Android phones from the last 4-5 years are still completely usable after multiple years. I have a OnePlus 5 (from 2017) that I keep as a backup device which is perfectly usable even if the battery life is now quite weak. And unlike iPhones even after OS updates stop you can continue to install, use and update any apps without restrictions or minimum OS restrictions on Android.
Comment on Apple Maps will finally be getting offline downloads
NightAuthor@lemmy.world 1 year agoI’ve yet to have an android (and I’ve had a few…) that kept up reasonable performance for more than ~2 years. And yes, I’m talking about flagship Samsung, htc, lg, and google phones.
Android has a ton of extra functionality, but while a tough choice, I have been fine using my iPhones. My iPhone 7 lasted 4 years before I decided to upgrade. And my iPhone 11 has been in service for 3 years, though released 4 years ago. Oh and when I broke my 11s screen, the 7 was a perfectly serviceable backup while I waited for a replacement screen to come in, even at 7 years old.
There’s apparently 25% of iPhone users running 4+ year old phones. We’re not your typical status symbol idiot.
PhantomHax@lemmy.world 1 year ago
eee@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I’ve used both iphones and Androids. Battery performance degrades past 2-2.5 years regardless of brand or OS.
If you replace the battery only, the iphone is still snappier because the android probably has a bunch of junk slowing it down. That’s the downside of having more freedom to install and store stuff in your phone. If you reset it, it works just fine. iOS gets around this by preventing users from doing anything. My jailbroken iphone had the same problem after 2 years.
There are some people who would rather not have to deal with that, and prefer a locked-down OS. That’s fine. For me, having to jailbreak just to sideload apps is a dealbreaker, so I use Android.
Having only one dominant OS is bad for consumers anyway.
NightAuthor@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The factory reset to restore performance only ever worked for me with the pixel. But it had GPS issues and I had to abandon it when I was doing deliveries.
Samsungs felt great, only for a short period of time, or completely void of apps.
Others either never had good performance, or in the case of one of the HTCs I had, great performance, with atrocious battery life.
Trust, I love android, but it’s such a chore trying to find a good phone that lasts. I’d hope it’s better now, I’ve been out of the android game for ~5 years (I was dual wielding phones for a while, then still tinkering w android for a bit) but prior to that I had lots of fun tinkering with my androids for like 9 years.
I’m just so hesitant to go back, because I know iPhones are fine. Androids are a gamble…. especially if I’m not planning on replacing it in a year or 2.