Google and Qualcomm may have partnered on an initiative that will make it easier for Android phone makers to release software and security updates for up to four years, but it’s still up to individual companies to decide whether to follow through.
Meanwhile, independent developers continue to support many phones long after they’ve been abandoned by their manufacturers by releasing custom ROMs that are often based on Android Open Source Project code… and sometimes based on GNU/Linux.
The latest cases in point? A developer has unofficially ported LineageOS 18.1 to run on the Samsung Galaxy S II, which means a smartphone that was launched in 2011 can now run the latest version of Google’s Android operating system. Meanwhile, PostmarketOS reports its Linux-for-phones software can now at least boot on the Acer CloudMobile S500, a smartphone from 2012 when Acer was actually making phones.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
- Now in Beta: Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, and Audition for Apple M1 Systems [Adobe]
Adobe has released betas of Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, and Audition for Macs with Apple M1 chips. Photoshop beta is already available. There are still some missing features, but now you can run much of Adobe’s Creative Suite natively on Apple Silicon. - COVID relief bill provides $7 billion for broadband access [Axios]
The US COVID relief bill includes $7 billion for broadband internet access, which makes sense when you consider that the pandemic has led to an increase in people working and learning from home, but internet access isn’t available/affordable to all. - Update: GPD Win 3 will sell for $799 and up during crowdfunding [Liliputing]
Two days after announcing that its upcoming handheld gaming PC would sell for $829 and up during crowdfunding: GPD has lowered the crowdfunding price for the upcoming GPD Win 3 handheld gaming PC. Prices now start at $799 for a model with an Intel Core i5 Tiger Lake chip, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD or $899 for a Core i7 model (down from $969). - PostmarketOS now boots on Acer CloudMobile S500… [posmarketOS]
… a phone from 2012 takes its first step toward running this modern GNU/Linux distribution for smartphones. - Developer ports Android 11-based LineageOS 18.1 to the Samsung Galaxy S II… [xda-developers]
… and this phone from 2011 gets an unofficial update to the latest version of Android. - Samsung Galaxy Chromebook2: First Images [Evan Blass/Voice]
First pictures of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 leaked. It’s another convertible touchscreen model, but with modest tweaks (involving colors and port placement). No word on the specs yet, but v1 featured high-end (for Chromebook) hardware.
Keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also find the latest news about open source phones by following our sister site Linux Smartphones on Facebook and Twitter.
I wish there’d be new software for Nokia Lumia phones I have two Lumia 635s in a drawer, and i can’t bring myself to toss them out because they are such well designed phones
You know what else was in that bill?
It just became illegal to share any video that was posted on social media outside of posting links to that social media platform. Basically, every website is now forbidden from letting people repost videos taken from twitter, and archive.org has to purge basically every video file taken from any social media site.
This is a problem because social media sites constantly delete important information about controversial events.
Any site that allows for livestreaming now has to content ID everything that goes through it to make sure it’s not from any social media sites.
HAPPY 2020!
Brad, would you please stop talking about just 8 year old devices as “very old” ? Very old in terms of planned obscolence sounds a lot different than previous generation. Old = 1960’s. Dated maybe, but very old is not true. It’s the manufacturer that screws up, that makes devices go bad in a very very short term making them e-waste and landfill.