The Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) platform is seven years old and the active device count has been below 1% for some time. Consequently, we are deprecating support for ICS in future releases of Google Play services. For devices running ICS, the Google Play Store will no longer update Play Services APK beyond version 14.7.99.
Seven years seems reasonable.
…I still use my HTC Evo 3D from 2011 which is running under 4.0.3, because, well, it just works beautifully. So, well, I cannot call this planned obsolescence, but please don’t ever talk to me about ecology and waste disposals or I shove this device down your rectum. Google have never been good about Android updates anyway.
It is not an option for everyone, but you might take a look at https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-evo-3d to check whether there is a custom rom that suits your needs.
I had to change to another device from the asus tf101 because of the fact that the hardware gave trouble. I did not like it, but sadly there was no other option, so I do understand your situation.
Edited 2018-12-08 09:25 UTC
What are you using an HTC EVO 3D for which requires latest Play Services?
I have an HTC EVO 3D, because I once decided to collect all Android devices with stereoscopic cameras. Let me tell you right of the bat, your device will still work. You will not be able to get app updates (which is a problem that you most likely already have for the vast majority of apps in your phone) and some games may require an update which you can’t get or which you can get but requires latest Play Services (but again, most games dropped support for ICS years ago).
I have an LG Optimus 3D Max (P720) and an LG Optimus 2X which both are on Gingerbread (Play Services has stopped supporting Gingerbread more than a year ago) and lack of latest Gingerbread is the last thing on the list of why they are not functional phones.
Edited 2018-12-08 14:25 UTC
Mostly GPS apps that requires latest Google services which slowly render the device useless and open to exploits. But again, Google have never been kind with Android upgrades. It’s just sad perfectly working devices are decided to be made obsolete. Btw, 2G and 3G bands are going to be shut down in 4 or 5 years, so it would have been definitively made useless sooner or later.
So, a minute ago I tried using Maps and CityMapper with my Sharp SH80F (which runs Gingerbread), or more accurately whatever old versions of these two apps are available for Gingerbread, and for both apps the phone was able to find WiFi location, and when I pressed “navigate” it was also able to acquire a GPS lock. Sure I had to hold the phone out of the window and wait for a solid half-minute for it to find a GPS lock (just like the good ol’ days) because the hardware can’t see GLONASS satellites, but it worked, no software problems related to Google location. Maps is a Google GPS app and CityMapper is a third-party GPS app which uses Play Services’ Google location service, and that’s why I chose them for the test. It’s also worth noting that on a Chinese HTC One Max which didn’t have Play Services, CityMapper couldn’t get any location. So, the old version of Play Services definitely works.
I also tried Maps on my LG Optimus 2X, and it worked (hold-it-out-of-the-window-and-wait trick notwithstanding). Didn’t try CityMapper because the phone is running low on battery right now.
Just because your phone won’t get the latest version of Play Services, it doesn’t mean the HTTPS APIs that your existing version of Play Services uses will get removed overnight. In fact Google Play Services APIs have been remarkably stable. Gingerbread phones can sync with calendar, contacts, Gmail and everything else.
Edited 2018-12-08 16:41 UTC
Using Sygic, new updates only reserved for newer Google services. Yeah, sure I can still use the GPS, I’m not stupid, bro, yet my “lifetime” free updates gets limited to the ability to follow the Google updates. As I cannot update the main application anymore, I cannot update the maps as well, because the format change from time to time to adapt new/improved data. See the implications now ?
Yes, I see the implications now. But Google cannot spend time to support old versions of Android forever just because one or two people want to use an HTC EVO 3D with the latest version of a specific app. Eventually, all electronics become either collectibles or e-waste. That’s life.
Hm, something specific to GLONASS signals that makes them work better indoors? (maybe something so simple as higher power?…) Or just a case of many more sats/signals available now, hence faster lock?
Edited 2018-12-09 19:25 UTC
It’s the second, using GPS and GLONASS together you basically add extra satellites to GPS, which can be handy in adverse conditions (such as indoors with an indirect view of the sky) or in devices that don’t have an accurate clock in them, because there are more satellites to take reference from. There is documentation on the web.
I suppose it’ll only get better with the adoption of Galileo…
The only real problem you have now is that Google has made it harder for new apps to be made for ICS or updated versions of apps to support ICS.
Edited 2018-12-08 17:01 UTC
Please stop peddling this untruth. Google has been fine at producing updates.
HTC, the manufacturer of your phone, and the author of the custom version of Android running on your phone, has been terrible at releasing updates for years.
Please stop peddling this untruth. Google gives security updates for Nexus and Pixel phones for an absurdly low 18 months since the device was last sold on the Google store, or 3 years after the device was first launched, so your will get security updates for about 3 years tops. Tops!
Look, I am not like the guy above complaining about his 2011-vintage HTC EVO 3D not being able to get any new applications going forward, but if I happen to buy a Pixel at the tail end of play store availability, I would like to have more than a year and a half of updates, considering I will be buying a butt-ugly phone on the premise of Google controlling the software it runs. The cake is a lie. Google sucks at updates even without the evil OEMs.
Edited 2018-12-09 01:45 UTC
Vintage, vintage, this device was 2011’s top notch HTC device sold about $700, which is easily the $800 of today. Around 1GB of memory, 1.2GHz dual core, stereoscopic screen, I’m just displeased the software is causing the device to be considered obsolete while it still works like day one, that’s to say perfectly.
