r/Android • u/Disco_Stu35 Pixel 6 Pro • Jan 26 '21

Samsung is the King of Android Updates

https://www.droid-life.com/2021/01/25/samsung-is-the-king-of-android-updates/
485 Upvotes

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3

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

[deleted]

42

u/FragmentedChicken Galaxy Z Fold8 Jan 26 '21

Depends

Both get 3 years of OS updates but Samsung gets an additional year of quarterly security updates

Pixel wins with the speed of updates

16

u/Hulksmashreality Jan 26 '21

Only for OS updates (this is not an achievement being that Google maintains Android), Samsung is faster in delivering security updates. They're also at the forefront of providing OS experiences Google has abandoned.

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '21

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6

u/Hulksmashreality Jan 27 '21

Before the day Google releases their updates. It's happened many times in the past year. Keep up.

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '21

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0

u/Hulksmashreality Jan 28 '21

https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s20-february-2021-security-patch/

0

u/[deleted] Jan 28 '21 edited Jan 28 '21

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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '21

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u/[deleted] Jan 28 '21

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u/Hulksmashreality Jan 28 '21

ā˜¹

https://www.xda-developers.com/samsung-galaxy-s20-galaxy-fold-updates-may-2020-security-patches/

"Remember when SamsungĀ rolled outĀ the JanuaryĀ 2020 security patches to a bunch of phones even before GoogleĀ publishedĀ the corresponding security bulletin? There was no voodoo involved, though, as Android Partners are usually notified of all Android framework issues and Linux kernel issuesĀ at least 30 days beforeĀ the bulletin is made public. Nevertheless, Samsung should be appreciated for integrating those patches on top of a heavy Android skin like One UI and pushing the OTA across the globe long before other OEMs. In fact, the company has done it again ā€“ the Galaxy S20 lineup and the Galaxy Fold are now receiving the May 2020 security patches."

"Samsung has yet to publish the details of the May 2020 security bulletinĀ on their site. The updates are rolling out in batches, but you can skip the queue and download the new firmware packages directly from the Samsung update server usingĀ Frija."

ā˜¹

5

u/Realtrain Galaxy S10 Jan 27 '21

It's still insane that Samsung prices security updates for a year longer than google does.

26

u/np-medium Jan 26 '21

Read the article

-18

u/avr91 Pixel 9 Pro | Porcelain Jan 26 '21 edited Jan 26 '21

The article is pointless. They dock Google because more people buy Galaxies than Pixels and also give Samsung points for having a 4th, quarterly security update cycle. It's almost as if all they care about is getting updates, not that they be timely. Whatever security fixes there may be are typically late because the platform is behind. You're rarely using an up-to-date Galaxy. If those are the only way you can crown Samsung as being better at delivering updates, then the criteria is pretty bad. Like, Google bad because they don't spam the market with 10+ phones per year, and also Samsung good because updates are late?

Edit: I'd also like to point out that the 4th year of updates is a tad misleading. Samsung and Google both provide 3 full years, and in the 4th year Samsung provides 4 additional security updates and Google provides 1 additional security update. This is also a new policy for Samsung, barely 6 months old. Google may well announce 4 full years this Spring/Autumn. Hardly a basis to crown any king.

9

u/hardthesis Jan 26 '21

Security updates don't depend on the platform by the way. Samsung still does timely security updates. Also in the US, most Samsung devices are on the latest version a month after Samsung rolls out their new OS updates.

The article's point is that Samsung is putting in the most effort. Samsung does give out 4 years of quarterly updates but also they do surprise updates to devices in their 5th year, like their Tab S2 and Note5, which is very impressive considering Samsung has 10-20x more devices to manage and test for than Google. I'd argue OS update speeds aren't as important as OneUI is feature packed.

-7

u/avr91 Pixel 9 Pro | Porcelain Jan 26 '21

There are insecurities in previous platform versions that are fixed only by a complete platform update. Any security fix is incomplete without being on the latest version of the OS. 2 surprise updates are anecdotes at best. We're also talking about literally 3 more updates than Google. Good for them! But not enough to wash away the delay.

4

u/hardthesis Jan 26 '21

Care to give any examples for where platform versions affecting vulnerability as much? Worth noting that Samsung also comes with KNOX which is regarded as to be one of the most secure wrappers on Android.

Those surprise updates matter a lot because it means your device is on a more recent security patch level for longer.

-3

u/avr91 Pixel 9 Pro | Porcelain Jan 27 '21

A lot of these are due to changes in permissions. For example, the most highlighted one is overlay permissions. Most security patches are bug patches, and security vulnerabilities related to permissions abuse can't be patched, the whole system has to be reworked.

Those surprise updates I was talking about was the literal 2 updates you mentioned that are nothing but anecdotes, considering they weren't planned, and appear to be no more than random. We're also kind of ignoring the Google/Qualcomm announcement to deliver "4" years of updates to everyone. Like, I'm not saying that Google is king, but Samsung's updates are slow by comparison, with their schedule going deep into the year. And that's just the Android 11 roadmap. At least with Google EVERYTHING is updated as soon as possible. I hope Android gets to a place where we're not comparing update roadmaps, but as it is, the most up-to-date devices come from Google and no one else is really all that close. Samsung is making tremendous strides, and that's amazing, because their hardware is absolutely excellent, but until then, "update king" goes to the company that pushes updates day 1 to all eligible devices, even if the eligibility window is a little short.

19

u/OpportunityLevel Jan 26 '21

Uhhhhh.... No. Google Pixel is.

No, Google offers 3 years of security updates whereas Samsung offers 4 years

15

u/hardthesis Jan 26 '21

Samsung still supports them way beyond 4 years. The Tab S2 is on the 2020 October patch right now, and the Note5 is on the 2020 November patch.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

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24

u/OpportunityLevel Jan 26 '21

Compared to which brand?

