Great news for the future of android phones.

[Gromett]

Not only will this bring Android up to the latest Linux kernel version it will enable long term support for phones.
I tend to keep phones for 5-8 years and being on really old versions of Android OS is a nuisance for some software.

This will fix that. But it will be a few versions before it is fully in play. So about the time I am ready to buy a new phone again

5 year support cycles for Android phones is coming. Yeah, yeah, I know you get this on Apple phones already but I spend £150 on each phone and they last me 5-8 years

Android to take an “upstream first” development model for the Linux kernel

Google stops by the Linux Plumbers Conference for an Android update.

arstechnica.com

 

[mitzimad]

im assuming this is good news as i understood none of the article

 

[Gromett]

im assuming this is good news as i understood none of the article

Basically. The current android OS is based on Linux, but it is a version of linux that is branched and modified by Google, Then branched and modified by the chip manufacturers, which is then branched and modified by each phone model manufacturer.

What google is saying is that this branching will stop. There will be a primary kernel that will be supplied by google and updated via the play store.
This primary kernel will have "hooks" that chip and phone manufacturers can link into to provide the custom functionality. These hooks will be stable.
Think of this like drivers in your windows system. Where you have a different driver for NVidia and AMD graphics card but the core windows kernel stays the same. This means MS can upgrade the OS but leave the NVidia driver in place without breaking anything.
This is not quite accurate but gives you a rough idea of the issue. It means google can supply the kernel for all phones and it can be upgraded via the Play store. As Android is a layer on top of the OS, later versions of the OS require later versions of the kernel.
So currently if you have a V11 phone you can't upgrade to Android V12 because the manufacturer hasn't released an updated Kernel.

This is roughly the situation. It is more technical than this, but over the next few releases of Android Google will pull more of the core stuff into the OS so it can be upgraded without waiting for the phone manufacturer to do the work.
This is good because phone manufacturers want you to buy a new phone every 18-24 months so stop supporting old hardware pretty quickly.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Went right over my head, I have just invested in a Samsung Galaxy S9+ what does it all mean for me please?

 

[The Wino]

Basically. The current android OS is based on Linux, but it is a version of linux that is branched and modified by Google, Then branched and modified by the chip manufacturers, which is then branched and modified by each phone model manufacturer.

What google is saying is that this branching will stop. There will be a primary kernel that will be supplied by google and updated via the play store.
This primary kernel will have "hooks" that chip and phone manufacturers can link into to provide the custom functionality. These hooks will be stable.
Think of this like drivers in your windows system. Where you have a different driver for NVidia and AMD graphics card but the core windows kernel stays the same. This means MS can upgrade the OS but leave the NVidia driver in place without breaking anything.
This is not quite accurate but gives you a rough idea of the issue. It means google can supply the kernel for all phones and it can be upgraded via the Play store. As Android is a layer on top of the OS, later versions of the OS require later versions of the kernel.
So currently if you have a V11 phone you can't upgrade to Android V12 because the manufacturer hasn't released an updated Kernel.

This is roughly the situation. It is more technical than this, but over the next few releases of Android Google will pull more of the core stuff into the OS so it can be upgraded without waiting for the phone manufacturer to do the work.
This is good because phone manufacturers want you to buy a new phone every 18-24 months so stop supporting old hardware pretty quickly.

It's a bit like the EU making it a requirement to have standard chargers increase the life of things and just replace the bits you need to in order to avoid waste and pollution. I've not looked at the EU stuff in detail they ought to make it illegal to supply a charger and headphones in the phone box then you'll only buy them if you need to

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[Coolcats]

Apple all the way here

 

[The Wino]

Apple all the way here

I hear they're kicking off about the standard leads presumably as they want to keep the market cornered to sell theirs. It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I'm no wiser and you would have to bind and gag me to have another apple product, I hate the whole ethos of the company, ditto Tesla.

 

[yodeli]

I spend £150 on each phone and they last me 5-8 years

Just like me!!! Very expensive phones are not for me. I'm not good at finding AND using all their functions so why spend money on things I won't use (Which is not your case Karl!) The only reason I buy new ones is their growing memory. I'm now on a HTC U11 which is not bad but certainly not the best thing ever,but I have 128Gb memory and that's just fine for me!

 

[Gromett]

Just like me!!! Very expensive phones are not for me. I'm not good at finding AND using all their functions so why spend money on things I won't use (Which is not your case Karl!) The only reason I buy new ones is their growing memory. I'm now on a HTC U11 which is not bad but certainly not the best thing ever,but I have 128Gb memory and that's just fine for me!

You would be surprised. I don't use a fraction of the phones functions. Basically email and banking is all it gets used for.

I have skype, whatsapp and email clients installed so that it makes a noise and lets me know when a message has arrived whether my computer is on or not.

Other than that I use the HSBC app to transfer my wages to my revolut app.

that is literally it. I use it for nothing else.

I hate phones, mobile or otherwise and have trained most people not to phone me

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[dash300]

Apple all the way here

We have both but Apple and Android and the Apple phones always slow down as they get older as reported by my brother in the US so much so he is giving up with Apple. It's reported over there that's what Apple do!

 

[Coolcats]

I hear they're kicking off about the standard leads presumably as they want to keep the market cornered to sell theirs. It will be interesting to see what happens.

To be honest people do not buy a phone dependent on the power lead and it certainly won’t corner a market based on the lead