How future proof are the current Android flagship phones?

[jtvang125]

Currently still have the iphone 4s but it's barely tolerable these days. As you can see I don't need to have the latest and greatest but I think it's time to upgrade and I'm leaning towards Android going forward.

Is the performance of the current Android flagship phones at a point where they'll still provide adequate use for another 3 years or so?


*update* Picked up a used HTC M8 with the dot case on craigslist last night and haven't been able to put it down. However the dot case is a total gimmick and I hate the flap cover. Will be looking for a regular case.

It's running KitKat right now and just got notification this morning that an update is available so I'm guessing it's for Lollipop. Probably hold off on that but I'm more than satisfied with the performance and responsiveness.

 

[dguy6789]

We hit a huge diminishing returns point a while back. Pretty much any phone from the Nexus 4 era or newer is going to last a long time. A flagship one from today will probably be useful until the battery dies.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The real limitation on Android is how long you get access to OS updates. There simply isn't an Android phone that will be as supported as long as the 4S has been.

 

[dainthomas]

I'd still be using my Optimus G if the battery had been replaceable. Worked fine other than it couldn't hold a charge. I imagine that as long as I pop in a new battery every year my Note4 will last a while.

 

[Danyune]

If I were to get an android, it'd be the nexus line, which I think the nexus 6 is latest? But I'm an iphone for life type of person

 

[Midwayman]

The real limitation on Android is how long you get access to OS updates. There simply isn't an Android phone that will be as supported as long as the 4S has been.

True. Get a nexus device for your best chance at staying up to date OS wise. Though to a large extent I'm not sure how much it matters in the usual life span of a phone. If you get updates for 2 years or so and then have another 2 year without, you'll probably still be on a version of android supported by app devs.

If he cared about the latest and greatest he wouldn't be on a 4S anyways.

 

[Wildman107]

Currently still have the iphone 4s but it's barely tolerable these days. As you can see I don't need to have the latest and greatest but I think it's time to upgrade and I'm leaning towards Android going forward.

Is the performance of the current Android flagship phones at a point where they'll still provide adequate use for another 3 years or so?

If you don't care about having the latest and greatest, why are you considering a flagship that will run you north of $500?

Here's an idea. Tomorrow, go out and buy a Moto G (2nd Gen) for $180. Two years from now, buy the Moto G (4th Gen), and two years after that buy the Moto G (6th Gen).

When all is said and done, after six years you would have spent $540. And guess what? You STILL wouldn't have paid as much as a brand new flagship phone costs today! And that phone you end up with four years from now, the Moto G (6th Gen), will be faster than anything released in 2014 and it will have all the support and updates you desire. Simple.

 

[Ravynmagi]

It's hard to predict if a phone will still be good 3 years from now. Note 4 is a very nice phone. Great display, good Snapdragon 805. But like many phones it will probably get one big update and that is it. Over time it'll feel old and stale because in 3 years be running a pretty old version of Android.

I like the Nexus phones because the stock, bloat free software helps even the older Nexus phones feel new and relevant.

 

[vi edit]

I'm not sure getting updates is all that it's cracked up to be with Android. Once we got up to Jelly Bean almost every other change to the system annoyed me more and more with little quirks and glitches. Look at the Lollipop thread and see the complaints there.

Biggest thing with Android phones is needing to do a wipe on them after a year or two and cleaning up the clutter.

 

[Yuriman]

We hit a huge diminishing returns point a while back. Pretty much any phone from the Nexus 4 era or newer is going to last a long time. A flagship one from today will probably be useful until the battery dies.

Pretty much this. I'm still rocking a mid-2013 phone and it feel fast. There's nothing compelling on the market for me to upgrade to yet.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm not sure getting updates is all that it's cracked up to be with Android. Once we got up to Jelly Bean almost every other change to the system annoyed me more and more with little quirks and glitches. Look at the Lollipop thread and see the complaints there.

Biggest thing with Android phones is needing to do a wipe on them after a year or two and cleaning up the clutter.

