Just another byproduct of enshittification. Novadays, a top-end Garmin watch lasts about as long as a Chinese watch of a brand with random characters you buy off Amazon. Google is introducing planned obsolesence in Fitbit. Banking apps are beginning to require phones that are no more than 4 years old. TVs get bricked with firmware upgrades. So, consumers are trained to buy cheapest, least reliable electronics, because over time they’ll provide more value than top-end items which used to last much longer. (This was written on a 13 years old phone. I may not have access to my banking app anymore, but otherwise it works for everything I need, and I haven’t contributed to e-waste in this regard. Not that the pollution angle was my reason to keep the phone, but it’s a nice extra bonus.)
Samsung Galaxy S2. With a replaceable battery and good external cover, that thing can last for a long time. I did contribute to e-waste by replacing the battery three times so far, but that’s all.
I can guarantee that any Android phone with a good modding community can last this much. He’s probably using Samsung galaxy s series or those old Google Nexus phone.
My phone’s official support stopped at Android 10 yet I’m currently running Android 14 with the help of custom rom.
Hello! Not sure if the screenshot will attach to this comment but I was able to successfully log into Lemmy and I’m replying to your comment from my iPhone 4s.
With all of this being said and done, I do agree that OP is not likely to be using an iPhone. An Android phone from this period is way more usable than this iPhone even with all the hacks I’ve done to it.
Don’t be so certain. Using jailbreaks the 4s can be downgraded to either 8.4.1 or 6.1.3. My own one is on 8.4.1 and old.Lemmy.world renders perfectly on it. I’ll grab it actually and see if I can reply to this comment.
I’ve always thought I had a 4s laying around. But just checked and it’s a 5c. With a broken screen. Would that be worth to have fixed and try to jailbreak to use it in 2024?
Most I do is Whatsapp, Lemmy, YouTube and browse the web. Casually.
I have a Galaxy S7 right now but it has never been comfortable to hold for me and the battery is getting old.
You could do the screen replacement yourself which honestly isn’t too difficult if you follow a repair guide such as the ones iFixit make available. You may find it cheaper to find an iCloud locked 5c with a functional screen than to buy a replacement screen itself, and you have spare parts should you need them.
However, I believe the 5c was a bit of an underwhelming phone because it was effectively the same as the iPhone 5 that came before it. The latest iOS it got was 10.3.4, which is pretty much unusable in 2024 without jailbreaks. You would need to find tweaks to try and fix apps that are broken, and force the app store to serve you older versions of apps. It’s possible to try and make it usable but I do honestly think it’s a losing battle as more and more apps update and break compatibility.
If you’re really into the form factor of the 5c you could find a used SE 1st gen which got to iOS 15 but still looks exactly like an iPhone 5, as these are still very daily drivable without jailbreaks.
Otherwise, I’d usually say its best to keep your S7 going, and install custom ROMs like LineageOS to keep it going further. If an Android phone has mainstream ROM support (by LineageOS or hobbyists on XDA Developers) it’s usually much easier to keep it going for longer than an iPhone, and it’s usually more secure as you’re getting OS updates again.
My iPhone 4s is a proof of concept device that shows it’s possible to have it work with some services today (Fediverse via old.Lemmy.world, Spotify, Discord, iMessage, Reddit via Narwhal, Maps, Telegram, YouTube via m.youtube.com, and Hacker News) but it is a very slow and patience testing experience in nearly all of those. I would not consider my 4s daily drivable and it’s exactly why I use it for a distraction free music player with modern conveniences.
Edit: I should mention that a community I frequented on Reddit was r/LegacyJailbreak, so they will have much further information for you should you want to ultimately repair and reuse your iPhone 5c
After your post I think I wouldn’t go through the trouble of repairing that 5c. I now remember how it was always running out of storage space. So it wasn’t an ideal phone, even if it was more comfortable to hold.
I’m actually considering looking for a Samsung Galaxy S4 now since there seem to be more recent versions of LineageOS for them.
All the best with that. I have a Galaxy S5 and it is still daily drivable, although it lives it’s retirement years as a dashcam that I can quickly deploy in any car should I need it.
Google is introducing planned obsolesence in Fitbit
Have they? In what way?
They’ve done good work for Android and Pixel, promising 7 years of updates for the latest Pixels. Samsung has also gotten much better about this with their recent phones. That’s going to put a huge dent in the e-waste as Android phones have surely been heavy contributors (certainly much higher than fitbit).
TVs get bricked with firmware upgrades.
What TVs? Vizio, Hisense, the Chinese junk budget brands?
Very sympathetic to your e-waste concerns; I think the source of the problem is actually getting better not worse though. In general, the mobile tech sector is “growing up” and supporting products longer.
This is speculation by Ars Technica. Essentially, a recent firmware upgrade seems to have drastically lowered the battery life of some models. In addition, they are removing all third-party apps in the EU in response to the DMA.
What TVs? Vizio, Hisense, the Chinese junk budget brands?
Most recently Roku. But I used a TV only as an example. A year ago, an OTA upgrade bricked microwave ovens. Google’s history of bricking its smart home products goes back to at least 2016, companies like Wink threaten to brick your devices unless you suddenly start paying a monthly fee on top of your purchase price “for life”, there were reports of smart bulbs or thermostats ceasing working as well.
The following is pure speculation on my part: I think we’re at the beginning of a huge wave of planned obsolescence. Everyone and their mother are now training AI’s, and they want their customers to replace older products, which don’t support AI integration, with new ones. They’ll soon stop supporting the older devices or outright bricking them, to force people to buy the new ones.
