Comment by jeroenhd
18 hours ago
Their hardware is usually fine when it comes to support. Google announces the support lifetime of their devices and sticks to it, with feature updates coming to things like phones even after the support period ended through things like app stores. Just check the support lifetime of the device before buying (early Pixels only had 2 years of support, as was announced at release).
Their cloud services are nothing but hot air but their hardware support has been excellent for the past few years. Easily beats other major manufacturers. I'm still annoyed that Apple won't tell you how long they will support their hardware. Other competitors manage to be even worse.
"support" meaning drivers and basic security updates, sure.
but if you buy this for the gemini integration, what are the odds that google actually sticks with that, or two years from now are you going to have a laptop that lags behind the feature set available in the gemini app for mac because they didn't sell enough of these to bother continuing development?
The Gemini app has been backported to at least Android 14 as far as I could tell (that's the oldest OS I saw it on), probably further.
Hard to say they're going to keep giving you new features, but buying a device for the future things that may be brought to it is always a massive gamble, like buying a Macbook for their failed promise of Apple Intelligence or a Windows laptop for the promised advantages of Copilot.
If the device works well enough to be worth the money, it'll keep working. If you want fancy stuff in the future, hold off on buying new hardware and wait until the stuff you want is actually available.
Google also has a better track record than some companies (cough apple) of keeping their devices unlockable/open enough that they can have a second life regardless of whether google keeps up on the software side.
You can install linux on the nexus 7 tablets.
You can install linux on the old PixelBook or Chromebook Pixel.
An iPad bought at the same time as the nexus 7 (the original iPad air) has become a useless insecure brick that can't even load modern websites, let alone support linux. The nexus 7 can have linux or a custom android rom flashed to work fine, albeit with a pretty crappy processor.
Hmmmmmmmm
Nest Secure Google Home Stadia Daydream Glass Nexus Pixel Slate Pixelbook Chromecast Audio OnHub Jamboard
I think there's a difference between cancelled (or renamed in the case of Google Home and Nexus) product lines and something no longer working. Most of that list falls into the former, but otherwise probably work fine.
This Googlebook will probably be a lot like the Pixelbook. Probably cancelled after 1 generation, but still usable for 5-10 years as you'd expect from a laptop.
I don't have most of those, but from the entire list I only recognise Stadia as something that stopped working entirely, and I got my full purchase price back for that.
Chromecast still works great.
My chromecast audio still works great. No idea about the rest, but that I do know.
They refunded me all the money I spent on the Stadia + games and unlocked the video game controllers so I can use them with other systems... my only regret is that I didn't buy more
I know right? And I ended up getting a chromecast free through that refund as well.
The list of departed google products could be put to the music of the names of the countries of the world.
My chromecast audio still works great.
My Pixel 3A stopped receiving security updates after less than 3 years. I remember Google did this to start using their own chips in their phones.
Two or three years is not even close to the support Apple provides. It sealed the deal for me and I switched to iPhone.
As was disclosed on Google's product support pages the day of launch.
These days, Google promises at least 7 years, which is longer than most iPhone people seem to use theirs. There's no doubt their limited support windows sucked in the past, but none of that was hidden or a surprise.
Apple could stop updating the iPhone 15 tomorrow and they wouldn't be breaking any promises to anyone. They refuse to publish even a minimum support period.
My Pixelbook from 2017 still receives regular Chrome OS updates.
You're on hacker news though, so you can install linux on it: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Google_Pixel_3a_(google-s...
Pixel devices have historically been really good about letting you unlock the bootloader and install what you want, so even if Google drops support, the community can keep it going.
Apple devices just turn into useless bricks once apple deems them too old. Frankly, I think apple should be legally required to allow users to unlock devices, like you pay for the device, you should be able to use the hardware.
Yes, they've since more than doubled the support lifetimes to seven years.
What about when that “support” is to brick your battery so your phone lasts hours because they know it is defective but don’t want to fix it?
Google’s hardware track record is a joke compared to Apple.
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My understanding is that, depending on the phone vendor, such support may only apply to security updates after ~3 years and not feature updates.
It's only been 2.5 years since they said that. I'm sure they will walk back on their word before it has been 7 years.
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Pixels receive at least 7 years now.
> early Pixels only had 2 years of support, as was announced at release
They also announced a promotion for unlimited cloud storage of photos and then shrank and JPEG massacred the photos. That part of my photo library is still visibly trashy to this very day. Every time I browse my photos, I am reminded that google did this.
yeah, even on product lines that they kill (like Stadia) they usually do right by the user (eg they refunded everyone, both on hardware and software people bought on the platform).
I thought Apple does tell you how long they'll support hardware.
For example: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102772
That page shows "vintage" products, which is a category they apply after "5 to 7 years". It describes replacement parts and (bought) maintenance service in store locations.
They don't state how long they will provide software updates.
That's not how long they will provide software support. It's how long you can get a hardware repair. Some "vintage" products will get current software support but not others. Some products have lost software support before even reaching "vintage" like the first Gen iPad.
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I like to keep phones a long time. Before I finally slotted in a sketchy new third party battery, my last android would suddenly shut off at anywhere from 15-30℅ battery remaining because of the voltage drop. I think they deserve a pass for that "scandal".
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That is a gross misrepresentation of the situation. Old batteries' internal resistance rises and they become unable to deliver high current. If you try, thanks to V=IR, the output voltage will droop and you'll brown out. Limiting CPU speed prevents high current draw and random device resets. The alternative was to let it run fast and have it randomly reset under load even when battery is 50% full.
All of this is only relevant cause apple devices are often used for so long after release (5-7 years, this message typed on a 5 year old iPhone) [1] (random source, more available on google.com) while statistically few android devices last long enough in consumer pockets for this to matter (2.5-3 years is average)
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/9uha1o/android_vs_...
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No, they do not, and they did not.
They started throttling devices based on battery age after "Batterygate" in 2016, after a wave of news that their phones were suddenly shutting off on high load because the batteries terminal voltage dropped. They do not "artificially slow down before a new release".
The were sued because in their typical arrogance, they neglected to _tell_ people about that. They did not lose, they settled a class action suit.
As a result, they made battery management and state a lot more transparent in iOS, as they should have done in the first place.
Claiming malicious planned obsolescence, as you did, requires facts not in evidence.
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My experience with Google hardware has been the opposite. Three early Pixel phones died within a year or two, and pretty abysmal experience with Pixel Buds. They'd send me replacements, but I tired of them breaking.
I switched to an iPhone after being a long-time Android fan. Haven't looked back. Converted my wife to an iPhone too. Apple is better at hardware.
iPhones also receive security updates for a long time. I buy iPhone 3+ generation old brand new at the Apple store, and it... works really well.
Apple might not specify a time upfront but they do consistently support hardware for a good length of time. IPhones generally get OS updates for 5-6 years and security for at least a couple more.
I’ve never used anything they made long enough to get there.
What about Nest? It's great that they announced a lifetime and stuck with it I guess? Sucks for anyone who bought into the ecosystem. You'd have to pay me to try and adopt more google products at this point, otherwise it's almost certainly sooner or later going to be deemed a waste of money/time.
> Their hardware is usually fine when it comes to support. Google announces the support lifetime of their devices and sticks to it
If they announce a support lifetime they stick to it.
For other products they'll just decide they're done with it and give you a little warning period. Maybe some store credit or another bonus depending on the product.
> Their hardware is usually fine when it comes to support.
Pixel stands were horrible. And discontinued.
My nest thermostat disagrees with your optimism.