For years now, I’ve been using my old Galaxy Alpha Android 5 phone as my Companion App driver, without issue (that is, without Android issues… Zwift is another story)
Given the latest supported OS related announcements, I will no double have to switch to a another phone, retiring that old friend to a landfill, and equip myself with a compatible Android device (a device whose supported lifespan status is completely unknown, and given past Android release cycles will also be obsolete in 2 or so years, unless a current OS version device is used.)
I wonder to what extent has the environmental impact these OS changes been considered, or the financial impact on Zwift users having to upgrade a working environment.
Likewise I’ve 2 phones that i use for the companion app, both are due to become redundant in the latest announcement.
I hope it’s due to some fundamental changes to ZCA that means older OS cannot be supported rather than just doing it in the name of progress.
You could take ownership of the environmental inapct yourself rather than blaming it on a software company, and use a device you already have or buy a second hand one that Zwift supports?
Supporting older hardware also has a sustainability impact…
If Zwift sold you the hardware they would have a responsibility to support it for a reasonable period, but they do not have a responsibility to support old and outdated 3rd party devices.
You said did Zwift consider the impact - but it is not their impact to be concerned with. They use APIs and protocols and capabilities that are no longer supported. They want to develop capabilities that are simply not possible on older hardware due to the above reasons. There are probably even security concerns.
There may a valid argument to be had towards the like of Google and Apple, but not Zwift.
I didn’t actually start the thread and made no mention of environmental impacts.
I’m not going to turn this into an eco warrior rant but i disagree when you say Zwift has no obligation towards environmental impact.
They do as does every single one of us. We all need to do our bit whether it be large or small.
I’m sure the decision to move away from older OS is to be able to support newer implementations.
Possibly in the same way that moving away from older OS allowed for the new home screen to be implemented.
I’d be surprised if changes to ZCA isn’t on the horizon.
I don’t see the relevance. The new home screen could have (easily…) been implemented on Windows 3.11 . Yes, new shiny toys (APIs…) always make a programmer happy, but, as I said, the new home screen is unrelated.
Zwift simply decided to make life easy for… Zwift. Cool for them. Less so for some of us here.
I would rather not re-purpose another device, and would rather not buy another device (only to have it obsolete in 2 or so years…)
A slight exaggeration around the capabilities of Windows 3.11
Had a chuckle though thinking of those days. Many people on here won’t remember that far back.
And i said possibly the new home screen may have been tied with the scrapping of previous OS. I have no expert knowledgeon that front.
Like your good self I’d rather not see the devices i use for ZCA become redundant without good reason.
I can definitely see the merit in deprecating older OS support for the game itself, but whilst it does make some sense to make the Companion app requirements match, the changes seem a bit OTT on that side. I suspect a lot of people use older phones and tablets for it, that will now be made redundant. As has been noted in other threads, it would be nice to know the roadmap for the CA and specifically why mobile operating systems that were still receiving mainstream updates as recently as October won’t be able to accomodate future plans for what appears to be a fairly simple app.
That said, it’s about two years since they last moved the requirements up so maybe it’s fair enough.
I only just replaced my old Galaxy S4 a couple of weeks back with a Tab S to overcome Zwift shortcoming of support for accessibility features (reading msg’s with decent size font) so I was pretty grumpy about this too, given that is soon to be obsolete.
I’ve had a few too many post ride to type too much on this subject, suffice to say I’ve resigned myself to going back to my days of custom roms to keep my h/w going too.
Kind of ironic that Zwift accidently fixed the old map display problem for some of us on old Android phones about 6 months ago only to now obsolete newer h/w… but Zwift often doesn’t make sense.
but we aren’t talking about 2 year old OS versions, they are older than that.
As well, no one has to test to make sure your kind of shirt still works or limit their options/design/capabilities due to your older shirt. It’s not the same comparison at all.
Android 9 release date was August 2018.
The most phones had upgrades for 2 more Android versions, that means all phones since 2016 (6 years old) should be able to upgrade to Android 9 and run Zwift.
to type too much on this subject, suffice to say I’ve resigned myself to going back to my days of custom roms to keep my h/w going too.