Samsung Won't Be Forced To Update Old Smartphones (bbc.com) 145
Samsung will not be forced to update the software on its mobile phones for years after their release, after it won a court case in the Netherlands. From a report: A consumer association had argued that Samsung should update its phones for at least four years after they go on sale. Regular software updates can address security problems but older models do not typically receive all the latest updates.
However, the court rejected the association's claims.
Samsung produces some of the world's best-selling mobile phones running Google's Android operating system. Google regularly produces software updates that address newly discovered security flaws, and offers these to phone manufacturers such as Samsung. It is often up to the phone manufacturer to distribute the update to its customers. Consumer group Consumentenbond said Samsung was not distributing updates in a "timely" manner. Samsung said it guaranteed consumers in the Netherlands would get software updates for two years after a handset first went on sale in the country. The court ruled in Samsung's favour and said the claims made by Consumentenbond were "inadmissible" because they related to "future acts."
Samsung produces some of the world's best-selling mobile phones running Google's Android operating system. Google regularly produces software updates that address newly discovered security flaws, and offers these to phone manufacturers such as Samsung. It is often up to the phone manufacturer to distribute the update to its customers. Consumer group Consumentenbond said Samsung was not distributing updates in a "timely" manner. Samsung said it guaranteed consumers in the Netherlands would get software updates for two years after a handset first went on sale in the country. The court ruled in Samsung's favour and said the claims made by Consumentenbond were "inadmissible" because they related to "future acts."
In a related story (Score:2, Insightful)
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Pretty much this.
One of the huge problems with Android is how heavily fragmented it is with every company making their own flavor to drive you to their own revenue streams and app stores ... and the complete lottery if you'll get updates or not. I originally bought a Nexus tablet, but Google seems to have given up on the idea of a clean version of a tablet which has the core Android and nothing else. I'm hard pressed to think of what I'd replace it with these
Stop peddling the "heavily fragmented" meme! (Score:1)
Nobody wants an easily globally infectable monoculture. Smartphones are already worse than indistinguishable.
"fragmentation" has become a brain-dead meme, parroted without thinking, like a polical mantra of the always-afraid.
Choice is a good thing! (Yes, hello, fake two party system! ;)
Modern versions of Android (>7) allow easy updating, even with manufacturer drivers and modifications, as they are kept separate. So changes are not a problem anymore.
More and new features does not equal bad things or bloa
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In terms of device support, updates, and not being locked into someone's ecosystem, I increasingly see Android as a failure because it's not living up to the promises.
Apple only lives up to its promises because it never promised you wouldn't be locked into their ecosystem. Just saying.
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In terms of device support, updates, and not being locked into someone's ecosystem, I increasingly see Android as a failure because it's not living up to the promises.
Apple only lives up to its promises because it never promised you wouldn't be locked into their ecosystem. Just saying.
Wrong.
Apple lives up to its promises because, by and large, they actually DO provide updates for around 4 to 5 years.
And no, I don't want to hear (again!) about your outlier iPad example. I said "by and large". That covers it. ;-)
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Care to try again?
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How is what I said wrong? Are you not locked into Apple's ecosystem? (you are) Did they promise you wouldn't be? (they did not) Did I claim they don't provide product support? (I did not)
Care to try again?
I am not "locked in", simply because all I have to do to "Escape" is to turn left instead of turn right (IOW, buy something else).
It's is NOT "lock-in" if you can "leave" at any time.
It is NOT "lock-in" if you open the door and walk-in of your own free-will (by purchasing an Apple product).
It is NOT "lock-in" if you understand that, like ALL "platforms" and "ecosystems", one's chosen "platform" or "ecosystem" (speaking specifically regarding computing-products), cannot load and execute ANY software you desi
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No. If Android comes with lock-in, by your definition, well, I ain't seein' it; I can still go buy something else. Of course, that's not what people mean when they say vendor lock-in [wikipedia.org].
In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs [1]. Lock-in costs that create barriers to market entry [2] may result in antitrust action against a monopoly.
[1] If you have to buy entirely new hardware to escape t
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[2] Apple charges a fee to gain access to their marketplace. As a consumer, you must buy Apple hardware; as a producer, you must buy Apple hardware* and pay an annual fee. That is a barrier to market entry.
