Today we have heard a piece of news that has led us to consider the past, present and future of Google and, more specifically, of Android terminals. Xiaomi has made official the end of support for the Mi A3 phone which, in case you don’t remember, is the last of its Android One models. This basically marks the end of an era for the company.
The Xiaomi Security Center published a list of all the devices that have finally reached the end of their useful life, as far as software support is concerned. This basically means that these phones will no longer receive any software or firmware updates, which also includes security patches. In this way, now the brand’s smartphones are included in the high range, with Xiaomi’s terminals in the lead, in the mid-range, with the Redmi Note, and, in the entry-level range, with the Redmi, to dry. There is no longer any phone left that does not work with MIUI on the basis of Android, but not Android One .
After Xiaomi abandoned the ship of this operating system, there are hardly any manufacturers that continue to bet on this limited version of Android . Nokia has launched a couple of phones this year that still work with this software, but it is a laughable number if we have a survey that two or three years ago almost all manufacturers had a device on the market running with this firmware.
The death of Android One
This software was born in 2014 as a response from Google to improve the performance of mid-range mobiles that did not have enough processing power to avoid problems with full Google versions. It guaranteed a quality user experience, as well as a greater number of updates that, in addition, arrived earlier on the devices. The program evolved beyond modest specs to target a good number of phones with a range of more decent specs, but the underlying idea was still to offer the Android experience without high consumption requirements but with all the Android apps. Google.
However, eight years later, all that remains of the program is a couple of phones like the ones mentioned, with a very residual sales number, and a website that seems abandoned.
The thing is, right now technology has evolved so much that the hardware we find inside our phones has become so much more powerful , to the point where even budget devices are way above their counterparts from 5 years ago and they last much longer.
Having improved the power, the manufacturers are once again betting on depending on their own customization layer and not a pure operating system that prevents them from using their apps, establishing a brand image and, yes, also monetizing some of the sections of these smartphones. Keep in mind that these forks sometimes come to you with pre-loaded apps and content that are offered as value-added services to the user, but are actually a good way to leave a sum of money in the coffers of the company.
But the fault is not only with the manufacturers. Google itself appears to have given up and we haven’t heard any specific news about the program in recent years.