A growing number of smartphone makers are promising to deliver major operating system updates and security updates for at least three to five years. But a small Dutch company called Fairphone has earned a reputation for pushing past that boundary. Today the company released its final OS update for the Fairphone 2… a smartphone that […]
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Microsoft ends extended support for Windows 7 and 8.1
It’s been three years since Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 7, but Microsoft allowed enterprise and education customers who wanted to continue using the operating system to pay for up to three years of extended security updates. Now time is up – Microsoft has ended extended security support for Windows 7, as well as […]
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3 Comments on OnePlus is the latest phone maker to promise 4 years of major updates (for some phones)
OnePlus is the latest phone maker to promise 4 years of major updates (for some phones)
3 Comments on OnePlus is the latest phone maker to promise 4 years of major updates (for some phones)A growing number of smartphone makers are committing to offering longer-term software and security updates for their phones… making it feasible for users to hang onto their phones for four or five years rather than upgrading every 2-3 years. Kind of. The latest company to make a commitment is OnePlus, which says it’ll offer four […]
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Apple stops offering iOS 14 security updates, users have to upgrade to iOS 15 future updates
1 Comment on Apple stops offering iOS 14 security updates, users have to upgrade to iOS 15 future updatesWhen Apple released iOS 15 last fall, iPhone users got a bunch of new and improved features including support for portrait mode and spatial audio in Facetime calls, Focus modes for reduced distractions, and the ability to detect and interact with text in photos thanks to Live Text. But last year Apple also offered folks […]
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How long will my Amazon Fire tablet get security updates?
Amazon recently announced that it will provide at least four years of software security updates for Fire tablets following the last date at which the tablets are available for purchase as new products from Amazon.com. For example, if you buy a current-gen Fire 7, Fire HD 8, or Fire HD 10 tablet in 2021, it […]
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Amazon Fire TV devices will get at least four years of security updates
As more of the devices we use every day are connected to the internet, the more important it becomes to ensure they’re running up-to-date software that patches any known security vulnerabilities. Phone makers have gotten better over the past few years at letting you know how long the smartphone you purchase today will continue to […]
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Lilbits: Playdate dissected, PC shipments continue to rise, and Chromebooks lose support for MS Office Android apps
2 Comments on Lilbits: Playdate dissected, PC shipments continue to rise, and Chromebooks lose support for MS Office Android appsChromebooks are basically just laptops that ship with Google’s Chrome OS rather than another operating system. But since Chrome OS was designed to put the web browser front and center, some folks have insisted that it’s not a real operating system – after all, it loses much of its functionality if you lose your internet connection. […]
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Samsung promises up to 5 years of security updates for Enterprise Edition phones
For years Android phones have lagged behind iPhones when it comes to OS updates. But recently we’ve seen a growing number of Android device makers commit to delivering major OS updates for at least 2-3 years and sometimes promise security updates for even longer. Earlier this year Samsung said it would deliver at least 4 […]
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Apple won’t force users to upgrade to iOS 15 to receive security updates
Apple has long pointed out that most iPhone users update to the latest version of iOS that their phones support shortly after a new version of the operating system is released. That’s… not at all the case for Android devices – according to StatCounter, only 15-percent were running Android 11 as of May. But one […]
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April update delivers GPU boost to Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G
Google’s Pixel smartphones come with a guaranteed two years of major Android operating system updates as well as three years of security updates, delivered monthly. But Google often sneaks a little something extra into those “security” updates including bug fixes and performance enhancements. The April update for the Google Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G […]