As a consumer, you must buy Android hardware. (We'll ignore the side projects with various applications that pretty much only hobbyists would tolerate) That Google gives away the IDE, an IDE you must otherwise purchase BTW, and supports its Play store with no developer cost is only an indication of how absolutely crappy and terrible the situation for Android was at its beginning. Once the precedent was set, it becomes very difficult to take things away from your core supporters, and whatever you may think,
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That said, you gave some pretty horrible examples. Let's go over them:
As a consumer, you must buy Android hardware.
From your choice of vendors. If your current vendor does something stupid like removing the headphone jack that you still use, ditching fingerprint unlocking
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As a consumer, you must buy Android hardware.
From your choice of vendors. If your current vendor does something stupid like removing the headphone jack that you still use, ditching fingerprint unlocking that you still use, or heavily restricting NFC functionality even though you may find it useful if it were made available to you, you can switch to another vendor's hardware and still have the same OS and access to all of your purchased apps. That's the beauty of not being locked to a single vendor.
That's kind of sort of not true, and you know it. Different vendor, no telling what you're getting OS-wise. Maybe that's changed with Oreo. But to state that you get the same OS is absolute and total bullshit. Even in the same damn version, I get OSes that behave and look quite differently from each other. This is even a claimed benefit - that vendors can customize the OS. You can't have it both ways. It winds up being build once test on all devices. It's been getting a little better, and I restrict myself
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That's kind of sort of not true, and you know it. Different vendor, no telling what you're getting OS-wise. Maybe that's changed with Oreo. But to state that you get the same OS is absolute and total bullshit. Even in the same damn version, I get OSes that behave and look quite differently from each other. This is even a claimed benefit - that vendors can customize the OS. You can't have it both ways. It winds up being build once test on all devices. It's been getting a little better, and I restrict myself to core OS features only.
The important part was:
and access to all of your purchased apps
Sorry you missed that.
Apple does require the code and the device to be registered with them for non Apple Store based loading unless you're into jail-breaking.
Can you provide a link to more details regarding that program? As an iOS developer, myself, this conversation is truly the first I'm hearing of it.
I'm not sure where you're going with this. You asked if you could legally run OSX. That's not the same as getting support from the Genius bar, which only supports Apple products. If you note, Apple support has always been in terms of their hardware sales.
MacOS (formerly OS X) is an Apple product, which might be why one may expect the genius bar to support it.
The question of support is irrelevant to your question of legally running OSX.
But it's fully relevant in a discussion regarding vendor lock-in. You say using an Apple keyboard is a workaround, I say it doesn't get you support (even though MacOS is and Apple product and, according to you, use
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The important part was:
and access to all of your purchased apps
That may or may not work, on that particular version. Yes, it's that bad.
Apple does require the code and the device to be registered with them for non Apple Store based loading unless you're into jail-breaking.
Can you provide a link to more details regarding that program? As an iOS developer, myself, this conversation is truly the first I'm hearing of it.
It's part of the private beta program. You can register 'x' devices. It used to be 50, I think, and has now been upped to 200/500. I don't recall. There are other limitations and shortcomings to using that route. The VPP you mentioned is a way to run private Apple Store provided enterprise apps. That's a different solution.
MacOS (formerly OS X) is an Apple product, which might be why one may expect the genius bar to support it.
And quite clearly is not purchasable, nor Apple Care supported. The hardware, however, is.
But it's fully relevant in a discussion regarding vendor lock-in. You say using an Apple keyboard is a workaround, I say it doesn't get you support (even though MacOS is and Apple product and, according to you, used legally by way of attaching an Apple keyboard), and you don't seem to be able to refute that. Therefore, the only way to ensure that your MacOS installation works, and continues working, is to buy Apple hardware above and beyond simply a keyboard. You're locked in to buying one vendor's hardware in order to receive support for their software. That's vendor lock-in, my friend.
If you want support, yes
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That may or may not work, on that particular version. Yes, it's that bad.
Examples? Much as I'm an Apple user, I am also an Android user, have been for 7 years, upgrade yearly simply because I want the latest and greatest, and have never seen this.
Are you mining by chance? It's one of the few workloads (along with hi-res gaming) that would drain the battery in 3 hours or less.
Mining? On a laptop? No. As I was writing my previous post, I had a browser and an IDE open. I had been playing some YouTube videos while I was working, but paused them while I replied to you. Truly nothing strenuous; and, before you suggest I check it, my battery has seen 140 cycles, has a "full charge" capacity of 6385mAh, and reports
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Examples? Much as I'm an Apple user, I am also an Android user, have been for 7 years, upgrade yearly simply because I want the latest and greatest, and have never seen this.
