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328 points jerlam | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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joecool1029 ◴[] No.45271165[source]
Might as well say it since nobody else commented about it, but modem/soc vendors are huge limiting factor on longterm android support. Qualcomm maintains these updates for only a few years, basically nothing earlier than around 2020-2021 gets kernel driver or modem updates.

Of course it's still up to phone manufacturer to integrate these changes, but it puts an effective security support timeline on even 3rd party ROM's like lineageos. They can cherrypick, but it's not as secure once that support ends.

Apple has almost everything in-house (except until recently, modems). So they have a ton of flexibility in continuing to provide updates.

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1. hamandcheese ◴[] No.45271849[source]
Apple depends on Qualcomm just like everyone else (except for the new iPhone Air)... so this really doesn't seem like a valid excuse for Android manufacturers.
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2. joecool1029 ◴[] No.45271955[source]
They don't though (also the 16e has in-house apple modem, I have no idea what the fate of the intel modems was). The majority of other vendors' designs get full qualcomm soc's with dsp, modem, security processor firmwares.

Apple literally has the scale to go to Qualcomm and buy slightly customized variants (the X71, for instance). And those modems are integrated with their custom Apple designed chips. I don't see any other vendor able to do that.