HTC says the One X, One X+ won't get any more Android updates

[techbeck]

Bad news for HTC One X and One X+ owners who thought they might get future Android updates: HTC has just said users on both phones will be stuck on Android 4.2.2 from here on out. The One X was HTC's flagship device for 2012, and featured a 720p display, polycarbonate body, and dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. The follow-up, the One X+, was designed as a souped-up version, bringing with it a larger 2,100mAh battery, more storage, a faster 1.7GHz Tegra 3 processor, and an updated front-facing camera. The news was confirmed by HTC's UK Twitter account earlier today, and comes just 14 months after the One X+'s release.

 

The company expanded on that in a statement to The Verge:

 

We can confirm that the HTC One X and One X+ will not receive further Android OS updates beyond Android 4.2.2 with Sense 5. We realize this news will be met with disappointment by some, but our customers should feel confident that we have designed both devices to be optimized with our amazing camera and audio experiences.

 

While HTC did not go into further detail about the decision, the lack of support may center on lackluster sales and the different hardware configurations of the X and X+. HTC pulled a similar move with the One S last year, a device that on paper was still quite capable of running newer versions of Google's Android.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/13/5304700/htc-says-the-one-x-one-x-wont-get-any-more-android-updates

[Mr. Gibs]

Lol so much for HTC's big announcement of how they're going to focus on quality over quantity.

Shows that they STILL haven't learnt anything from their past mistakes.

[Max Norris]

Figures, somehow I'm not surprised. Guess I'm going to have to do a custom ROM on the f'ing thing after all... was really hoping to avoid that. Not that I dislike the phone, quite happy with it actually, my first Android phone that didn't suck, but that's rather disappointing. Seems like every time I buy an Android, next year the manufacturer pretends it never existed grrr.

[McKay]

"We realize this will be met with disappointment, but we at HTC are dedicated to our line of abandoning devices laughably early because we don't care"

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

Very poor indeed, the attitude of manufacturers sucks when it comes to phones.

 

Granted your average phone user will probably never know the phones not getting any more updates, however it's getting to the point now where phones don't need to get any more powerful for every day use, unless your playing the latest 3D games you could buy a phone today and it would last you for 3 years, if not more.

 

My Galaxy Nexus is long since considered obsolete, however it runs Android 4.4.2 fantastic, manages with all my day to day apps great and even the latest games and emulators well.

 

I've always liked HTC phones, however that's exactly the reason i will probably never buy another. Saying that Google only released updates for the Galaxy Nexus for 18 months... however the custom rom scene will always be great for Google devices.

[Max Norris]

Granted your average phone user will probably never know the phones not getting any more updates, however it's getting to the point now where phones don't need to get any more powerful for every day use, unless your playing the latest 3D games you could buy a phone today and it would last you for 3 years, if not more.

I get it in a lot of cases.. WP7 to WP8, sure, different hardware and all that, sucks but I get it. Jumping from Android 2 to 4 is understandable, needs a lot more muscle, I know my old junkers wouldn't run 4.x worth a damn. 4 to 5 wouldn't surprise me requiring something new too. But come on, no more point releases? Shoot at least on my one tablet 4.4 actually runs a bit smoother than 4.2 did, and there's no drastic changes that would suddenly make my device explode. That's just BS. (Directed at HTC and the rest, not Android in general.)

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

Very poor indeed, the attitude of manufacturers sucks when it comes to phones.

 

Granted your average phone user will probably never know the phones not getting any more updates, however it's getting to the point now where phones don't need to get any more powerful for every day use, unless your playing the latest 3D games you could buy a phone today and it would last you for 3 years, if not more.

 

My Galaxy Nexus is long since considered obsolete, however it runs Android 4.4.2 fantastic, manages with all my day to day apps great and even the latest games and emulators well.

 

I've always liked HTC phones, however that's exactly the reason i will probably never buy another. Saying that Google only released updates for the Galaxy Nexus for 18 months... however the custom rom scene will always be great for Google devices.