At this point, I have no plan to "upgrade" to Lollipop. KitKat worked fine when I got it last July, and it'll be working fine two Julys from now. A computer either works, or it doesn't. If it doesn't work, why'd you buy it in the first place? If it does work, why does it need to be upgraded; for some new shiny baubles, and different icons?

 

[grkM3]

If you waited this long just wait a bit longer for the galaxy s6 if you want a future proof phone.it will be 64 bit and lollipop is 64 bit os and would be your best bet for a future proof phone.

Not even the nexus 6 has a 64 bit soc in it if bought today.

 

[Commodus]

Of the two practical concerns for futureproofing, continued OS updates and 64-bitness are the main factors.

Let's face it: outside of HTC, the Nexus program and maybe Motorola, you probably won't get more than 1-1.5 years of OS updates from an Android manufacturer. Most of them wilfully abandon support as soon as a phone is off the market, or shortly afterward. You're relatively spoiled on iOS, where Apple will give you OS upgrades (albeit without features that need newer hardware to run properly) for three years.

And you'll want to wait a little bit if you want to go 64-bit and see what that brings to Android. It's likely that the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S6 and other 2015 flagships will have 64-bit processors. Right now, the only Android phones that do the 64-bit thing are the LG G Flex 2 (not available in North America yet) and a bunch of budget devices... and suffice it to say that the technology is currently wasted on lower-end hardware.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Of the two practical concerns for futureproofing, continued OS updates and 64-bitness are the main factors.

Let's face it: outside of HTC, the Nexus program and maybe Motorola, you probably won't get more than 1-1.5 years of OS updates from an Android manufacturer. Most of them wilfully abandon support as soon as a phone is off the market, or shortly afterward. You're relatively spoiled on iOS, where Apple will give you OS upgrades (albeit without features that need newer hardware to run properly) for three years.

And you'll want to wait a little bit if you want to go 64-bit and see what that brings to Android. It's likely that the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S6 and other 2015 flagships will have 64-bit processors. Right now, the only Android phones that do the 64-bit thing are the LG G Flex 2 (not available in North America yet) and a bunch of budget devices... and suffice it to say that the technology is currently wasted on lower-end hardware.

Honestly if you are waiting for 64bit I would wait until later this year when Qualcomm gets 64 bit right (aka not stock ARM cores). Or buy that Exynos S6 if we get it.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Of the two practical concerns for futureproofing, continued OS updates and 64-bitness are the main factors.

Let's face it: outside of HTC, the Nexus program and maybe Motorola, you probably won't get more than 1-1.5 years of OS updates from an Android manufacturer. Most of them wilfully abandon support as soon as a phone is off the market, or shortly afterward. You're relatively spoiled on iOS, where Apple will give you OS upgrades (albeit without features that need newer hardware to run properly) for three years.

And you'll want to wait a little bit if you want to go 64-bit and see what that brings to Android. It's likely that the HTC One M8, Samsung Galaxy S6 and other 2015 flagships will have 64-bit processors. Right now, the only Android phones that do the 64-bit thing are the LG G Flex 2 (not available in North America yet) and a bunch of budget devices... and suffice it to say that the technology is currently wasted on lower-end hardware.

I wouldn't even count on HTC, they announced an update for my One S to HTC Sense 5 and Android 4.2.2 but later cancelled. Granted, it wasn't a flagship like the One X was, which they did update to 4.2.2 and Sense 5, but still.

And as far as 64-bit goes, I'm inclined to believe that will be a huge gimmick at first (at least in terms of how hard they market it vs. how immediately useful it will be), i.e. it'll be necessary for when our phones move beyond 4GB of memory but that's pretty massive overkill for the time being; early 64-bit phones will only need to be 64-bit to provide the platform for the 64-bit apps to start to make their way to us.

 

[Roland00Address]

The cpu, gpu speed, and ram of phones are now fast enough to last 2 to 3 years instead of 1 to 2 years. Software is just not advancing fast enough, and the cpu, gpu, and ram grows at a far faster pace outspeed the demands of software needing more speed.

The real improvements of a phone is the speed of the nand, the energy efficiency of the soc, and better lte speeds (but lte is now in diminishing returns range you only want faster speeds so you can race to sleep faster). That and the phone is much cheaper.

