Android how long can we use our tablets for after OS and security updates have stopped?

nemo_online

nemo_online

Galvanizer
The above question comes with the caveat that I won't be using the tablet for banking functions. It also comes from a mindset where I am not keen on shelling out 15-20K every 2 years for the latest and greatest tablet.
I am curious to understand that if I buy a Chinese make tablet of around 11 inches today under 20K which comes with 1 or 2 OS updates (out of which one or two updates have already happened by 2025 which means effectively there is only one OS update left after purchase) and max 3-4 security updates, what could be the potential life of the tablet? 3-4 years is a safe bet I guess or can it last more if I just use it for browsing the internet, use WPS or MS Office and reading on the Magzter app. I had my eye on the one plus pad go because of its distinct reading friendly shape but it launched in 2023 with Android 13 and Android 15 is going to be its last update which it is supposed to receive sometime this year.
P.S. I am not interested in Apple as I didn't find it suitable for my needs and I have developed a dislike towards it.
 
nemo_online said:
The above question comes with the caveat that I won't be using the tablet for banking functions. It also comes from a mindset where I am not keen on shelling out 15-20K every 2 years for the latest and greatest tablet.
I am curious to understand that if I buy a Chinese make tablet of around 11 inches today under 20K which comes with 1 or 2 OS updates (out of which one or two updates have already happened by 2025 which means effectively there is only one OS update left after purchase) and max 3-4 security updates, what could be the potential life of the tablet? 3-4 years is a safe bet I guess or can it last more if I just use it for browsing the internet, use WPS or MS Office and reading on the Magzter app. I had my eye on the one plus pad go because of its distinct reading friendly shape but it launched in 2023 with Android 13 and Android 15 is going to be its last update which it is supposed to receive sometime this year.
P.S. I am not interested in Apple as I didn't find it suitable for my needs and I have developed a dislike towards it.
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Apple keeps sending security updates to devices for a very long time. For me the last straw on my iPad Air was when YouTube stopped supporting the version of app available for the OS. So that is the bottom line for me, when it can't even be used for watching media is when it isn't used. For my iPad Air 1 it was 8 years but that was because I got it second hand.

Based on my experience with Android tabs, I feel this will be a lot shorter, the tabs in my family get shelved in few years .
 
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nemo_online said:
P.S. I am not interested in Apple as I didn't find it suitable for my needs and I have developed a dislike towards it.
Click to expand...
You might want to get out of the update race mindset, adopt the iPad, and get set for at least 10 years. I think the lastest one is for 35k without discounts, a year old model is 29.5k. You don't have to get into the ecosystem, the pad alone is good system in itself.
 
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I suppose, if I were you: I will flash a custom rom if I get android tablet. So, you can check out the development potential of tablet beforehand (on XDA) and purchase accordingly.

Else, yes. Apple . That should be fine
 
I have Oppo phone and it's last update was Android 7.1.1 in 2016 and after that in 2024 one bank stop it's app support on this phone.
And in 2025 YouTube App too stopped on this phone, but can watch video via Browser.

As per available details Android 7 was released in 2016, so from 2016 to 2023 all was working ok with Android Phone, thus as per me 7 Yrs. you can keep using Android without Android OS/Security updates but with App Updates.
 
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Technically you can use it for as long as you want or the battery conks out, whichever is earlier.
The only two aspects you need to consider - use common sense when browsing/online and app updates may stop at some point.
 
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I would say to not worry about such things because security updates while important aren't absolutely necessary. You said it yourself you don't use banking on it so there's no fear of monetary loss. As for OS updates it will only become a problem when required apps stop working on it. You are more likely to replace the tablet by then due to other issues with it like battery life, performance, degradation etc. than anything else.

An option is to install custom ROM which should work for old tablets as long as they are from a popular/known brand. Perfect example being lineageOS still working (with updates releasing even today) on a huawei tablet from 2016.
 
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