. Meanwhile on Android apps don't do that when they are updated.