How relevant to it is this though? Like never - not once - have I ever heard of someone upgrading their phone because their version of Android was too old.

It's far more likely they'll upgrade due to degraded performance and/or battery life packed into these updates with either new features (or more like, anti-features if we're being cynical). Want to use a smartphone for its lifespan? Don't upgrade software unless you absolutely need to. This actually applies to any computers really.

If anything, thanks to manufacturers like Samsung slowly overwriting android with their bloatware crap most people aren't even aware of what version of android they run because it doesn't even look anything like any other version of android on any other phone, unfortunately brands like Samsung succeeded in creating a soft walled garden for users by obscuring the fact they're using anything but 'A Samsung'.

Ask a non-tech savvy user for a USB-C charger, and they'll not know what you mean, but ask them for a Samsung charger and they'll hand you USB-C.

[–] neutronicturtle@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

I have. I would probably use my last phone for at least another year if it didn't loose system updates. There's too much important personal data (bank, photos, messages including medical info...) on the phone to risk using it unsupported. At least to me it is not worth it so I try to buy a phone with reasonably long support and buy a new one soon after the old one looses support.

load more comments (5 replies)