Google resisted pleas to extend the lifetime of Chromebooks set to expire as of this June and throughout the summer. Thirteen Chromebook models have met their death date since June 1 and won’t receive security updates or new features from Google anymore. But that hasn’t stopped the Chromebooks from being listed for sale on sites like Amazon for the same prices as before.
Take the Asus Chromebook Flip C302. It came out in 2018, and on June 1—about five years later—it reached its automatic update expiration (AUE) date. But right now, you can buy a “new,” unused Flip C302 for $550 from Amazon or $820 via Walmart’s Marketplace (providing links for illustrative purposes; please don’t buy these unsupported laptops).
That’s just one of eight Chromebooks that expired since June while still being readily available on Amazon. The listings don’t notify shoppers that the devices won’t receive updates from Google.
Completely and utterly unacceptable. Not only should these Chromebooks be supported for much longer than just a measly five years, they obviously should not be sold as new past their expiration date. I hope mandated long software/update support timelines are next on the European Union’s consumer protection shopping list, because the way these megacorporations treat the hardware they sell is absurd.
*nod* My daily driver PC’s CPU is an Athlon II X2 270 from 2011 and, thanks to Linux, the only thing that’s less than perfect as far as meeting my needs goes is that Firefox can be a bit sluggish at times because sites like YouTube are so bloated. (Primarily the initial page loads.)
Yup. My 2014 Toshiba Chromebook (Swanky) can run KDE Neon just fine, but it’s somehow not powerful enough to handle ChromeOS?
This whole space needs to be regulated. There’s no reason — other than planned obsolescence — that vendors like Alphabet can’t offer the same 20 years of support we expect from automakers and appliance manufacturers.
Brainworm,
That was true several generations ago, but sadly household appliances these days are being engineered to be less durable than they used to be. It’s already common for household appliances to last less than 10 years.
https://refrigeratorplanet.com/refrigerator-lifespan/
https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/home-appliances-lifespan/
It’s all about increasing profits and unfortunately “planned obsolescence” works. it works on two levels:
1) manufacturers can use cheaper components because they’re not aiming for a product to last decades.
2) shorter product longevity increases the number of appliances consumers will need to buy over their lives.
Companies that take these shortcuts become more profitable and can buy out and/or kill off competitors who do not. Capitalism is ruthless,
Unless Amazon (or Walmart) are the direct sellers here, it’s hardly their (or Google’s) fault if a marketplace seller posts old hardware.
Sarreq Teryx,
That’s true, but at the same time their five year old products should still be supported. I think that is the main gripe.
As for the marketplace, it’s quite normal for “new” products to continue to be sold for many years until they go out of stock. Still they should be disclosing the fact that they’re no longer supported. Something that I learned from a client is that merchants don’t directly control the amazon listing text. It comes from a standardized database of UPC ASIN product ids. Amazon maintains editorial control over these product listings. This helps standardize listings but means it can be difficult for merchants to change & fix listings. They have to supply proof that they either own the product ids or that the manufacturer made the change.
https://www.goatconsulting.com/blog/how-to-change-a-product-id-ean-upc-of-an-existing-listing-or-asin-on-amazon
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/forums/t/change-the-title-of-my-own-asin/400219
So if that’s the case here, then I would actually say amazon are very much at fault for listings that neglect to mention the products are no longer supported. Ebay is different, their merchants control the listings themselves.
Don’t buy? Why not? For a user that is educated in the issues and aware of the concerns there’s no reason not to use, or buy, these systems.
I still have a CPM/DOS box I use. Regularly use windows WFW3.11 for old games.
I prefer XP for 16 bit apps. And use windows Vista and 7.
Just because the vender doesn’t support the product doesn’t mean there isn’t app support (including security) available elsewhere.
The price is way too high, but there’s no reason to discard hardware that can still be used.
I guess that when you buy it there is no information, that product isn`t supported. And consumer that don`t know that (and don`t know what it means) is buying unsecure device. That`s not what he suppose to get.
It is already covered under EU laws. Why do you think Android manufacturers has all, all of a sudden started supporting at least 3 years. These devices are sold defective and needs to be updated or they can be required to undo the sale or upgrade to a supported model for free.