On Mon, 23 Jun 2025 23:26:11 +0100, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
No. It doesn't mean that the phone is fully and completely updated.
Because there are other components on a phone other than core modules.
So what version of Android _should_ I go for (assuming I went for one at
all) to be reasonably sure it will update? (And/Or, what else should I
look for?) What version are they up to now?
It used to be that Google promised 3-1/2 years of full support to the OEMs
and then the OEMs (and carriers) had the option to promise more than that.
But now with the compartmentalizing of Android, all that has changed.
In addition, EU/UK regulatory agencies are asking for promises, in writing.
The UK made OEMs promise how long their minimum full support will be.
Samsung first promised 7 years for the high end and 6 for the lower end.
Then Google upped their 5 year Pixel promise to match that of Samsung.
Apple kept their promise of only 5 years.
With that in mind I would recommend the lower end Samsung A-Series phones,
which are perfectly good phones and most come with normal ports & chargers.
Although it does mean dozens of core modules are fully updated monthly.
For any Android 10 and up phone that connects itself to the Internet.
That would presumably include connection via home wifi, rather than the
mobile/cellular network?
It works over the google play services package and can not be disabled.
Doesn't matter how you connect to the Internet although you can set the
phone to not download from the google play services package over cellular.
People do that to save bandwidth costs, not for security reasons.
The list of core modules grows appreciably with each Android release.
There are currently about 40 Project Mainline modules updated monthly.
They are the core components that Google updates (not oems or carriers).
Would, say, an overnight connection to wifi cover 40 modules? Or are we
talking many days, or weeks, or impractically long?
Google has a web page where it publishes exactly which of the 40 modules
are updated at any given month. Also there are fewer modules in the older
releases. They started with about a dozen and each release they increase
how much is under the control of Google versus under the OEMs & Carriers.
I'm guessing half a dozen modules are updated at any given time but I would
have to actually look but it doesn't matter much as its totally seamless.
Rarely the update asks you to reboot as most of the time it's invisible.
And Google stopped the candy naming convention back around Android 10.
Thanks. (Any idea why?)
The news said Google recognized that dessert names, while fun, were not
universally understood across different cultures and languages and that
Google wanted its branding to be more straightforward and professional.
While Google no longer uses dessert names publicly, they still use internal
codenames based on desserts during the development process. For example,
Android 10 was internally codenamed Quince Tart, Android 11 was Red Velvet
Cake, Android 12 was Snow ACone, Android 13 was Tiramisu, Android 14 was
Upside Down Cake, Android 15 was Vanilla Ice Cream, Android 16 is Baklava.
I'm going to change the f'up because this thread started with the PC in
mind but it has moved to mostly Android topics so apologies to the OP.
Re: Tutorial: How to use a PC to find (& kill!) a rogue Android activity & its offending package