Comment by joe_mamba
1 day ago
There's lineageOS for outdated pixel device, but I think you loose device attestation if you flash that, so your banking, payment and digital-ID apps won't work anymore which is kind of important features for a lot of people.
I still think separating a phone for phone apps and a PC for productivity, is the best choice even if that PC is a 20 year old rustbucket from the dumpster, it will still do more tasks than a phone. You can't learn photoshop on a phone.
The lineageOS kernel isn't guaranteed to be super up to date. It's often based on the manufacturer's kernel. There's also possibly binary blobs involved which can't be checked or updated.
If your device is on the official supported list then it will always be up to date to a point. You're not gonna get android 16 on 10+ year old phones.
Allow me to present LineageOS 23 for the Nexus 5: https://xdaforums.com/t/rom-unofficial-lineageos-23-0-for-ne...
That's Android 16 on a 13 year old phone. It looks to be a little glitchy and it takes some work to install, but it's possible.
Your banking app might not work but your bank probably also offers a web page that you can just load up in your browser
There is a growing trend among banks to keep the web app usable only for emergency purposes (notify bank that your phone got stolen or lost and authorize the installation of the bank on a new phone) and only allow functionality on their mobile apps.
I've seen that claim around, but I have yet to see a bank claim to have this obviously unworkable policy, or to see someone identify a bank that does have it.
1 reply →