Is this cellphone rumour true?

[J_Me]

@jeff127 Companies that do this type of thing usually have some control over the market(i.e. there are only a few manufacturers making this type of product). A good example would be printer manufacturers and their cartridges.

As for android as long as the phone is not locked by a carrier you can always install a custom rom(fwiw I use cyanogenMod on my moto g 2nd).

[buzzingrobot]

I doubt it. Simplistic approaches would be readily discoverable. But most companies will write code that leverages the full capabilities of new hardware. So, sooner or later, older hardware won't like it.

[Kris_M]

Not as far as I know... I've spent a lot of time flashing roms on phones tmo, sprint, att and never heard that one. I suppose one could, but I think you would have to accept it in settings about update...

[matt_symes]

I'll read the article later and see what i make of it.

There's a lot wrong with citing that article as evidence, from its lack of metrics to its ambivalent language. I could go into detail but i won't.

The fact that a general purpose operating system, such as Android, slows down over time should really come as no surprise to anybody.

Maybe i misread the context of the original poster, as i understood it to mean that they are deliberately doing this to obsolete older hardware.

BTW: I am genuinely interested in this as i intend to upgrade my phone in the spring. I'm currently waiting to see what the next generation of Ubuntu phones will offer.

[poorguy]

i am still using a five year old flip phone that works as good as the day i got it.
i only make calls and very few texts and i know one day i will be forced to upgrade.

[lisati]

i am still using a five year old flip phone that works as good as the day i got it.
i only make calls and very few texts and i know one day i will be forced to upgrade.

Mrs Lisati and I have a flip phone of similar vintage which still works. I've keep it as a backup phone, just so we have something usable if our landline and newer mobiles are out of action for some reason.

[poorguy]

my flip phone always works when the work smart phone is in some area where it can't seem to get any signal. somethings simple and old are just better imo.

[aysiu]

The only company I know that does this is Apple. Most Android phones don't even get the latest version of Android, let alone have it forced on them. Technically, Apple doesn't force an upgrade on iOS, but it will keep pestering you to upgrade, so most users will install the upgrade just to get the nagware to go away.

[grahammechanical]

Ubuntu phones have Over The Air updates (OTA). Canonical take responsibility for keeping the phone OS up to date and not the OEM. It means that the phone models released last year will have the same OS as phone models released during the coming year. And as the Ubuntu phone OS is a work in progress this is a good thing. The OS is not fractured as with Android.

But I do not think that the upgrade is forced on anyone. Neither are upgrades to the applications forced on anyone. People upgrade through system settings.

I think that the origin of this "rumour" is an attempt to create Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt (FUD) to put people off buying rival products.

Regards.

[jeff127]

Ubuntu phones have Over The Air updates (OTA). Canonical take responsibility for keeping the phone OS up to date and not the OEM. It means that the phone models released last year will have the same OS as phone models released during the coming year. And as the Ubuntu phone OS is a work in progress this is a good thing. The OS is not fractured as with Android.

Please explain your criticism of Android, I'm looking for a reason to not upgrade.