My Android phone has been abandoned by the manufacturer and carrier. It's stuck on 2.2, and doesn't seem likely to get any updates in the future, nor can I find updated ROMs for it.
I'd be willing to purchase a new phone, but how can I ensure that it will be supported? Does Google, or any carrier, or any manufacturer, make any guarantees about providing timely updates for their phones?
Answer
No manufacturer makes any promises about future system updates for a device. They would shoot themselves in the foot if they would, because if the device fails to get a good market share the resources needed to keep an device up to date would be lost.
I order to ensure that you get updates for your Android devices you have basically two options:
- Go with a Google device, that is the ones sold as Nexus. Those devices usually receive Android updates first and for a long time span (~2-3 years)
- Pick a device which has an established active mod community or is likely to get one. For example Samsung's Galaxy S was a massive success, it was one of the most sold Smartphones at a time. This is a massive incentive for modders to work on the device and deliver a good quality mod, like Cyanogenmod.
If you go with 2., you could for example go to the Cyanogenmod site an research which devices they currently support. Also try to get a feeling how good the device is supported, how active the maintainer for the device is.
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