With Google stopping security patches and LOS also dropping support for A11, e/OS is also planning on dropping /e/OS R builds. We are checking which devices are still on /e/OS R and can be upgraded to S / A12 or T / A13. If not possible, the device will be marked as legacy on the documentation site and not get any further builds after v2.2
The OS OTA build coming with v2.2 for S7/ 7+ and S8/ 8+ will upgrade them to A12
(I think murena already goes to great lengths to support devices they have no monetary benefit from)
the decisions to drop a particular release version would have less impact if components and Apps get released through a package index. Until each /e/ App or fork targets above the minimum apilevel of the deprecated release version it allows the (increasingly insecure) devices a few more years - something that needs to be informed on, but can be left to the users discretion.
first of all, I have to reasonably admit that ten years is already a very good software lifespan for my device.
Thanks to LineageOS and /e/OS contributors.
While i found legitimate for Murena SAS to aim for a profitable business model, I have the candor to consider the /e/ foundation as a public utility project.
In this sense, I hope that the aid obtained from institutions (such as the EU) are not only for research, but a part of it can also contribute to ensuring the perenity and the maintenance of the /e/ foundation.
About the security patches, i don’t have the technical development skills to do this myself,
but It would be interesting to ask @skewedzeppelinhow to integrate his (open source) CVE patching in custom /e/ builds based on old android versions for the community to extend device lifespan even further.
I know @skewedzeppelin has already explained it to the official /e/ team without being approved, which is why I asked @manoj for the reasons for this refusal.
The /e/OS development team has enough tasks on its hand with maintaining the devices in its supported list. Additional tasks which will require resource allocation and additional planning will not be taken up as they will impact our current priorities.
We follow a patter of support for devices we sell on our shop or devices which have maintainers on the LineageOS platform. If there are users who want to be device maintainers, they are more than welcome to share their skills and take up the maintenance of particular devices.
We are not planning on any tie up with other custom ROM teams.
Users on older /e/OS builds are requested to start upgrading their devices to newer builds where available. As mentioned we will share a list of devices that will be upgraded from /e/OS R the remaining unfortunately will have to be marked as legacy and will not be supported.
Users need to understand that keeping old devices on platforms that neither receive security patches nor vendor patches is not advisable.
