Mobile phone lifetime

PHK

PCs for the home used to have skins or alternative interfaces. 

With regard to phones, it used to be much worse. Networks would insist on their own skin and interface. Orange were particularly notorious for this as they wanted a phone to look like an Orange phone. 

Then networks wanted their own custom versions of the OS. So if you bought a phone from Vodafone, when Google updated Android you'd need to wait both for the manufacturer to customise the update but Vodafone to test and approve the update. 

Thankfully the way network customisation works has changed and no longer requires a custom version. 

goodValue

Do users gain any benefit from the skins/bloatware, or is it only for the benefit of the phone makers?

booneruk

The manufacturers might think the user benefits - think of features like Samsung's Bixby AI

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

goodValue

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

I'm sure there are lots of benefits to doing this; greater reliability, easier to use and less costly immediately come to mind.
Are there any phones/models that are renowned for doing this

Emmia

booneruk said:

The manufacturers might think the user benefits - think of features like Samsung's Bixby AI

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

Bixby is awful and being unable to get shot of it was a key reason to no longer have a Samsung.

Northern_Wanderer

Emmia said:

booneruk said:

The manufacturers might think the user benefits - think of features like Samsung's Bixby AI

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

Bixby is awful and being unable to get shot of it was a key reason to no longer have a Samsung.

Not being able to get rid of stuff you don't want is my biggest gripe with phones.... considering a de-googled phone now...

flaneurs_lobster

Emmia said:

booneruk said:

The manufacturers might think the user benefits - think of features like Samsung's Bixby AI

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

Bixby is awful and being unable to get shot of it was a key reason to no longer have a Samsung.

I've had Galaxy phones for four years now and don't think I've even seen Bixby let alone had to interact with him/her/them. 

username

booneruk said:

This is just the way with tech. A manufacturer being forced to support tech from 5+ years ago would have to do so much more work. We'd find that prices are higher, new releases taking much more time to materialise and/or we'd have to pay for new versions of phone operating systems.

I bought a Motorola Edge 30 ultra a month after its release in late 2022 and I've had Android 12, 13 and 14 with an upcoming 15. This means I'll be good to keep using it well into 2026 before I'll start getting twitchy about security updates (yes, this was a fairly expensive phone though)

It's also a case of built in obsolesence by manufacturers to get you to buy another phone. Usually to push their latest buzzword technology flavour of the month - this time it's AI, I remain yet to be convinced it actually has any value or practical application, I mean looking at the ads for Google Gemini it's pretending to be your BFF or something.
People have held onto phones for longer than before as most find it more adequate for the basic things they'd do on their phone like calls, texts, whatsapps, photos, emails etc, the old days of where they used to actually have distinctive compelling features or designs to acquire a new device.
The other point to note is that support for the latest OS isn't the be all and end all, the phone won't stop working overnight. However, app makers will try and stop supporting older versions as soon as they can.

400ixl

goodValue said:

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

I'm sure there are lots of benefits to doing this; greater reliability, easier to use and less costly immediately come to mind.
Are there any phones/models that are renowned for doing this

Yes, Google Pixel phones. Also have the longest support, although they don't have a budget phone, more flagship and mid range as prices go. But when they are supported for 2-3 times as long as budget phones, the mid range ones are better value over all.

Emmia

400ixl said:

goodValue said:

I'd prefer close to stock as possible - but I'm a geek who doesn't like flashy features for the sake of it.

I'm sure there are lots of benefits to doing this; greater reliability, easier to use and less costly immediately come to mind.
Are there any phones/models that are renowned for doing this

Yes, Google Pixel phones. Also have the longest support, although they don't have a budget phone, more flagship and mid range as prices go. But when they are supported for 2-3 times as long as budget phones, the mid range ones are better value over all.

Fairphone is another option. 

https://shop.fairphone.com