Very specifically the 4.2 releases on T-mobile vs AT&T vs Verizon vs the 4.4.x releases by each on the same type devices for those that were able to be upgraded. I don't recall specifically what the calls were that got broken, but switching between those devices while testing as far GUI interaction was concerned was ... excruciating.
Mining? On a laptop? No. As I was writing my previous post, I had a browser and an IDE open. I had been playing some YouTube videos while I was working, but paused them while I replied to you. Truly nothing strenuous; and, before you suggest I check it, my battery has seen 140 cycles, has a "full charge" capacity of 6385mAh, and reports condition "Normal". My battery is fine.
That just makes me more curious. My laptop generally runs at least 2 IDE instances, 2 DBs, at least 1 DB GUI client, at least 1 appserver, mail and calendar clients, 2 or 3
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Regarding solid keyboards - the original IBM Thinkpads has some seriously decent keyboards.
Oh yes, IBM made the best keyboards for sure. Not just their laptops, either; there's a reason so many people seek out Model M clones. I started having fairly severe wrist pains and they were gone within 15 minutes of switching to a Model M; after a year of using that almost exclusively, I can type on just about anything again.
Re: In a related story (Score:1)
Apple mobile devices stop working after 4 to 5 years of use because they are locked down. If you stick with the major Android phones supported by third-party ROM makers like lineageos, then you can keep the phone working for many years beyond when the manufacturers decide to stop supporting it. People just need to do the research to figure out what phones have replacement ROMs available. Flashing phone ROMs would seem to be a good business for local PC shops to get into, but most people typically buy a new
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Apple mobile devices stop working after 4 to 5 years of use because they are locked down. If you stick with the major Android phones supported by third-party ROM makers like lineageos, then you can keep the phone working for many years beyond when the manufacturers decide to stop supporting it. People just need to do the research to figure out what phones have replacement ROMs available. Flashing phone ROMs would seem to be a good business for local PC shops to get into, but most people typically buy a new phone every couple years without giving it much thought.
Well, with Apple products, by the time they fall off the supported-list, they are far-enough behind in general technology that they simply aren't really much worth updating, anyway.
And, other than the occasional hypercritical security update (which Apple has occasionally offered even to out-of-supported devices), most of the time it isn't a big deal; since "unsupported" DOESN'T mean "non-functional".
Re: In a related story (Score:2)
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So, why not update it?
Oh, you cannot be bothered doing anything other than excepting the maker to give you new software? oh dear.
I suppose it must be nice when your car maker turns up with a new better engine for your car, because the new models have it.
(Yes, I know its software - do you think back-porting is free? really?)
Or required to run Samsung software... (Score:1)
Just checking my Samsung Note 3, and its running 7.1.2 (must get around to updating it..)
Because you know what? its not that hard to run other software on many (even most) Android hardware.
Whats not to like? I just run the official software until they drop support, then move to a generic.
Lineage in this case.
Re:Or required to run Samsung software... (Score:4, Interesting)
Now that points to the second suit, which Samsung have just stitched themselves up with. No longer going to upgrade the phone, then by law pretty much you have to give customers full access to the phone as an option so they can update it themselves and now Samsung does not have a leg to stand on. They will have to provide root access to no longer upgraded phones upon owner request, likely having to supply software to do it.
Re: No cell phones in Federal Prison though (Score:1)
Does your homophobic ranting go down well with all your vegan hipster buddies?
More planned obsolescence, more e-waste (Score:5, Insightful)
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The non-replaceable battery will convince you in a year or so that your phone is now garbage. No marketing necessary!
Re: More planned obsolescence, more e-waste (Score:1)
My phone manufacturer posted a complete disassembly and reassembly video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9yLEemeXFnY
And instructions on how to fix things: https://youtu.be/SfotwMwechg
And sells replacement batteries, speakers, case parts, etc, on e-bay.
Pick the right manufacturer, please. Or shut up.
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And how long after release does your Blackview phone get guaranteed updates?
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There's so much wrong with that comment I don't know where to begin.
Any old unsupported Android phone or tablet from 2011 can still update apps from the Play Store over WiFi. That's not the problem.
System updates are exactly what we're talking about here and, despite your misguided comment, they are "that important".
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It's a neat phone. The P10000 Pro looks really amazing. Huge battery. Built like a tank and selling on ebay for just over 200 bucks. I may get one soon. Thanks for the info, I'd never heard of Blackview.
