Android 6.0 Marshmallow / 7 Nougat for FP2?

Wow this is really bad news…
When I bought the Fairphone I was hoping for fast updates to newer versions of Android.
So we can only hope that FP will at least release an FOS that is based on Android 7.

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There is still Marshmallow. It’s not FPs fault (okay, they’ve chosen Qualcomm and did not talk about it) but in the end it’s Qualcomm’s fault. They decided that they don’t want to port the bin blob for the graphics drivers on the 801 to the level that Google wants. So it’s dead by software again. I’m not sure how much graphics power is really needed for Android 7. Maybe one could do without. But Android 6 or CyanogenMod 13 (based on Android 6, I think) will be the best OS for most FP2 users in the end.

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Hmm, following the discussions about the updates of FP1 and FP2 I’m asking myself if it’s even possible to produce an Android phone with updates over more than some few years…?!
It seems that there are quiet a lot of difficult dependencies…

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A real Linux distro (i.e. GNU/Linux), as Ubuntu Touch (and Sailfish OS?) should serve that purpose. Google designed Android with planned obsolescence in mind.

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I’m pretty disappointet about the Bad News. I knew that we would have to wait for every big Update and would probably always one year behind the newest Version, but being stuck on Version 6 is fatal. The new features are no big thing, but maybe the Features of Version 8 or 9. And someday Google will stop Delivering Sevurity Patches for Android 6 and maybe Apps will begin to need Android 7 or higher to run.

It’s not directly Fairphones Fault (it is indirectly their Fault because they choose the SoC, but they didn’t know what was going to happen in the Future) but a Phone that should be used and repaired for 5 years and even longer with a totally outdated OS is a Joke.

I was waiting to buy a FP2 because I wanted to check if the monthly Security Updates come fast and regularily, if the Ubuntu Touch and Sailfish OS Ports make Progress and how fast they are going to Release Android 6. But I think under These Circumstances I won’t buy a FP2.

But Even if Sony or Qualcomm don’t do anything, maybe there is a Way for FP? Maybe they Switch to Ubuntu Touch or Sailfish OS officially? Or someone finds a Way to bring Android 7 to Devices that are not being officially supported? Maybe this could make a Android 7 FP Open OS possible at least.

In my Opinion Sailfish OS isn’t a Linux Distro and I’m not sure if Ubuntu Touch is a “real” one.

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Here an article for all german folks around: https://www.computerbase.de/2016-08/snapdragon-801-800-fehlender-treiber-koennte-android-7.0-im-weg-stehen/

In a nutshell: It is about the Z3 and that the problem may be the missing driver for the Adreno-330-GPU (same as the Fairphone 2) and not missing support for Vulkan. Furthermore it seems to be only a problem for the 330 GPU, as other phones with a GPU from the 300 series seem to get the Android 7 update (e.g. the General Mobile 4G with Adreno-306-GPU). It seems unclear, if Android-One-Devices (such as the mentioned) doesn’t have to meet all requirements of the android compatibility test suite or if there is still hope for other devices with GPU from the 300 series.
They asked Qualcomm for a statement and will update the article if they get one.

Hope this is readable :slight_smile: Have written this in a hurry and english is not my native language.

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Well the Fairphone 2 has a Adreno 330 GPU…

My personal opinion is that Fairphone will try to start supporting other OSes at the latest when it turns out that they can’t update Android anymore. If only FP1 would have support for other OSes…

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Right, the Fairphone has the same GPU - this is why I posted this :slight_smile: Forgot to mention this in my previous post, thanks!

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nice. my first android phone after resisting smartphones in general for more than 10 years, was a 99€ cheapshot for ingress that was (unknown to me) obsolete already, now i bought a fp2 and boom 7 weeks later i can send it to the moon, too.
seriously, fml.

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Why? It’s perfectly up-to-date with lollipop, might get MM, and what will happen then time will tell… According to a few articles i read it might even get a version of FP Open OS, as no CTS is necessary.