Just another byproduct of enshittification. Novadays, a top-end Garmin watch lasts about as long as a Chinese watch of a brand with random characters you buy off Amazon. Google is introducing planned obsolesence in Fitbit. Banking apps are beginning to require phones that are no more than 4 years old. TVs get bricked with firmware upgrades. So, consumers are trained to buy cheapest, least reliable electronics, because over time they’ll provide more value than top-end items which used to last much longer. (This was written on a 13 years old phone. I may not have access to my banking app anymore, but otherwise it works for everything I need, and I haven’t contributed to e-waste in this regard. Not that the pollution angle was my reason to keep the phone, but it’s a nice extra bonus.)
I can guarantee this user is not using an iPhone from 2011 - the iPhone 4s went to shit after the first few years of updates
Samsung Galaxy S2. With a replaceable battery and good external cover, that thing can last for a long time. I did contribute to e-waste by replacing the battery three times so far, but that’s all.
I can guarantee that any Android phone with a good modding community can last this much. He’s probably using Samsung galaxy s series or those old Google Nexus phone.
My phone’s official support stopped at Android 10 yet I’m currently running Android 14 with the help of custom rom.
Hello! Not sure if the screenshot will attach to this comment but I was able to successfully log into Lemmy and I’m replying to your comment from my iPhone 4s.
With all of this being said and done, I do agree that OP is not likely to be using an iPhone. An Android phone from this period is way more usable than this iPhone even with all the hacks I’ve done to it.
Don’t be so certain. Using jailbreaks the 4s can be downgraded to either 8.4.1 or 6.1.3. My own one is on 8.4.1 and old.Lemmy.world renders perfectly on it. I’ll grab it actually and see if I can reply to this comment.
I’ve always thought I had a 4s laying around. But just checked and it’s a 5c. With a broken screen. Would that be worth to have fixed and try to jailbreak to use it in 2024?
Most I do is Whatsapp, Lemmy, YouTube and browse the web. Casually.
I have a Galaxy S7 right now but it has never been comfortable to hold for me and the battery is getting old.
You could do the screen replacement yourself which honestly isn’t too difficult if you follow a repair guide such as the ones iFixit make available. You may find it cheaper to find an iCloud locked 5c with a functional screen than to buy a replacement screen itself, and you have spare parts should you need them.
However, I believe the 5c was a bit of an underwhelming phone because it was effectively the same as the iPhone 5 that came before it. The latest iOS it got was 10.3.4, which is pretty much unusable in 2024 without jailbreaks. You would need to find tweaks to try and fix apps that are broken, and force the app store to serve you older versions of apps. It’s possible to try and make it usable but I do honestly think it’s a losing battle as more and more apps update and break compatibility.
If you’re really into the form factor of the 5c you could find a used SE 1st gen which got to iOS 15 but still looks exactly like an iPhone 5, as these are still very daily drivable without jailbreaks.
Otherwise, I’d usually say its best to keep your S7 going, and install custom ROMs like LineageOS to keep it going further. If an Android phone has mainstream ROM support (by LineageOS or hobbyists on XDA Developers) it’s usually much easier to keep it going for longer than an iPhone, and it’s usually more secure as you’re getting OS updates again.
My iPhone 4s is a proof of concept device that shows it’s possible to have it work with some services today (Fediverse via old.Lemmy.world, Spotify, Discord, iMessage, Reddit via Narwhal, Maps, Telegram, YouTube via m.youtube.com, and Hacker News) but it is a very slow and patience testing experience in nearly all of those. I would not consider my 4s daily drivable and it’s exactly why I use it for a distraction free music player with modern conveniences.
Edit: I should mention that a community I frequented on Reddit was r/LegacyJailbreak, so they will have much further information for you should you want to ultimately repair and reuse your iPhone 5c
Thanks for your comment. That’s interesting.
After your post I think I wouldn’t go through the trouble of repairing that 5c. I now remember how it was always running out of storage space. So it wasn’t an ideal phone, even if it was more comfortable to hold. I’m actually considering looking for a Samsung Galaxy S4 now since there seem to be more recent versions of LineageOS for them.
All the best with that. I have a Galaxy S5 and it is still daily drivable, although it lives it’s retirement years as a dashcam that I can quickly deploy in any car should I need it.
Have they? In what way?
They’ve done good work for Android and Pixel, promising 7 years of updates for the latest Pixels. Samsung has also gotten much better about this with their recent phones. That’s going to put a huge dent in the e-waste as Android phones have surely been heavy contributors (certainly much higher than fitbit).
What TVs? Vizio, Hisense, the Chinese junk budget brands?
Very sympathetic to your e-waste concerns; I think the source of the problem is actually getting better not worse though. In general, the mobile tech sector is “growing up” and supporting products longer.
This is speculation by Ars Technica. Essentially, a recent firmware upgrade seems to have drastically lowered the battery life of some models. In addition, they are removing all third-party apps in the EU in response to the DMA.
Most recently Roku. But I used a TV only as an example. A year ago, an OTA upgrade bricked microwave ovens. Google’s history of bricking its smart home products goes back to at least 2016, companies like Wink threaten to brick your devices unless you suddenly start paying a monthly fee on top of your purchase price “for life”, there were reports of smart bulbs or thermostats ceasing working as well.
The following is pure speculation on my part: I think we’re at the beginning of a huge wave of planned obsolescence. Everyone and their mother are now training AI’s, and they want their customers to replace older products, which don’t support AI integration, with new ones. They’ll soon stop supporting the older devices or outright bricking them, to force people to buy the new ones.