[HN Gopher] EU regulators want 5 years of smartphone parts, much...
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       EU regulators want 5 years of smartphone parts, much better
       batteries
        
       Author : robin_reala
       Score  : 29 points
       Date   : 2022-09-02 20:24 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | fezfight wrote:
       | EU regulators should be asking for unlocked phones with open
       | source drivers. Then we can use the phones longer without
       | depending on these orgs.
        
         | actually_a_dog wrote:
         | Not without 5 years of OS and application support. That's the
         | primary reason I "junk drawer"'ed my previous iPhone. Had the
         | OS and app support still been there, I might still be using it
         | today.
        
           | wtallis wrote:
           | Unlocked bootloaders and open source drivers are the only
           | viable way to get 5+ years of OS support on Android phones.
           | Even with a regulatory mandate, most Android phone
           | manufacturers would be unable to provide satisfactory
           | software maintenance on that kind of time scale. But
           | community projects _would_ be able to do so, and are already
           | doing so in niches where bootloaders and drivers are not a
           | barrier.
        
             | actually_a_dog wrote:
             | If that's the case, then what they're trying to do simply
             | will not work. Unlocked boot loaders and open source
             | drivers might be enough for you and me to keep our phones
             | in service for 5 additional years, but it's not going to be
             | enough for my mom. There are far more people out there like
             | my mom than there are people like you and me.
        
               | fezfight wrote:
               | If we were to give up all the things that someone's
               | figurative family members couldn't handle, we'd be
               | literally living in the dark ages.
        
               | actually_a_dog wrote:
               | If we don't come up with sustainable ways for those
               | metaphorical family members to consume, we'll end up
               | there anyway.
        
               | fezfight wrote:
               | You're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Because
               | your mother can't easily update her phone, you'd have it
               | so no one can? No, that's just silly.
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | sylware wrote:
         | Like they forgot noscript/basic (x)html interop for the web in
         | their last "digital related" directive (which is a step in the
         | right direction, but a very shy step).
         | 
         | That said, open source drivers are not enough, need proper
         | hardware programing manuals with erratas.
         | 
         | The first thing I would do is trash android for a homebrew
         | elf/linux derivative.
        
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       (page generated 2022-09-02 23:01 UTC)