Michael VealeDec 28, 2022
The seasonal news that #WhatsApp will stop working on #iPhone 5 and below #Android 4.3 highlights how the lack of Web apps is a significant environmental problem. Phones become obsolete in part because they don’t get OS updates, and they become incompatible with compiled apps. A lightweight OS for old phones would be more feasible if it mainly had to have a solid Web browser that facilitated a proper selection of #ProgressiveWebApps (& if manufacturers made open drivers/docs). #PWA #PWAs
Show threadMartijn OlislaegersDec 28, 2022

@mikarv Android 4.3 is 10 years old and hasn't got Security updates for years..

Developers who care about the security of their users shouldnt support this version anymore. PWA or native app..

Show threadFuncRandmDec 28, 2022
@Molislaegers @mikarv either you’d need to get OS devs to support security updates for ancient OSes or it doesn’t matter if you have a chromium style sandbox for new web apps. You’re lulling people into a false sense of security when the very device they hold is insecure.
There is also the counter-point that native apps generally use less energy than web apps, so long term energy usage is slightly lower overall.
Show threadMichael Veale
@FuncRandm @Molislaegers I'm not arguing for Android to support old devices. I'm arguing for an entire environment that allows old devices to remain minimally functional: open hardware enabling an open OS that only needs to securely (insofar as the fundamental hardware allows) support a Web browser. A foundation could be endowed to develop and maintain it.
Dec 28, 2022 at 12:44pmWeb
Show threadFuncRandmDec 28, 2022
@mikarv @Molislaegers every single piece of hardware would need to be produced to some template and within tolerances, and every single driver for the myriad hardware combinations would need to be replaceable and testable. You start to get combinatorial problems for support which explode rapidly.
We see this with existing hardware/driver support already.
Probably a better push would be to fix the hardware issues if the major cost is hardware production.
Show threadFuncRandmDec 28, 2022
@mikarv @Molislaegers hardware that is more likely to last one cycle+ if you drop it/sit on it/yeet it… hardware that is entirely recyclable for a significantly lower energy cost… hardware that is possibly upgradeable within a cycle (which introduces more testing issues)… ephemeralised hardware which costs less resources and energy to create in the first place etc.