After only 3 short years my Google Pixel 4A is EOL. It still works perfectly fine, but since our entire lives run through our phones I don’t feel safe trusting my bank accounts and so on to a phone without security updates. I feel like I wasn’t quite aware how short the supported time would be when i bought it.
So I gotta get a new one. I don’t really have a lot of requirements. I just need the basics: A camera, headphone jack, USB-C charging and F-Droid (so app side loading). I just watch some YouTube, use lemmy and messaging apps, 3fa, email and so on and if there is something to take a video of photo of I like doing that too. I don’t need NFC or high refresh rate or 3 cameras or wireless charging and I don’t play any phone games so pretty much any phone should work, right?
I was thinking of getting something a bit sustainable and long lasting so I looked at Fairphone but the Fairphone 4 is only supported until 2026 which is not really long and also it’s really expensive for just another 3 years. Looks like there will be a Fairphone 5 soonish? But since the 4 didn’t have a headphone jack the 5 probably won’t either?
So since it looks like a ~6 or 7 year lifespan is just not something that’s available I’ve been thinking why not go cheap? Thus I’ve considered getting the Samsung Galaxy A14 (non-5G). Are there any significant differences with the 5G version? The 5G version has good reviews as far as i can see. Feels a little bad to downgrade to a phone that cannot even record 1080p@60 and to go back to USB 2.0 and 15W charging but whatever.
So I’m open to suggestions, either on the longer lasting side or something cheap yet secure for a couple of years.
Changing your phone just because it doesn’t have security updates anymore is a bad idea. Not only those security issues are very likely to be almost impossible to encounter in real life, it will also create more e-waste we definitely don’t need.
As suggested, install a custom ROM if you’re worried, otherwise just enjoy your phone it will still work perfectly for 2+ years.
This is terrible advice for someone that has already voiced security concerns. Custom ROMs are literally the wild west when it comes to security. I have a pixel 6a and no complaints. You can still pick one up on the Google store HERE.