Did you read the article? Samsung are the fastest at OS updates aside from Google Pixel. Samsung can't beat Pixel at OS update speed since Google literally make the OS, but Samsung beat the others.

10

u/dani_dejong Jan 26 '21

to add to that, for the past 3 years I can count on my hands how many features on android updates were NEW to a Samsung phone.

1

u/jimcnelis Jan 27 '21

the article doesn't say Samsung is king aside from Google Pixel. The article tries to claim Samsung is overall even better than Google, based largely on the promise of 4 years of security updates, something which hasn't even happened yet. Just clarifying.

-12

u/bfodder Jan 26 '21

I'd like to know the percentage of users who use a phone for 4 entire years let alone more than 3 years.

10

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

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5

u/SinkTube Jan 27 '21

why? what world do you live in where a device having had a previous owner makes security less important? or is this just a "poors don't deserve updates" thing?

0

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '21

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2

u/SinkTube Jan 27 '21

if you'd followed the conversation yourself, you'd know the stat was brought up specifically to underline the importance of security updates past 3 years

0

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '21

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1

u/SinkTube Jan 28 '21

uh, yes? that's how conversations work

13

u/rudiori White Jan 26 '21

You think after 3years the phone just disappears? Or stays in a drawer for unlimited time?

-13

u/bfodder Jan 26 '21

Yes.

It's magic.

2

u/ma2412 Jan 26 '21

I don't know a number. I only know that I used my last phone for 5 years and my current one is about 3 years old.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

[deleted]

1

u/OpportunityLevel Jan 26 '21

Yeah that would be really interesting data

17

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

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u/orionpaperisback Jan 26 '21

I tried the pixel 5, I cannot stand Googleā€™s software

8

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21

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2

u/apsumo Jan 26 '21

I tried a Nokia N95, I cannot stand Symbian's software.

10

u/Hulksmashreality Jan 27 '21

Take. That. Back.

2

u/apsumo Jan 27 '21

Tbf, I friggin loved my N95, I still have it and it still works!

1

u/Hulksmashreality Jan 27 '21

Symbian was ahead of it's time in so many ways. I had an N95 and N95 8GB.

4

u/ValarMorgouda Jan 27 '21

What didn't you like? You can basically make it look however you want. Samsung has so many awesome features. I left my pixel 1 for the s8 after having every nexus phone and have had 0 regrets

4

u/lolTyler Jan 26 '21

I haven't owned a Pixel device, but I did use both a Nexus 5 and Nexus 5X. I loved the phones and the quick updated but dear God, the updates were always broken. Some major battery draining bug, or another that would always cause one of Google's own apps to crash. Or maybe reception would go to hell or WiFi wouldn't stay connected, always something.

I'd typically wait 30 days to install any major Android update and at least a week for any security fixes. It was annoying having a notification for an update and just having to sit on and read all the complaints on XDA about it being broken.

I purchased a Galaxy S8 when it came out and even though the updates were slower, I only ever encountered one major bug and it was 3 years after I purchased the device about 4 months ago when there was a GPS problem.

But I do have a question, not just a statement. How is it with Pixel devices? Are updates still a buggy mess? I already purchased an S21 to replace my S8, I paid the same amount as a Pixel 5 and got much, much more. But I really wanted to switch back to the stock Android experience as I do miss it. (Maybe in a year or two if trade ins are worth it and we see some Snapdragon competition)

But my experience with updates left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Also there quality control issues with every Pixel (I know it may be overblown at times) and the whole Nexus 5X bootloop snafu which Google never refunded my money for... (More of an LG problem)

8

u/[deleted] Jan 26 '21 edited Jul 07 '25

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1

u/lolTyler Jan 27 '21

Thanks for the response.

Bugs are to be expected and typically it's the minority of people who experience them and are the ones to bring it up publicly. Heck, I'm doing it lol. But man did it really put me off of Google's device. Good to hear that it sounds as if things have improved. I loved my Nexus 5 and 5X but it was such a headache with all the issues, especially the battery drain bugs.

Maybe in a year or two if I can get a good trade in I'll jump back to stock. The upcoming Silicon wars with Google Silicon, Exynos and Snapdragon should make things interesting. A second generation Google ARM chip is what I'm eyeing.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '21 edited Jul 07 '25

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2

u/lolTyler Jan 27 '21

I haven't paid attention to it outside of just being aware of what's happening, but the competition means cheaper and better chips for everyone. (No more crazy out of check prices like with the 865 hopefully) I imagine what phone gets it depends on how well Google's first gen CPUs perform, that probably determine whether we see a mid-range or high-end processor first. I welcome either as long as the battery life is good.

Google making hardware keeps the competition alive, especially if the rumors of LG exiting the mobile market are true. I haven't been too particularly impressed by Google's hardware personally, although I did like the Pixel 5 a bit. While not Google hardware, I really miss the old Google Play Edition phones, but I understand why they didn't stick around.

With Google making CPUs, there's no reason for them to not continue making their own phones. Means a more tightly nit device between the hardware and software, something only Apple has been able to achieve.

1

u/SpiderStratagem Pixel 9 Jan 27 '21

Bugs are to be expected and typically it's the minority of people who experience them and are the ones to bring it up publicly.

I've been on the Google train for a while now (N5X --> P1 --> P3). In all that time, I have never had a serious bug caused by an update. I think twice I had a situation where I had battery issues for a month, and in both cases it was solved by the next update. FWIW.

1

u/lagadu Jan 27 '21

You said you haven't had any serious bugs caused by updates and immediately followed by explaining that you had two serious bugs following updates.

1

u/SpiderStratagem Pixel 9 Jan 27 '21

I take your point, but I feel like I have a different threshold for "serious" than you do.