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Only 4GB though!?!?! and 64GB storage? wth
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It's only a little over $200. The main thing is that battery! Damn!
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Yeap, I suppose...
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What we need is a good, open source phone OS (like FirefoxOS, except done right) to install onto all these old "obsolete" but completely functional phones and tablets. There's millions of phones out of support around the globe and that number will only get larger. People like "new, shiny" things, so installing a new OS on their phone seems like it would do well.
I'm guessing one of the main issues is building an OS that can target a large variety of phones. Plus you'd need instructions to root them all in
Re: More planned obsolescence, more e-waste (Score:3)
Lineage OS fits the bill to some degree - a Google free Android. It runs very nicely on my Note 2
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Re: More planned obsolescence, more e-waste (Score:1)
You're describing PostmarketOS.
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Meanwhile, you can still get OS updates for a 4 1/2 year old iPhone 5S.
Not all phone manufactures suck about keeping their older phones updated, but Samsung is definitely one of ones that is horrible at it.
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Replaced battery twice, and full restore to refresh the flash, and this iphone 6 is still good as new.
Re:More planned obsolescence, more e-waste (Score:5, Informative)
Will they still might be forced to offer updates. The court ruled that they can't be sued over future actions, but in a year or two they will be past actions and could be dragged back to court.
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Never mind that the old phones end up crunched into little toxic bits and shipped off by the tonne to some asian country to be 'recycled' [slashdot.org] (as if !) only this fiscal quarters' profits matter; the environment is someone else's problem.
. . . what Samsung is doing now . . . is not illegal . . . yet. I'm guessing we'll see a new EU law really soon requiring updates for four years.
Don't expect to see anything like that coming from the US Congress. The Republican sides of the aisles are in bed with Ajit Pai and his pals. If the Democrats regain majority . . . they will get Big Telecom payola, so don't expect anything to come from them either.
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Don't expect to see anything like that coming from the US Congress.
Doesn't matter, if the EU does it they'll have to put in the work anyway. At that point, advertising 4 year support in the US becomes free marketing.
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Of course they don't want to update anything. How are they supposed to convince you that your 1-year-old phone is now outdated garbage and that you must buy a new one if you don't want to be left behind? Never mind that the old phones end up crunched into little toxic bits and shipped off by the tonne to some asian country to be 'recycled' [slashdot.org] (as if !) only this fiscal quarters' profits matter; the environment is someone else's problem.
That's why you should buy an Apple phone.
Not only are their products almost always supported for many years (generally 4-5 for mobile, and 7-10 for desktop), but for the phones (and I think the computers, too), they offer a recycling service (which they even mostly pay YOU for!) that they claim is responsible for making their new products generally about 80% recycled materials, with a goal of 100% recycled in a few years.
https://www.apple.com/shop/tra... [apple.com]
I can't find the article I read that quoted the 80% fi
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Any version of Android prior to 4.4.x lacks support for TLS 1.1 / 1.2 - without these, you cannot access PCI DSS compliant web site. Have fun with that!
Android has TLS support in 4.1 (Score:3)
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iPhones are replaced every six to nine months due to peer pressure to have the most recent model.
You sure? I've been on the iPhone since the beginning, and only replace ever 2 or 3 years; about ever 3rd or 4th model. Even my Mac cultist friends don't buy every model that gets released.
Plus the batteries won't hold a charge within a year
Demonstrably false. I have never replaced an iPhone battery, or felt the need to.
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The battery in my iPhone 6 lasted three years before it needed to be replaced.
Battery replacements only cost $29 at an Apple Store now, mostly because of the kerfuffle over Apple throttling older iPhones with bad batteries.
There are reasons to hate Apple, but overpriced battery replacements aren't one of them anymore.
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1) What difference does privacy make here? People are still using Gmail, Google Maps, Facebook, etc... on their iPhone. Same data collected by the same people.
2) At what cost? As features are added the phone *feels* slower, battery life drops, more crapware added (I don't use a majority of the Apple developed apps because they are just that bad.)
3) I'll twist this one to Security. Apple does have the upper hand on maintaining device security and user privacy, though Android has made some strides with finger
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Honestly, I've always considered the privacy of iOS devices subjective as you never know what they are sharing (even if hey say they aren't) until some blows a whistle.
And I've always disliked their walled garden approach.
BUT, Apple has just won some points with me after this decision and giving some thought to the current state of Android updates in general.
