Do Android alternatives like Lineage and Graphene typically extend the life of supported devices by providing OS updates to those no longer officially supported? Or is that no longer a thing?
I’m going to consider swapping to a Pixel device this cycle just to try it out, but because hardware longevity has influenced my move to Linux so heavily, this topic is the main one that I’ve been thinking about. I’m not thrilled about the hardware repairability between both iPhone and Pixel, but what can you do.
@zak I definitely say yes, with my limited knowledge. I use a Samsung Galaxy S9 (EU-version) with /e/OS. /e/OS is based on Lineage OS. If I had stayed on Google-Samsung-Android, it had ended on Android 10. Now with /e/OS I'm on Android 12 and I get Android security updates, the phone is actively maintained by /e/OS. If I would use pure Lineage OS they are on Android 13 for this device, I believe it will come to /e/OS as well. So my Samsung S9 may have several more years of support.
@hehemrin Why use /e/OS over Lineage in this case?
@zak /e/OS is a more complete, full-fledged, end-user ready OS than Lineage, I believe. They also have their "easy installer" tool for some devices, so it was pretty easy to install. They also sell devices with /e/OS preinstalled via Murena, a related company. They have their AppLounge, privacy tools and more. Integration to their Murena-Nextcloud-cloud. /e/OS is not perfect, getting better, active development. I haven't tried pure Lineage myself, so cannot really answer.
@hehemrin Interesting. I’ll take a look at it.