 

I love my Galaxy Nexus, and despite me being eligible for a new phone, i've not been motivated to upgrade.

Been trying out the Cyangen 11 (4.4.2) Nightlies and really liking how well it works - It's still beta and It's not been glitch free. 

Cyangen 10 (4.3.x) was running perfectly. 

 

(Edit) It's also a bit frustrating when 4.4 suppose to run better than 4.3 by using less resources. 

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

When companies decide to stop supporting products which are only a few years old it does make you wonder if they can support them.

[McKay]

When companies decide to stop supporting products which are only a few years old it does make you wonder if they can support them.

 

Samsung rolled out a 4.3 update for the Galaxy S3, at the very least the One X+ should get it.

[Order_66]

I used to love HTC phones but their support was always horrendous, it's Nokia and WP8 and beyond from here on out anyways so HTC can kiss my ...

[AJerman]

You guys can continue to whine every time this happens, or you can make your opinions be known with your wallet. Start buying Nexus devices if you want frequent and fast updates, otherwise, deal with it. The fact is, the LARGE majority of people will be happy with 4.2.2 forever, hell, they won't even know what the difference is between 4.2.2 or 4.3. or even 4.4. For those who do care, there are lines of phones that DO get updated immediately and for a decent length of time (Nexus), or you can just flash the ROMs yourself like you're actual a tech person (which I assume you are on this message board). Changes aren't going to be made for even a vocal minority, but if they actually see sales being lost to companies that update, they'll have to do so to compete.

 

Me personally, I did upgrade my One X to a One to a Nexus 5 and love it, but I'll buy whatever phone I want whenever I want because I know it's incredibly easy to install a custom ROM and keep your phone up to date yourself, so this is a non-issue to me.

[+InsaneNutter MVC]

I love my Galaxy Nexus, and despite me being eligible for a new phone, i've not been motivated to upgrade.

Been trying out the Cyangen 11 (4.4.2) Nightlies and really liking how well it works - It's still beta and It's not been glitch free. 

Cyangen 10 (4.3.x) was running perfectly. 

 

(Edit) It's also a bit frustrating when 4.4 suppose to run better than 4.3 by using less resources. 

 

It does run so much better, I have the CM 11 M2 snapshot on my Galaxy Nexus. CM 10.2 worked perfect, however i can noticed a massive performance increase along with a significant decrease in the amount of ram used.

 

Certainly no reason i can see why the majority of Android devices should not get 4.4, my phone feels like a new device with it.

 

Sadly it appears to be a case of just flood the market with a new phone every few months then give up supporting them a year later.

 

You guys can continue to whine every time this happens, or you can make your opinions be known with your wallet. Start buying Nexus devices if you want frequent and fast updates

 

I agree with the fast and frequent, however even Google give up on Nexus devices after 18 months which is not a long time to be honest.

[Chasethebase Reporter]

Such is the life of a company that is struggling to make a profit. Such a shame :(

[wrack]

That is it. No more HTC devices in my house. I am tired of them abandoning the loyal users.

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

 

It does run so much better, I have the CM 11 M2 snapshot on my Galaxy Nexus. CM 10.2 worked perfect, however i can noticed a massive performance increase along with a significant decrease in the amount of ram used.

 

Certainly no reason i can see why the majority of Android devices should not get 4.4, my phone feels like a new device with it.

 

Sadly it appears to be a case of just flood the market with a new phone every few months then give up supporting them a year later.

 

 

 

I agree with the fast and frequent, however even Google give up on Nexus devices after 18 months which is not a long time to be honest.

 

 

Did also notice speed / performance improvement CM11 M2 (I have sprint "toroplus" galaxy nexus). It did lock up twice on me, and that was the main reason to jump on to the nightly builds. So far (running 1/13/2014 nightly) no crashes. I do get a slight graphics anomaly when screen rotation.

Again this is with beta / non-final builds of CM11.  

 

I do love the fact nexus devices are easy it is to get to factory image even if the os doesn't boot.

