Android upgrade on my elderly Sopny tablet?

[greypanther]

Sorry about that Alan...

[berth]

I've got the Xperia Z3 tablet with an 8" screen, I've had it for a while. I use it for casual games, mostly. Is that the same one? If so, my question would be, how desperate are you to use these new apps?
Personally, I like the form factor - I find 10" devices a bit cumbersome - but not many people are making smaller tablets these days, it seems.

The touchscreen on mine was acting up a while ago so I was looking around for potential replacements and spotted the Galaxy Tab A8. It's suspiciously cheap but similarly specced to the Z3.
I've experienced the Samsung bloatware before with a phone I once had. I ended up giving to my sister who subsequently was forced back into the Apple fold ("it just works" etc etc).

Luckily, the screen issue has resolved its self so I can kick this particular can down the road some more

[felter]

Further annoyance is, why the need to upgrade the apps constantly anyway? If it ain't broken, don't try to fix it?

That I can partially answer. The problem is that apps are full of security loopholes, that nefarious people want to exploit. If the app is connected to the internet this can lead to a pretty serious breach, especially as a lot of people have banking details on the same appliance as those apps. So when these apps are found to have a security risk, they have to be updated to protect the user of said app. Another one is that new appliances have newer hardware that the old version of an app does not utilise so has to be updated to take advantage of the newer hardware 5G could be an example. Of course when they update to take advantage of the new hardware, this also normally creates security flaws which they then once again have to update to fix those flaws. Rinse and repeat, the cycle goes on.

[Vertigo 7]

I will use my cheap phone, to stream and keep calm and carry on for now. It is annoying that it is the streaming apps, that seem to struggle to be honest, because on the face of it, to a simpole person like me, they should be the simplest thing to implement. Shouldn't they?

To be perfectly honest, I would never expect to get reliable performance from streaming something to your phone or tablet then streaming that to your tv. You're going wireless to wireless that way and just that alone is going to cause severe performance degradation and quality loss. You would be much better served by cutting out one leg of that wireless, probably easiest with a cheap streaming device like a roku or amazon fire stick or something you can just attach to an HDMI port on your TV. For the best experience, I'd highly recommend a dedicated set top box with wired network capability like an Apple TV 4k. Even those aren't that expensive. If you're a gamer, an Xbox or PlayStation would do the trick as well.

[Chips]

That I can partially answer. The problem is that apps are full of security loopholes, that nefarious people want to exploit. If the app is connected to the internet this can lead to a pretty serious breach, especially as a lot of people have banking details on the same appliance as those apps.

This. The apps should say what their updates include though (and whether extra permissions or not).

But also bear in mind Grey that the operating system on said tablets/phones and other items stop receiving even critical security updates far sooner than you'd hope. For most mobile phone vendors of Android it's 2 years for updates, and 3 years before critical updates are stopped I believe. I stopped buying HTC products for this precise reason - loved their design and feel (and they were affordable at the time), but within 2 years you weren't getting security updates for the OS anymore (especially if the supplier such as T-Mobile then had their own tweak on top), let alone upgrades/updates to the OS in general.

Apple run on for about 5-7 years of supplying updates/critical updates. You may pay a premium for the device, but you may only need 1 in 5-7 years instead of 2-3 android ones. Depends upon what you use it for though. Being shrewd and careful you could be fine indefinitely on out of date OS; its not like as soon as the support stops you're immediately compromised - and keeping it bang up to date doesn't mean you won't get compromised either!

You can check the release of your OS on the tablet and do a search to see how out of date it is, and what vulnerabilities may have been discovered. There may have been nothing significant, there may have been patches, it's worth finding out to what degree and being aware.

But I'd also consider all that if you're planning on upgrading - factor into the cost/effectiveness. A small laptop may suffice better?

[CBJ]

Being shrewd and careful you could be fine indefinitely on out of date OS; its not like as soon as the support stops you're immediately compromised - and keeping it bang up to date doesn't mean you won't get compromised either!

Obviously security is the primary concern, but app compatibility is also a factor. Just before the start of the first lockdown in March last year, I finally caved in and replaced my ancient phone that was stuck on Android 4.1 because it seemed likely that, with the restrictions about to be imposed, I might start needing to be able to use my phone for some things I'd previously have done by other means. Very few useful apps would run on my dinosaur of a phone. As things turned out, I've not needed to use Android apps as much as I thought I might, but having the comfort of a phone that isn't a security risk just by existing still makes the replacement worthwhile... and we won't go into the physical risk associated with the bulging battery I found inside the old phone when I took the back off it.

[pjknibbs]

Obviously security is the primary concern, but app compatibility is also a factor.

Quite. I remember playing Starpoint Gemini 2 a few years ago, and I had to install a special patch because I was still running Windows Vista (which was still a supported OS at the time, to be fair to me here!) and they'd written it for Windows 7; somehow, that made it incompatible with the previously released OS.

[greypanther]

Yes I had considered a small laptop to be a viable alternative, will probably go down that route, if I need to be mobile. However today, I realised for the Astronomy related needs, I have an oldish Windows 10 desktop, sat there doing nothing, which if I think about it, would more than suffice, if I set it up in my shed. Should be very doable.

I feel I am already shrewd, ( or maybe just tight! ) have avoided any software virus etc, completely for the entire time of owning a PC or phone. May that long continue!

@Chips: Where can you find out how long a phone will be supported please? I have looked but failed to find that information. Perhaps I just buy cheap rubbish when it come to what I consider a basic need. I do not need to surf the internet on my phone, just make calls and texts mostly, you know?