@Q&A 114 Blog
The core team can offer advice to any initiative to keep old devices working but it can’t put any effort into doing that kind of maintenance.
One thing to keep old device working a bit longer would be to make any core app standalone like camera is, i think for instance at messaging app.
That old device can no longer have OS update is not so surprising with locked kernels, but we can live long without OS updates if apps are still updated, including important apps like core ones.
I stayed 3 years with old canonical UT (15.04 i believe) for some reasons, but i had open store and only when i could not update apps anymore i had to switch to UBP UT.
Marius pointed out that the focus for the core team will always be on moving forward. It follows that backwards maintenance is just not practical. It is not about ‘policy’. It is about what is realistically possible.
We can understand that, those kernels issues are not trivial.
Again, if apps can be updated some years ahead that's not a problem.
Dalton spoke about the Foundation perspective. It is our aim to have a close working relationship with phone businesses (think Volla) and they need to bring new devices to market. We have to reserve some of our energies for the work alongside them.
Pine 64 should be close too, maybe even closer as they try to spread open source hardware.
The more open source hardware the easier to update longer.
As said last time, we want to ensure that all UT devices are not just ‘working’ but perform in a really good way. They should also be as secure as we are able to make them. We are very dependent on donations and it would be reasonable to suppose that most of that money comes from donors who want to see UT develop and grow. It would not be proper to divert their financial help into funding what amounts to ‘museum’ work.
Develop and grow yes, but not by prioritising phone businesse partnership.
Simply because they have been around a while and breaking, old devices are unavailable to most people [it is practically impossible to find a BQ tablet anywhere these days]. We don’t have precise data but one thing stands out very clearly. If people can buy a device with UT already installed, that is way more popular than those devices which need use of the installer.
Lot of devices sold with UT on it are in hands of people that make them last the most. Mine is 7 years old and i had hard time bying it.
If i can make it last 3 more years i take.
Alfred emphasised that he wants his efforts to be productive for phones in everyday use, not hobbyist phones that are mostly kept in a drawer and brought out occasionally as a curiosity.
That's a good sight, and depending on what people want it is the case since 2015.
I bough my MX4 to run from gafam model + where phones support was dropped so fast, knowing that OS was basic and apps a few, but all smartphone fonctions worked.
It was never in a drawer since then, that's the phone that lasted the longer to me.
Now, new comers should not be told to buy one of those phones for sure.
What i am waiting to switch device ?
First i like it and don't need to change, it's one of the best UT ported phone there and very stable (unlike its device page says lol).
Second my best would be Pinephone (Pro?) port working like 100%, so it let me time to switch.
I think the best for open source software is opensource hardware.
Voila, my 2 cents.