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.
 
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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.
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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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Congrats on your purchase. :)
As others mentioned be realistic in expectations from a vfm product . From lifeline perspective from a pure software view , Even today mainstream platforms like youtube can support android 8 .
However since it's packing budget soc accept will show it's limitations in due course . On same lines accept that buttons or battery life may degrade faster compared to a more premium offering .
 
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nemo_online said:
Bit the bullet and ordered a OnePlus Pad Go today. I think I got it for a decent price of 13K after discounts on FK. Now to wait & watch.
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Congrats. Seems like a decent bang-for-buck tablet.
BTW not following the tech news but I hope that tablet doesn't have green lines in the future. Not even sure if it's possible or happening on oneplus tablets.
 
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YeAhx said:
Congrats. Seems like a decent bang-for-buck tablet.
BTW not following the tech news but I hope that tablet doesn't have green lines in the future. Not even sure if it's possible or happening on oneplus tablets.
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https://www.oneplus.in/rcc/greenlineworryfree - OnePlus has put this up for the greenline issue. Other than this, I have not heard of any specific green line issues with the tabs so far. Fingers crossed.

:stop::stop:Rant incoming - However, just realized after placing the order that Flipkart has switched to AI bots completely for customer care. Couldn't find a human to talk to nor any number. Progress in tech is supposed to make businesses smarter and wiser, here in India things seem to keep going in the opposite direction.Making it all about money and zero customer satisfaction -these are the so-called highly esteemed businesses in India.
Foxhound said:
Congrats on your purchase. :)
As others mentioned be realistic in expectations from a vfm product . From lifeline perspective from a pure software view , Even today mainstream platforms like youtube can support android 8 .
However since it's packing budget soc accept will show it's limitations in due course . On same lines accept that buttons or battery life may degrade faster compared to a more premium offering .
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my primary engagements with it will be reading magazines and comic books. And the occasional OTT and YouTube. So, nothing intensive. Hopefully, that will play a part in its longevity.
 
YeAhx said:
Congrats. Seems like a decent bang-for-buck tablet.
BTW not following the tech news but I hope that tablet doesn't have green lines in the future. Not even sure if it's possible or happening on oneplus tablets.
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The tabs are not using OLED so they are safe from that issue. I am personally using Oneplus Pad 1. The device is really good and vfm.
 
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nemo_online said:
https://www.oneplus.in/rcc/greenlineworryfree - OnePlus has put this up for the greenline issue. Other than this, I have not heard of any specific green line issues with the tabs so far. Fingers crossed.
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They don't mention for how much older device this green line worry free program is for. Like is this program indefinitely? If so then stock availability becomes a big question.
Anyway doesn't matter since your tab won't have this issue as mentioned by @Emrebel haha

nemo_online said:
Rant incoming - However, just realized after placing the order that Flipkart has switched to AI bots completely for customer care. Couldn't find a human to talk to nor any number. Progress in tech is supposed to make businesses smarter and wiser, here in India things seem to keep going in the opposite direction.Making it all about money and zero customer satisfaction -these are the so-called highly esteemed businesses in India.
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Your rant is justified. I too am tried of companies jumping onto AI train. Just recently I had my faasos order messed up (no delivery partner available) and the AI chatbot annoyed the hell out of me without providing option to get a human on line, I had to ask for it to understand. Not sure incompetence coding wise, ignorance or intentional delay.

Emrebel said:
The tabs are not using OLED so they are safe from that issue. I am personally using Oneplus Pad 1. The device is really good and vfm.
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I'm dumb, of course that's the case.

manohar5321 said:
Banking apps don't support software that has been modded or changed.
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It actually depends apps wise. Some banking apps don't care, some have basic check like root or bootloader and some check play integrity which is the toughest to fix/bypass. As long as you don't use root or bootloader and can bypass by spoofing integrity it should work. I know all this because I was/still am playing to switch to lineageOS for my OP7. Right now the phone is running latest android version that's officially supported which is android 12 and considering we are on android 15 now with android 16 launching soon, it's no brainer I should make the jump. Kinda holding because I don't wanna flash twice if android 16 really launches in june as scheduled. Not to mention it's a pain in the ass to make backup, restore data as it was and login to every app after flashing.
 
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With my super limited tech knowledge, I asked my AI "friends" and also did some searching on XDA forums. My understanding from all this was that I don't think it is easy or possible to unlock the bootloader on the Oneplus tabs and flashing the ROM is also not possible on the tab. ( I hope I have got the tech terms right). There is also no custom ROM development ongoing for the OnePlus Tab Go. Lineage OS doesn't list this device in its list of supported devices. I did this research before purchase. Thing is I have always purchased tabs in the less than 15K bracket( barring an iPad one time that I got rid of after 1 + years of use, not an Apple fan) and have done fine by them till 3 years or more. Hence, if this new tab lasts me for 3-4 years I will be more than happy. If it doesn't then so be it. I am not like a regular tab user so I know what I will be using it for and how often. Let's see how it goes.
 
nemo_online said:
not an Apple fan
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nemo_online said:
With my super limited tech knowledge, I asked my AI "friends" and also did some searching on XDA forums. My understanding from all this was that I don't think it is easy or possible to unlock the bootloader on the Oneplus tabs and flashing the ROM is also not possible on the tab. ( I hope I have got the tech terms right). There is also no custom ROM development ongoing for the OnePlus Tab Go. Lineage OS doesn't list this device in its list of supported devices. I did this research before purchase. Thing is I have always purchased tabs in the less than 15K bracket( barring an iPad one time that I got rid of after 1 + years of use, not an Apple fan) and have done fine by them till 3 years or more. Hence, if this new tab lasts me for 3-4 years I will be more than happy. If it doesn't then so be it. I am not like a regular tab user so I know what I will be using it for and how often. Let's see how it goes.
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OnePlus stopped supporting bootloader unlocking when they switched to reskinning Color OS, so custom ROMs are not an option.

The last Samsung tabs that supported custom ROMs are from half a decade ago.

Huawei blocked bootloader unlocking as well.

Pixel is probably the best option for ROMs with proper update support.

Lenovo hardly releases updates and unlocking breaks things like Widevine L1.

I had a Mi Pad 6 until last year and they are the last ones that can still be easily unlocked for custom ROM support but the ROMs are not updated properly and are extremely buggy, since mostly college students do it for fun.

All things considered, the only option is to accept that your tablet will stop receiving updates and hope that the last update is not borked, which unfortunately happens with a lot of cheap tablets which use cheap software support teams to just put out an update without any optimisation.

Otherwise, iPad is the only realistic option with proper support.
 
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I use Mi Pad 6 as a daily driver. I had also purchased the Mi Pencil but I would suggest others to not go for it. It is just not the same experience as you get in an iPad. I used to use an iPad Air as my daily driver for more than 3 years but now it is too old and time to retire.
 
I am still using a Samsung Tab S2 (8 Inches + Cellular), a Tab S4 (Cellular) without any hassles. In the Tab S4, we run banking apps without any issues and everything works as it should. The Tab S2 is used more for media and audio - to play audio over bluetooth etc. Then there is the S7+ that has also been running fine without any issues whatsoever.

I am assumuming my daily drivers Tab S8 Ultra, and Tab S9 to easily last me for a few more years.

The only thing I miss on the older tablets is the 5G capability.
 
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