Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Linux-Based postmarketOS Project Aims to Give Smartphones a 10-Year Lifecycle

posted by Fnord666 on Friday August 18 2017, @01:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the defeating-planned-obsolescence dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Buy an iPhone and you might get 4-5 years of official software updates. Android phones typically get 1-3 years of updates… if they get any updates at all. But there are ways to breathe new life into some older Android phones. If you can unlock the bootloader, you may be able to install a custom ROM like LineageOS and get unofficial software updates for a few more years.

The folks behind postmarketOS want to go even further: they're developing a Linux-based alternative to Android with the goal of providing up to 10 years of support for old smartphones.

That's the goal anyway. Right now the developers have only taken the first steps.

[...] At this point the developers behind postmarketOS are a long way from creating a fully functional OS that works on a single phone, let alone an operating system that will provide a decade of software updates for dozens of different devices. But it's a laudable goal that could help keep your aging phones useful (and secure) long after your phone maker stops pushing official updates.

Source: https://liliputing.com/2017/08/linux-based-postmarketos-project-aims-give-smartphones-10-year-lifecycle.html

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Linux-Based postmarketOS Project Aims to Give Smartphones a 10-Year Lifecycle | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 24 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Friday August 18 2017, @01:30AM

    by frojack (1554) on Friday August 18 2017, @01:30AM (#555659) Journal

    There was CyanogenMod. Arguably the single best Android version in the world.

    It was SO good, the rest of the industry had to devise a way to get them to an official company status so that they could manipulated and shut down. [androidauthority.com]

    But it too suffered the same problem postmarketOS will suffer. Namely that the new features and software require newer hardware, and 10 years of phone hardware progress is a long time. CyanogenMod could not make your old phone do new tricks, and neither will postmarketOS. Your 10 year old linux hardware running the latest kernels is still running on 10 year old gear and its not getting any faster.

    (Note: I'm not arguing that all the improvement in smartphone hardware is warranted, or that all the software we use on smart phones is needed. The Luddites among us just have to realize that ship has sailed.)

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2