Hi,

A friend wants to degoogle his phone, so I suggested the OS I’m currently using. The one we can’t talk about… He wants a small/compact phone, so I suggested pixel 4a (not buying second hand though), but I’m afraid that planned obsolescence may kill the phone rather soon. What’s your opinion?

Cheers and thank you for your help,

  • helenslunch@feddit.nl
    92·
    2 days ago

    Yes, it’s too old. Does not receive software updates anymore. The newer a-series of phones are still quite a bit larger than the 4a but also quite a bit smaller than the 8 or especially 8 “Pro” or whatever the fuck stupid name they’re giving phones these days.

    • RBG@discuss.tchncs.de
      43·
      2 days ago

      The software updates are maybe not an argument when it comes to degoogling? Then it depends if the OS they plan to use still sends updates.

      • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
        93·
        2 days ago

        The hardware driver updates are absolutely critical if you want to have a secure phone. The phone has to be within the support window, to get any hardware driver updates. The risk surface of a phone’s hardware is huge, you’ve got the Bluetooth drivers, you’ve got the Wi-Fi drivers, you’ve got the modem drivers, and any other sensors I may have forgotten about.

      • helenslunch@feddit.nl
        42·
        2 days ago

        I mean…you’re gonna have to run some operating system on it. And that operating system is going to need security updates.