Don’t panic (just yet :slight_smile: )

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Up to date with Lollipop? Android 5.x is over a Year old, 6.x is nearly a year Old and nobody knows when the FP2 will get updated to it. 7.x is really up to date…

We can argue which features are worth the update, but as stated before it’s not all about features it’s more about Security Patches and App Compability, and a Phone designed to be used more then twice as long as most Phones need to ne Secure and compatible to most Apps.

There are many small Changes between 5.x and 7.x, but the only really Important to me is the Permission Manager introduced in 6.x. And we will probably get this Update in the next 6 Months or so, and I could live with that, but if you want to use the Phone for 4 or 5 Years and you are stuck on Android 6.x you will be left alone by Google and other Developers Long before 2021…

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While I miss some features from 6, and would like to see the update rather sooner than later, in the end I have to say that having an up to date Lollipop that receives monthly updates is still something I prefer over being stuck with Android 6 or 7 with the version as it was installed (as it is the case with many vendors).

That said, let’s see how the update policies develop for Sailfish.

But also, maybe Qualcomm will deliver at some point the firmware for the GPU that was mentioned so it can be updated. For now I fully agree with @lklaus: Way too early to panic!
:slight_smile:

But indeed: It wouldn’t hurt to get know a software roadmap from official side. Fairphone is often quite silent in regard of providing product information. Certainly not their strength.

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even with fpopen and other gms-less implementations, my first step is almost always to flash open gapps for the play store since most of the apps I’m using are available only from Google and I’m not keen on direct .apk installs.
that being said, i overused my old phone to the point most apps refuse to install for various reasons so i am aware an outdated os is not an imidiate death penalty - adding to the circle jerk however i too think 2020 is very ambitious.

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An OS that doesn’t pass the deadly Google CTS is not an unusable phone at all. If there’s FP Open OS Nougat, or some other unofficial Nougat ROM, you’ll be able to flash any GApps (or microG) and use it normally. But Fairphone cannot distribute an OS that Google disapproves for the reasons they want (Android ecosystem —with Google— is a private playground after all, they’ve hardened it over the time). Don’t worry about that.

About apps compatibility, don’t worry either. Nougat didn’t introduce any big improvement for developers (nor Marshmallow). That means developers will support Lollipop for a looong time. Just look at what happened with ICS. Default minimum for developers right now is KitKat, and that will rarely change in the middle term.

Also, security updates for Lollipop and Marshmallow later are more important from a sustainable point of view than a whole (and full of holes) version upgrade.

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i know that. thats the major reason i got myself a spankin’ new fp2 in the first place

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I can hardly trust my eyes how many people expect a smartphone with hardware from 2014 expect to work seemless with software for 2017. If their need for more sweets (Nougat) ( or speed?) cannot be satisfied of course future is also over for FP2 :wink:

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That is normal for PCs. Except you want to play some high-end games on it.

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Excuse me: I have a 2012 Nexus 4 running seamlessly an OS from 2015 (Android Marshmallow), and a 2011 ZTE Skate running almost seamlessly an OS from 2014 (Android KitKat).
The bottleneck in this cases is usually little amount of RAM, but the N4 and the FP2 have 2GB, which is enough.
FP2 (i.e. a phone with a QC 801 SoC) will run Nougat fine, I’m sure. Don’t trust vendors, they only want to sell more hardware.

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The german article was updated with an anwser from Qualcomm: https://www.computerbase.de/2016-08/snapdragon-801-800-fehlender-treiber-koennte-android-7.0-im-weg-stehen/

Their answer doesn’t give valuable information - somewhat disappointing:
“Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. works closely with our OEM customers to
implement and support varying versions of the Android OS across our
Snapdragon chipsets. The length-of time a chipset is supported and the
upgradable OS versions available to consumers are subject to the OEM
product lifecycle. We recommend you contact your device manufacturer or
carrier for information on support for Android 7.0 Nougat.”

A statement from the fairphone team woud be nice, but I think we will have to wait (a long time?) for this :wink:

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I’m not sure if this is what @anon9505190 meant, but I guess the issue he addressed, or how I read it, is rather a question of vendor support but hardware obsolescence.

I agree with you, the hardware should be strong enough, but I guess the question will be if the SoC vendor wants to provide updated firmware or considered the chipset too old?

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