Although Android itself is updated certain phones are deprecated due to hardware constraints, then the OEMs take the update and after deciding
Re: And people wonder (Score:1)
I'll remember that... (Score:2)
...when it comes time to get another phone. As if I needed any more encouragement to stay with an ecosystem that supports their phones for in my experience at least 4 years.
Yeah Samsung doesn't impress me, ever. Not their phones, not their microwaves, not their TVs.. nothing they make, I want.
The how about... (Score:5, Insightful)
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I had an S8+ and went months between updates.
Bullshit, my partner's S8+ has been getting updates monthly since she bought it shortly after release. Maybe yours is being blocked by your carrier for some reason.
As for the Oreo thing, completely irrelevant. Security updates have nothing to do with OS version, and security updates are back-ported by Google all the way to JellyBean (and until recently, KitKat).
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Replying to self: My S7 is on security update April 2018 and it has been getting them monthly since I got the phone as well.
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It's a verifiable fact
The only thing verifiable here is that you're not getting them. Head over to sammobile.com and see a steady string of officially published firmwares. The latest version 2 weeks ago was the may security update. They literally rolled it out a week after google did. https://www.sammobile.com/2018... [sammobile.com]
Hell, this article is about that very fact.
If you think that then maybe you should learn to read. This article has nothing to do with regular updates and everything to do with service life.
Samsung does not release updates for every version of every model phone
Hmmm I swear those goalposts were over there a minute ago from your
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The talk about the May update was for my s9+. It exists, but not for the US carriers I checked.
Samsung is not
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What are you talking about, Samsung security updates rarely trail more than a month from the Android security release. Samsung take forever to roll out OS upgrades, but that is completely irrelevant to this discussion.
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They wouldn't be entirely true though, as those phones get security updates from Google. More accurately, there is no guarantee that Samsung will supply any updates. They might, but probably not.
Re:The how about... (Score:4, Interesting)
But EU law stipulates a warranty for at least two years as of time of sale, that is different!
Also, EU law says warranty has to be longer for expensive items and the top line phones are in that category.
Now we only have to agree software (security) updates are part of the warranty.
I expect a new court case.
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"EU law stipulates a warranty for at least two years as of time of sale, that is different!"
It's very different, That warranty requirement is imposed on the SELLER, not on the manufacturer.
Did you buy your Samsung phone direct from Samsung?
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I bought my One+ phones directly from One+ and I must say, the One+3 was just updated to Android 8.0 a good two years after sale.
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...requiring all packaging and marketing materials to state "This device will not receive security updates after [date]"
Samsung already does this on their website. http://www.samsung.com/nl/smar... [samsung.com] Look under the title "Software support". The S9 will receive updates until March 2020.
Now that said this is just the general service period for the device. That's not to say that if a security issue arises that is serious they won't issue an update for older devices as well. My Galaxy S5 got the July 2017 update because it was serious enough, that was 3.25 years after release, and well over a year after the official service perio
Need an Android update like Windows update. (Score:5, Interesting)
It is not just Samsung other manufacturers are in the same boat. The Motorola G4 Plus for example was sold with the promise that it will get Oreo in a future update. It yet to see an OS update 9 months after release. In a few months, Google will release the next version of Android. At this point it looks Lenovo/Motorola has played a bait and switch.
While desktop OS support multiple 10-year old hardwares it a pity that Google has not been able to come up with a update mechanism which can support phone older than 2 years. Whatever updates Google provides is limited to a few devices, My 4-year old Android non-Google phone is still very capable and meets my needs but the fact that it has no security updates scares me.
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So you plan to reward them by upgrading? Better to go back to a flip phone.
Re:Need an Android update like Windows update. (Score:4, Informative)
They've actually got that update mechanism now. Sort of.
Android 8.0 includes Project Treble, which splits the low level device code and the higher level OS code, so you should be able to just drop the latest vanilla Android OS onto any device that launched with Android 8.0.
That makes it easier and cheaper for manufacturers to continue to support devices, since they can just drop their latest and greatest OS image on top of the device specific low level code. Or if they don't do it, custom ROM makers will.
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That's all and good but works if your computer (I'm not calling it a device) has Treble drivers / a Treble compatible kernel. It doesn't seem to be a requirement to run Android 8.0. Then, if your hardware is compatible with Treble or uses it already, you still have to be offered or find a compatible OS update. So, back to the custom ROMs, and that's fine but I didn't manage to flash custom ROMs on the Samsungs I have around yet, either because it's too hard for me? or they're locked, not fully functional, w
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Wait a minute there. Are you talking about OS support or wanting the latest shiny? The two are very different in Android where just because you don't have Oreo doesn't mean you don't have a system completely up to date with the latest security patches.