Project Treble came later in time, so I cannot accuse the OEMs for not supporting their devices much. I never understood why the firmware had to be flashed into one big binary blob while on PCs you could update the BIOS and the OS separately for literally ages. There was an architectural flaw here, I can cope with that.
But here, I’m not asking for new features to raise the API level of my machine, but at least continue support and fix holes in the current API set which might be rather standard and common features with newer API set that will still be supported and get updates, for a little while at least. So it’s rather arbitrary.
And quite frankly, I bet Google have the resources to continue support, just like to pointed it out, even their own flagship phones are “abandoned” rather prematurely, which shows how much they care about their customers’ satisfaction and the e-waste thing as a whole. So no more PR BS for me, please. It’s been a time I decided to offer my devices a long life.
That Project Treble excuse again.
OEMs are the ones supposed to actually ship the updates, and they have done such a fantastic job with Treble that Google is **finally** taking measures to force them to provide updates.
Like the new GSI images and changing the contract clauses from the Play Store.
Project Treble has versions btw, it doesn’t mean you will be able to run an Android versions 7 years from now.
Look, I understand what you are saying but the truth is, companies do not want to spend money keeping old stuff working just to please the 0.3% people who want to keep their device running 10 years. Computer programmers are a scarce resource nowadays. In the place I work for, for every programmers that arrives another one leaves to go to Sweden, The Netherlands, France or some other country because there is lots of demand for programmers worldwide and someone paid them more. And of course the leavers are the most senior ones (4+ years). And the company I work for hires aggressively and the compensation package is a top priority and rather good.
With what I just said taken into consideration, there is a difference between Google fulfilling their obligation to provide security updates/patches (which is a relatively easy task for most security vulnerabilities) and requiring Google to write code to plug API gaps for Android 4.0 for eternity. Or requiring the SoC vendor to write new drivers for new Android versions for your 7 year old chip forever. Companies have to limit their support weight otherwise it would crush them. Even if money is no object, you cannot just clap your hands and have the team magically grow as support weight is allowed to increase exponentially.
You have done your part for reducing e-waste. Make your EVO 3D a collectible and buy a new phone. The EVO 3D makes for a crap GPS device anyway due to lack of GLONASS support. Or go to xda and find a ROM.
Edited 2018-12-09 21:23 UTC
Don’t tell me what I have to do with my devices, Google is already doing some arm wrestling to force me to ditch out my investment for the sake of shareholders. The GPS works enough for me, I can stand 30s first fix time, but not the way we are treated as disposable as the products we buy.
I am just telling you what options there are. Besides whining all the time, that is…
3 years is about average for a non long-term support. I agree, 5 years would be nice, but three years is fairly typical– although compared with HTC or Samsung devices, which typically get updates until the next model comes out, three years is pretty good.
My Pixel XL (shipped with 7.1) has a pending Android 9.x update waiting. I probably won’t get Android 10, but I don’t expect to.
But that’s as a phone manufacturer, and has nothing to do with Google’s android development efforts, which was the distinction I was making– New versions of Android, and security updates for the old versions, come out of Google regularly– it’s up to the manufacturers (including Google) to apply those updates to existing phones.
Somehow my 10 year old laptops, which weren’t sold neither by Microsoft or Canonical, manage to get their updates.
Does F-Droid etc… and other market places still work on there?
The decision to deprecate the Android 4.0 (ICS) devices from the Google Play Store is based on inherently biased data.
Yes, only 0.3% of Android devices visiting the store are still running ICS. However, the users of such devices have essentially built up their collection of desired/needed applications over the years. Unless there is a new application/game coming to the store that they wish to have, they are unlikely to visit the store.
On the other hand, any user who just purchased a device will frequently visit the store for interesting applications/games.
It appears that this has somewhat been recognized in the implementation of the depreciation.
In one approach, while not being to download, or even see, the most recent update to an application/game, it would still be possible to download the most recently published version available for the device.
In another approach, which could be used when the application/game is used mostly on older devices, simultaneous publication to the older 14.7.99 API is also possible.
Updates.
Updates aren’t required and aren’t always a good thing. If an older version is working fine and not posing any serious risk, why try to fix/update something that isn’t broken?
Let me tell you right of the bat, your device will still work. You will not be able to get app updates (which is a problem that you most likely already have for the vast majority of apps in your phone) and some games may require an update which you can’t get or which https://audacity.onl/ https://findmyiphone.onl/ https://origin.onl/
The statistics are for devices which “visited” the Google Play Store.
As far as I understand the information behind the original post, updates are silent and are not counted as visits.
Despite owning an ICS-powered device (the Motorola Xoom), I really wish Google had done this a few years earlier… but only because a recent-ish update to Play services makes Tegra2-powered devices unusably sluggish (which Google has never bothered to fix, despite it being a well-known issue: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/play/uX3Xqk2gi_k).
I was also read the same thing which you are actually posted in this post and read some other news on https://www.routersupports.co/netgear-technical-support/ page. can anyone suggest me anything the new about computers? because I have a laptop which age is 8 years, and I am totally scared about new updates and many more thing.
Edited 2018-12-11 06:31 UTC