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Non Techie needs information

M

Malfo

Lurker
Need knowledge replacing my Galaxy S4 whose OS can't be upgraded. ( Except by very knowledgeable folks, of which I am not)
I am on Straight Talk they tell me no "Android "phone is upgradeable? Maybe they mean their own?
Is their information correct or not. Can an android phone go from one iteration of the OS to another without rebuilding the phone?
When I speak of upgrading I don't mean that one has to be a techie to do it. Something passive as downloading the newer version from somewhere.

On average how long do operating systems last before they are replaced by a major overhaul?
I have OS 4.2 on my Galaxy S4, that has now stopped being supported by some of my apps. Since I've only had the phone 14 months I not too happy. So I'm looking for an OS that won't become obsolete 14 months after I buy the phone. Don't want to buy the latest and greatest. How new is "Marshmallow"?
Thanks for any and all replies.


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All android phones can be up(dated) to a new OS up to a point. Your S4 is very likely past end of life (meaning there are no longer updates that will work with your hardware configuration.) You could use custom ROMs but that gets into the "techie" world and requires you to both unlock and root your phone. (Not trying to over techno babble you here) What that all means is if you want super easy no hassle use of your phone then yes you should probably up(grade) your phone at this point.


ROMs = custom operating systems designed by developers to extend a phone's life past it's intended run. Adds some or all of the latest updates and security.

Unlock = Unlocking the bootloader of your phone - this is basically the lock the phone maker puts in place to keep you from messing with things that could potentially make the phone unusable.

Root = getting "root" access (core - complete) to the phones software and systems.

Hope this mess helps.
 
Malfo said:
....
I have OS 4.2 on my Galaxy S4, that has now stopped being supported by some of my apps. Since I've only had the phone 14 months I not too happy. So I'm looking for an OS that won't become obsolete 14 months after I buy the phone. ...
Click to expand...
Well, you need to take into account that you may have received that phone 14 months ago but the phone itself is a dated model going back to 2013 and version of Android, even when you first turned on the phone, was already unsupported and out of data (going back to 2012). So right from the start you were at a disadvantage. I would give serious thought into finding another cellular service or wherever sold you that phone in the state it was in. They were obviously focused on just taking advantage of whomever they could by selling off old products, a likely scenario being they bought stuff they purchased from a bulk recycling outfit.
Hopefully you at least got some kind of bargain, the S4 being an old but still worthy piece of hardware but again, the OS on it was already out of date before you even touched it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history
So if you're shopping around for an upgraded phone, note the current version is Oreo (ver. 8.x) but Nougat (ver. 7.x) is the current market share leader.
https://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html
Also note that there are plenty of options available, brand new phones, running current versions of Android so again, take the time to shop around and compare (hopefully using a more reputable retailer than the one you used previously).
 
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