>They updated to 8.1 and I got a security update not many months ago.
That's still pretty bad considering phones from as far back as 2014 are getting Android 9 through LineageOS (nightly builds, up to date Android security patch level).
Take the Moto G4 Play, for example. One of my daughters has one, so I care, and it's listed on the LineageOS site. How do I get an up to date Android security patch level for that?
Or the Redmi Note 3 or Sony Z5C, both also in the device list at lineageos.org. I don't care, those aren't in use, but how would I get new security patches?
None of the phones you listed are on the build roster, because they're unmaintained. If you go on the wiki page for them, there's a warning saying
>Warning: The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact is no longer maintained. A build guide is available for developers that would like to make private builds, or even restart official support.
However, if you look at this https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bx6RvTCEGn5zA06lW_uZ..., there are plenty of phones released in 2014 that are still actively maintained. Those phones tend to be flagships, which explains why the phones you've listed aren't being maintained.
One of them was the most expensive phone available of its size at the time. Isn't that what flagship means?
Anyway, I think you're being facetious. Three or five years ago you couldn't say which phones would be supported today, and right now you have no idea which of this year's phones are going to have lineageos updates in 2025. Right?
>One of them was the most expensive phone available of its size at the time. Isn't that what flagship means?
I'm assuming you mean the Sony Z5 Compact? On the Z5 line, there's also Z5 and Z5 premium, which suggests that it's not really a flagship. That said, being a flagship doesn't mean automatic lineageos support. It's due to a multitude of factors, but one of the necessary factors appears to be flagship.
>Anyway, I think you're being facetious. Three or five years ago you couldn't say which phones would be supported today, and right now you have no idea which of this year's phones are going to have lineageos updates in 2025. Right?
You're right, it's impossible to know for sure, especially since it's a community supported project and all. However, you can look to the past and have some sense of what support might look like in the future. Oneplus phones for instance, has consistent support all the way back to their first phone (one).
In the context of this discussion though, my point still stands. If a bunch of hobbyists (most phones are maintained by a couple of people) can keep a phone phone updated to Android 9 with monthly security patches, a for-profit company being able to push out Android 8 updates every few months isn't special.
The Z5 premium was about 40% bigger than the Z5 Compact. The Z5 Compact was by far the most expensive of the phones of its size, if you're going to talk about flagships it has to be the phone you mean.
edited for better link