Also why are you so fascinated about having the latest OS? They stopped adding any meaningful features ages ago, and it's basically down to cosmetic releases these days.
Sounds like a great business opportunity (Score:2)
you could probably make some change rooting and flashing new images on unsupported samsung phones.
Just stop breaking things (Score:2)
I'd be happy if they'd just stop pushing updates that completely broke things, or caused the phone to slow down to the point of uselessness.
And I don't want to take the time to search for information on what the new icons mean, why new forms of advertisement are popping up and how to disable them ("notifications" anyone?) Just, leave my damn phone alone, already.
Locked bootloaders (Score:2)
So not only are they not required to update old phones, but they're allowed to lock the bootloaders so users can't even update them themselves.
This is textbook "forced obsolescence" but they'll continue to BS that it isn't.
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So not only are they not required to update old phones, but they're allowed to lock the bootloaders so users can't even update them themselves.
This is textbook "forced obsolescence" but they'll continue to BS that it isn't.
I was thinking exactly the same thing. If Samsung isn't required to provide updates for at least three years after general availability, then the phones should be required to either ship with unlocked bootloaders, or provide an officially supported method of doing so. It would allow Samsung to avoid the requirement to formally support newer releases of Android, while also allowing modders to handle that for them. Everyone wins...but instead, the EU allows Samsung to have its cake and eat it, too.
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"instead, the EU allows Samsung to have its cake and eat it, too."
No it doesn't. The case was most definitely _not_ a win for Samsung despite how they painted it.
The judge effectively refused the case on the basis that you can't sue for "what might happen", only "what has happened". If the Plaintiffs reword their application they may find it accepted.
The issue of Samsung refusing warranty on rooted phones has also been getting coverage in the EU. The concensus is that unless the phone is physically damaged,
google should step in and (Score:2)
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That barebones OS already exists, it is called AOSP. However, Google doesn't control the hardware except for their own devices (Nexus, Pixel), and all Android builds are customized for their specific hardware. The driver sources are normally available (because of the GPL) but getting things to run require significant effort, and we can't expect Google to do that for every device.
As for disabling instead of uninstalling apps, that's actually a good thing IMHO. Disabled apps don't do anything, they only take
Starting a Year Late (Score:2)
Making this work, I have the good luck to have a company-provided phone, but they have a policy of buying one generation back to keep the price down. So I'm already starting a year into the service life of the phone. I think we're hitting the point now where phones are good enough for a lot longer than two years, so people are going to slow down on the upgrades. If the manufacturer stops providing updates, consumers will be using phones with security vulnerabilities.
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"I think we're hitting the point now where phones are good enough for a lot longer than two years"
They are. For the last 15 years I've bene updating my phones at around the 5-6 year mark and the only reason I updated a Note4 to S9+ "early" was because it'd been flakey(mmc issues) and eventually the display failed (black screen of death), so I couldn't rely on it even if it was resurrected.
LineageOS?... (Score:1)
We take security seriously (Score:1)
Unlocked bootloaders & specs (Score:2)
As long as we can get a LineageOS on it with working features, it matters less what the manufacturers do. But they can't abandon it, keep the bootloader locked, and not provide programming info. These are Internet devices and they become dangerous when they're abandoned in a locked or oblique state.
They should state an end date at purchase. (Score:2)
Maybe it should be a function of price? You pay less, you get less. But you can only make an informed decision if the manufacturer is required to make a minimum commitment.
They should state an end date at purchase.
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Apparently the court was asked the wrong question so I see a new case coming.
It's completely reasonable... (Score:1)
...in a world where your payment turns to monopoly money after two years.
Back to iOS after 4-5 years on Android... (Score:2)
This question isn't worth to be escalated to EU ? (Score:1)
Insufficient resolution (Score:2)
Two years after it "first went on sale" is insufficient and ridiculous. Try more like Four Years after it was Last On Sale and you are talking about a more reasonable solution. When someone buys a phone for $800+ you expect more than one year of software support, especially for the security updates. At those prices expecting an average invesment of $400 per year extortion fee is completely unreasonable for the abverage user.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm really puzzled by that wording to
i'll have to see if i can find the original ruling somewhere, maybe it's clearer there, but it indeed sounds odd O_o