[Gladiatorus]

And that's why they deserve bankruptcy which can't come soon enough. F*** 'em.

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

Well I'm shocked, SHOCKED. The One X was my second HTC phone. It's been nothing but a pain in the arse since (literally) the day I bought it. It's been especially poor compared to the Desire that I owned previously. Given HTC's QA with this phone, I'm not surprised that they're not going to continue supporting it.

Until HTC wake up and smell their customers, I'm out.

[Showan]

smh.... HTC.... always built decent phones and then abandon them...  

 

HTC = Dead Beat Dad, who has all these baby mommas, but only acknowledges the current baby momma and the current kid, and act like the rest don't exist... 

And when they drop the next phone after, it's wash, rinse and repeat...

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Just wondering - and I may as well ask it here to generate a bit of discussion - but how long have these devices been available? Being an avid supporter of Android I can appreciate that service providers drop updates quickly, but this is why we go for the custom ROMs. Heck, I had a bad upgrade and had to roll back, and my friend asked me why I would bother in the first place. My response was that if I didn't I would still be on Gingerbread.

The topic came up not so long ago - how long should a company support their hardware? I agreed that 2-5 years would be adequate, yet the industry (at least on the Android front) doesn't do it, the manufacturers and service providers drop the device support all too quickly.

If a company says one thing and does another then that is another topic, but unless I'm mistaken this particular case isn't unusual?

[Max Norris]

Just wondering - and I may as well ask it here to generate a bit of discussion - but how long have these devices been available?

Not even a year. Wayyyyyy too short a lifespan.

Edit -- that's the One, One X is going on two years, my bad. If the One isn't included in that since I apparently can't read and/or have mild dyslexia, I take back my "screw you HTC" comment.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

Not even a year. Wayyyyyy too short a lifespan.

So with the One X aside, it sounds like business as usual. That's not a great thing as I pointed out, but it's hardly shocking at the same time. It's just wrong overall and something needs to change. But who is to blame, the manufacturers or the providers (i.e. AT&T, Swisscom, O2 etc.)? In this case I guess it is HTC as they are the ones making the statement, but overall someone should take control and change this, in my mind.

[thealexweb]

I had a HTC Desire HD. I will never ever own a HTC device ever again. HTC deserves to die for how badly they handled its update.

[beanboy89]

Meh. I don't have any faith in any phone manufacturers in updating Android, whether it is HTC, Samsung, LG, or any others. As a One X owner, I take no offense to this announcement whatsoever. The Android custom ROM community pushes out much better products in a much more timely fashion than the manufacturers. I'm running CyanogenMod on my One X; it's great.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Just wondering - and I may as well ask it here to generate a bit of discussion - but how long have these devices been available? Being an avid supporter of Android I can appreciate that service providers drop updates quickly, but this is why we go for the custom ROMs. Heck, I had a bad upgrade and had to roll back, and my friend asked me why I would bother in the first place. My response was that if I didn't I would still be on Gingerbread.

The topic came up not so long ago - how long should a company support their hardware? I agreed that 2-5 years would be adequate, yet the industry (at least on the Android front) doesn't do it, the manufacturers and service providers drop the device support all too quickly.

If a company says one thing and does another then that is another topic, but unless I'm mistaken this particular case isn't unusual?

 

I would say at least 2 years after release they should be doing updates.

 

Updates aren't a new request to come from users.  From an engineering perspective, why aren't they writing their software in a way that supports easy updates? Especially for a company like HTC that needs any way to compete with Samsung in a realistic manner. Solid and fast updates could help get them some customers back.

 

I understand there are lower level changes they make for each device, but I can't imagine they rewrite the Kernel code for every device on every version... Why waste all of that engineering money when you could streamline it?

[kurupy]

Disappointing that i won't see an official 4.4 update from HTC, but not the least bit surprising. My One X shipped with 4.0.3, it only had the 4.2.2 update in the last 6 months. Had to rely on XDA for anything newer. Definitely WON'T be buying HTC next time.