The Google Pixel 3 already obsolete and good for the trash! How to cure it ?
Without security updates, our smartphones are vulnerable to flaws discovered in the Android system. A few years ago, Google forced the hand of manufacturers who were slow to offer updates on their phones. The firm had even asked that the brands offer follow-up for at least two years: the union minimum.
An incomprehensible waste…
Since the release of the Pixel 6, Google promises 5 years of updates on their new devices, but this is not the case for the Pixel 3 and 3XL which were released at the end of 2018 and which are therefore obsolete from… now! A shame for a 3-year-old smartphone that still works very well, takes very nice photos and is equipped with a Snapdragon 845 chip which is still at the top of the basket.
When asked why it stopped supporting the #Pixel3, @Google said, “We find that 3 years of security & OS updates still provides users with a great experience for their device.” Time to do better #Google! 🔥#RightToRepair ⚒️https://t.co/lTHoKtU25s
— Right to Repair Europe (@R2REurope) January 26, 2022
What’s wrong with Google decision makers? They could lead by example, right? Especially since it would be enough to simply change your mind, there is nothing irremediable in this situation. At the ecological level it is a disaster: it is not as if the recycling of raw materials was effective and simple to carry out. Do you remember the time when the motto of the brand was “Don’t be evil” ? Even Apple does better since an iOS 15 is perfectly usable on an iPhone 6S: a device that is over 6 years old! Why couldn’t Google do the same?
Do without Google?
And it’s not over since the sweeper car is on the way for other smartphones. It will therefore be the turn of the Pixel 3a and 3a XL in May 2022. As for the Pixel 4, the death knell will sound in October 2022…
However, there are solutions if you do not want to throw away or recycle your device: alternative ROMs like LineageOS. It is an operating system based on Android, but which does what no manufacturer offers: updates to new versions of Android for older devices and continuity of security updates .
So of course, it will take a bit of fiddling, getting familiar with unlocking the bootloader, rooting or flashing ROMs, etc. Notions that escape the general public, but which are not inaccessible. With a little motivation, it is possible to give a second life to a device stricken with the seal of obsolescence in an afternoon. LineageOS is at version 18 and version 19 which will be launched this year will be upgraded to Android 12. Almost 200 devices are compatible and this is of course the case for Pixel 3, but also for smartphones Samsung, Xiaomi, Sony, OnePlus, HTC, Huawei, etc
On your device, take a walk through Settings>System>Security and look at the date of your system’s security update. You might have surprises. On the LineageOS website, see if your device is supported and click on Installation instructions to display a tutorial. They are unfortunately in English, but very well designed.
Let’s also mention the French project /e/ which is in fact a fork of LineageOS in “de-googled” mode which has the merit of existing, but which is compatible with fewer devices…
