Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by janekm on Friday February 07, 2020 @06:46AM
(#22265097)
To put that in perspective, as far as I've been able to determine Google provided security updates for the 2013 Nexus 5 until November 2018: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/03/google-ends-major-os...
It's doubtful that any other Android vendor provided updates for longer...
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Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by shpx on Friday February 07, 2020 @08:46AM
(#22265856)
Another data point: the first Google Pixel, released October 20, 2016, stopped getting security updates in October 2019 https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by kllrnohj on Friday February 07, 2020 @12:39PM
(#22268512)
It stopped being listed as having guaranteed updates but it already has gotten at least one more update since then. Per https://developers.google.com/android/images#sailfish there's been an update for the Pixel in December 2019.
It is missing the Jan & Feb 2020 updates that the Pixel 2 received, but it's plausible the Pixel 1 could still get a patch for this critical issue.
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by joshuaissac on Friday February 07, 2020 @07:06AM
(#22265202)
While it is not the same as manufacturer support, the latest version of LineageOS is officially supported on the Samsung Galaxy S4 (2013).
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by myself248 on Friday February 07, 2020 @07:21AM
(#22265274)
S4 here too! The last great flagship, as far as I'm concerned. Removable battery (just ordered another!), headphone jack, microSD slot, USB OHG, HDMI/MHL out, glove-compatible touchscreen, and small enough to fit the hand.
I'm gonna keep these things running as long as I can, because the prospect of replacing them with something a decade newer but inferior in every meaningful way is simply sad.
LineageOS is the only reason I don't loathe the whole Android ecosystem, to be honest.
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by ekianjo on Friday February 07, 2020 @07:59AM
(#22265507)
You still have to root your device to install LineageOS right?
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by myself248 on Friday February 07, 2020 @08:43AM
(#22265833)
TBQH I've never been quite clear on what it means to root a device. I just run Heimdall and load the files they specify, plug the device in, and a few minutes later, it reboots into Lineage.
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by joshuaissac on Friday February 07, 2020 @11:28AM
(#22267598)
To install LineageOS, it is enough to unlock the bootloader, which permits the installation of operating system images that have not been signed by the manufacturer (e.g. Samsung).
Rooting permits applications to have more control over the device at runtime. Some devices require the bootloader to be unlocked to enable rooting, and others do not.
Re:Critical Bluetooth vulnerability in Android
by ekianjo on Friday February 07, 2020 @07:58AM
(#22265503)
> any other Android vendor provided updates for longer...
Nokia is the best though: https://www.counterpointresearch.com/nokia-leads-global-rank...
they support even their very old phones to upgrade up to the latest version of Android.