Android 15 can tell you how long your phone's storage chip will last
Android 15 is preparing a new feature that will tell users the remaining lifetime of their device’s internal storage.
OK, this is really cool. We have practically zero insight into the longevity of these things. Even if you know what chips are being used, lack of information about the wear leveling algorithms means there isn’t much that we can say about the real world performance under different loads.
We have zero insight into the longevity of flash memory because it doesn't matter: whatever it is, it's a lot longer than the phone's planned obscolescence.
That's why you've never heard anybody complain about their saved data getting corrupted: their device has long since hit the landfill before that happens.
I must disagree. I’ve encountered a couple of phones from people in my family that could not be restored because the flash itself was bad. The flash memory specifically failed and required them to purchase a new phone.
We’re talking 5 to 7-year-old phones here. It does happen. There are plenty of people who will never replace their phone until it breaks.
For another example, consider that Google added forward error correction to their system images because they encountered issues with failing memory chips in the wild. This was an effort to keep devices booting and operable for longer.
I take it you weren't around for the Nexus 7 (first edition)?
I wonder if it's still true now that most phone manufacturers enable Memory Extension by default. This feature will likely reduce storage lifespan especially on low end devices that don't have big RAM.
I've had two phones die because of the storage chip, around 5-6 years after buying them.
Does anyone care? In all these years I've never seen people complain that their "storage chip" is dead.
Why would they want to tell you that? They want phones to be disposable
So they will tell you after latest 2 years that your phone is going to die soon*
*soon defined as anytime between now and the next 10 centuries
Probably not 10 centuries, just 10 years.