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0 pointsspiralcoaster13d ago0 comments

What's funny is that these days if I see a Google product that I'm even remotely interested in, I just immediately write it off because I know it's something they will kill in a very short time frame.

It's just never worth the hassle of buying/using a Google product. Never.

0 comments

jeroenhd13d ago

Their hardware is usually fine when it comes to support. Google announces the support lifetime of their devices and sticks to it, with feature updates coming to things like phones even after the support period ended through things like app stores. Just check the support lifetime of the device before buying (early Pixels only had 2 years of support, as was announced at release).

Their cloud services are nothing but hot air but their hardware support has been excellent for the past few years. Easily beats other major manufacturers. I'm still annoyed that Apple won't tell you how long they will support their hardware. Other competitors manage to be even worse.

throwaway03013d ago

My Pixel 3A stopped receiving security updates after less than 3 years. I remember Google did this to start using their own chips in their phones.

Two or three years is not even close to the support Apple provides. It sealed the deal for me and I switched to iPhone.

joshuamorton13d ago

Yes, they've since more than doubled the support lifetimes to seven years.

mrandish13d ago

My understanding is that, depending on the phone vendor, such support may only apply to security updates after ~3 years and not feature updates.

pseudosavant13d ago

What about when that “support” is to brick your battery so your phone lasts hours because they know it is defective but don’t want to fix it?

Google’s hardware track record is a joke compared to Apple.

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o_m13d ago

It's only been 2.5 years since they said that. I'm sure they will walk back on their word before it has been 7 years.

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smallmancontrov13d ago

> early Pixels only had 2 years of support, as was announced at release

They also announced a promotion for unlimited cloud storage of photos and then shrank and JPEG massacred the photos. That part of my photo library is still visibly trashy to this very day. Every time I browse my photos, I am reminded that google did this.

Aurornis13d ago

> Their hardware is usually fine when it comes to support. Google announces the support lifetime of their devices and sticks to it

If they announce a support lifetime they stick to it.

For other products they'll just decide they're done with it and give you a little warning period. Maybe some store credit or another bonus depending on the product.

treexs13d ago

I thought Apple does tell you how long they'll support hardware.

For example: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102772

rvnx13d ago

They artificially slow down the software and drain the battery before new release though (they have been sued for that and lost)

janfoeh13d ago

No, they do not, and they did not.

They started throttling devices based on battery age after "Batterygate" in 2016, after a wave of news that their phones were suddenly shutting off on high load because the batteries terminal voltage dropped. They do not "artificially slow down before a new release".

The were sued because in their typical arrogance, they neglected to _tell_ people about that. They did not lose, they settled a class action suit.

As a result, they made battery management and state a lot more transparent in iOS, as they should have done in the first place.

Claiming malicious planned obsolescence, as you did, requires facts not in evidence.

jadbox13d ago

I argue this is both true and not true in stark ways with Google. Just look at Google Groups listserv, it's been running forever and arguably mosts used neighborhood listservs globally and has been very stable.. all largely for free. On the other hand, new experiments get chopped very quickly at Google. So, it's more like if the service can survive 2 years, then Google generally keeps it around*.

* unless it gets merged dozens of times into other similar projects.

dmix13d ago

Chromebook has been around for 15yrs

jeffnv13d ago

Chromecast has been great for years and years, maybe they just kill the crap that should have never existed just like everybody else

esseph13d ago

I've had great luck with their hardware (phones / tablets) and they get updates frequently and for quite a long time.

throwaway89434513d ago

Even if they don't kill it, this is certain to be even more privacy invading than their pre-AI offerings.

readdit13d ago

I feel the same way. Looks neat. But hard pass. I've been burned several times.

pydry13d ago

It will also vacuum up your user data and use it to train AI models and such.

rurp13d ago

Google Fiber has been advertising a lot in my area. Despite the legacy ISP being as bad as most entrenched ISPs I can't see myself switching and adding another Google product into my life.

It might be cheaper and faster now, but will that still be true in a few years once Google has gotten bored with the project? Are they going to use this service to spam me with AI slop like they do everywhere else? What happens if a Google bot nukes my Google account, will that cut off my entire internet with no warning as well?

I'm not famous enough to raise a social media storm when they screw me over so it's a big risk doing business with the company.

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