A 2013 Moto G chip is about the same speed as a Samsung Galaxy 3 CPU and the Galaxy 4 is faster.

Yet the Moto G 2013 or 2014 is arguably better for it has a more energy efficient soc, faster nand, less bloat, and you had reset the phone a year newer since often the s3 has not been reset at all since 2012.

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Resetting the phone (clean wipe) will does wonders on any phone either android or apple just like resetting the OS for windows does wonders on everyday performance.

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I am personally waiting for the Asus Zenfone 2. That is an intel chip comparable to the s801 and almost as good as the s805 in benchmarks. So we are talking a little better than the Samsung S5/Nexus 5 in performance and almost as good as the Note 4/Nexus 6 in performance for $200.

In my mind this phone and similar ones in that price range will be the 2015 Moto G. When I say Moto G I am talking about superb price to performance ratio.

Now the One Plus One and the Nexus 5 are also good chips for their prices around $350, but getting that performance for $200 will now move the entire market and change the goalposts of what is acceptable.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

The trend seems to be moving the average price per smartphone downwards as competition sweeps in with better value propitious in the $200-$300 space. Will the market be able to support all the newcomers? Probably not, but seems like there's a lot of money on the table up for grabs right now. Apple will not be competing in that lower end price bracket, actually they don't need to with their walled garden all to themselves.

 

[openwheel]

The real problem is radio and radio software support.

Even if you have high end quadcore with 2gb of ram, it may still be crippled due to lack of radio support (hardware and software). So choose your hardware wisely, and keep an eye on Carrier's future plans.

 

[ControlD]

Of the two practical concerns for futureproofing, continued OS updates and 64-bitness are the main factors.

]Let's face it: outside of HTC, the Nexus program and maybe Motorola, you probably won't get more than 1-1.5 years of OS updates from an Android manufacturer. Most of them wilfully abandon support as soon as a phone is off the market, or shortly afterward.

This is why I refuse to buy a phone with a locked boot loader. With an unlocked, rooted phone I don't need to rely on carrier updates. The way updates are handled is much better for the most part with iOS devices. I hate that you can't downgrade if there is a problem, but upgrades are handled much better overall with Apple devices. I like the way Google is handling the problem though, and lack of support from the carrier / manufacturer is much less of an issue with newer devices.

 

[lopri]

Disagree with diminishing return since the S4 Pro. The S800 was a significant jump from the S4 Pro or the S600. The Nexus 4 feels rather slower than S800 devices.

To the OP, I would suggest a device with S801. Performance delta from the S800 is rather small, but from what I have seen OEMs have made a large gain on power efficiency front, and as a result the S801 devices have a big lead on battery life per charge. If I were to buy now, my list would comprise: Xperia Z3 Compact, Note 4, and Nexus 5.

The changes Android will go through this year, namely 64-bit and 20nm, is surely going to beat the venerable Krait SOCs in perf/watt. But price premium is guaranteed, and how long the wait is going to be is anyone's guesses.

 

[lopri]

Oh, the OP got an HTC M8. Excellent choice, I'd say.

 

[Graze]

Disagree with diminishing return since the S4 Pro. The S800 was a significant jump from the S4 Pro or the S600. The Nexus 4 feels rather slower than S800 devices.

I did not notice this "significant jump" you talk about when switching between the Nexus 4 and 5.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I just upgraded from a Devour to a LG G3. That ancient thing was on 1.6. I'm set for another 10 years. lol.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Anything running a Snapdragon 800 or better (and 2GB+ RAM) will be set for awhile. Probably the Core 2 Duo of smartphones if I've ever seen one. (basically, once mid and low end catch up, we'll be at this level of performance for awhile)

I believe my G2 is supposed to get the lollipop update pretty soon as well. Quite a big change in attention from LG compared to my last phone. If there's big UI changes, I'll probably hold off myself as well.

 

[sweenish]

I did not notice this "significant jump" you talk about when switching between the Nexus 4 and 5.

I notice it going from N7 to N5.

Lower resolution of N4 could be masking what I see. Lollipop was great for it, though.