Samsung Now Updates Android For Longer than Google Does (arstechnica.com) 67
Samsung is upping the ante on Android updates and offering four years of security updates on many of its Android devices. The company's full update package is now three years of major OS updates and four years of security updates, besting even what Google offers on the Pixel line. From a report: In the announcement, Samsung says, "Over the past decade, Samsung has made significant progress in streamlining and speeding up its regular security updates. Samsung worked closely with its OS and chipset partners, as well as over 200 carriers around the world, to ensure that billions of Galaxy devices receive timely security patches." Samsung has experimented with bringing four years of updates to its own Exynos SoC devices, but now it looks like the company is getting Qualcomm models on board as well. Keep in mind that these are not necessarily monthly security updates. Samsung says it's delivering four years of "monthly or quarterly" updates, depending on the age of the device. Samsung's current security bulletin page has the Galaxy S9 (2018) on the monthly update plan, while the Galaxy S8 is on the quarterly plan. So it sounds like three years of monthly security updates and one more year of quarterly updates.
Six months (Score:4, Insightful)
Back when I still used Samsung phones, they (or the carrier) only pushed patches for ~6 months, that was it. Maybe things have changed and Samsung can push patches directly now? But back then, they had to be certified by the cell carriers, and they wouldn't do that on any phone more than 6 months old. It was total bullshit, and what pushed me away from Samsung and onto the Google Pixel phones to begin with.
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Maybe things have changed and Samsung can push patches directly now?
Well, ish? I mean the phones check some URL provided by Samsung and alert you if there's an update pending. At least mine does.
Re: Six months (Score:4, Insightful)
The solution is of course, that the carrier, who only sells you the SIM card, should be completely unrelated to where you bought your phone. I mean how is it evem their business to know which phone you own? They provide the SIM card. The phone supports the SIM and network tech/standards, so it works. That's it.
But hey, I would never pay more than $200 for a phone. Always upfront and in full. And never more than $20 for a plan. Prepaid and throttled after the data cap without any additional charges, or die in a fire.
So the core problem is that they got you into some overpriced shitty plan. Don't do it again.
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''should be completely unrelated to where you bought your phone.''
Ifs and buts. But then how could the carrier defend the embedded rom applications not necessary for system operation that dead end users are more than happy to click through the TOS that allows further monetization of the user? Are you a hippy commie pinko freak or what? It's the American way to allow business to grab the low hanging fruit.
Actually I kinda think the only reason that Samsung updates more frequently is to keep what ever crap th
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Re:Six months (Score:5, Interesting)
It's not, or at least it wasn't in the US.
In the US for the longest time, you bought your phone straight from the carrier, and whatever software the carrier wanted on it, that's what was on it. The phone makers would literally make special models for each carrier.
One of the major things Apple changed when they entered the US smart phone market is that they were able to bully AT&T into letting them control the software. It's one of the reasons the iPhone was AT&T-only initially. (The other being that the first iPhones were GSM-only, and of the three other networks in the US, only one - T-Mobile - used GSM.)
I don't know exactly when it started to change, but basically, Apple and Android forced the mobile networks to slowly back down on having complete control over every single device connected to their network. So yes, it was true for at least a time that updates were controlled in part by the mobile network the phone was used on, as they controlled whether the update would be pushed and would frequently refuse to do so past the first six or so months.
These days most people in the US still buy their phones through their cellular carrier, but they're not literally a special model that's unique to that carrier and has to be updated with their support. Instead they're just software locked so you can't use them with any other network, but the people making the phones can now update them. But hey, baby steps, I guess.
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The point is that there's no excuse for Samsung not to throw their weight around and get the same kind of treatment that Apple does. Samsung is a far bigger company than any of the carriers and all they really need to do is get one to allow updates and anyone that really cares about it can switch. Even the OP talks about
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I don't think you understand where the problem lies.
It is - and has always been - Apple's choice as to how long they offer updates.
It is - and has always been - Samsung's choice as to how long they offer updates. Samsung kept that period short and as a result, people were jumping ship to Google Pixel models. I replaced my Galaxy 5 Neo around a month ago and had planned to move to a Pixel for exactly that reason, then I saw a Samsung model where they were offering a much longer support cycle and went for i
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It is - and has always been - Apple's choice as to how long they offer updates.
It is - and has always been - Samsung's choice as to how long they offer updates.
It's not that simple.
Apple was only able to break free of carrier control because the iPhone was so hot. Even still, many carriers would have preferred not to give Apple the control that Apple demanded, but once Apple got one major carrier to start selling it, any who refused to cave were at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Google had an easier time partly because Apple had broken the trail, and partly because of the odd combination of Nexus/Pixel's relative obscurity in the marketplace in terms o
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In the bad old days, they flat out wouldn't include the hardware necessary to use other carrier's networks. I don't really understand the hardware for the radio side so someone is probably going to correct me on the exact details, but for example a Sprint phone would contain the hardware to use all the bands Sprint supported and no more, while a Verizon phone would include the hardware for only Verizon's bands. There would be some overlap, but it wouldn't be 100%. (I'm unclear on whether "not supported" mea
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One of the major things Apple changed when they entered the US smart phone market...
Uh, didn't they CREATE the smart phone market? I mean, sure, there were some lame blackberries and Palm Pilots with cellular links, but wasn't the iPhone what really made the smartphone market?
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One of the major things Apple changed when they entered the US smart phone market...
Uh, didn't they CREATE the smart phone market? I mean, sure, there were some lame blackberries and Palm Pilots with cellular links, but wasn't the iPhone what really made the smartphone market?
No definitely not! There was lots of smart phone devices running Windows CE/Pocket PC and a larger shitload of devices running Symbian (Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Nokia). Speed and the high cost of the cellular networks at the time was the major limiting factors for their usefulness, along with some limits in the capabilities of the phone hardware. But the market was there, and would have exploded much in the same way when network and hardware evolved, even without Apple. Remember the first iPhone
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I think you're misremembering the state of smartphones in 2007. In 2007, what percentage of people had smartphones? In 2008, right before Android phones were released, what percentage of people had smartphones. And today, what percentage of people have smartphones?
The first iPhone OS didn't support an app store, but the device definitely ran apps, and supported the app store once iPhone OS 2 came out. To say it was just an iPod with links is, well, it's completely wrong.
I'm no fan of Apple, but they def
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What was a smartphone in 2007? As I recall I had a BlackBerry of some sort. It could install apps and I recall using it to SSH.
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The iPhone came out in 2007, and Android in 2008.
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I think you're misremembering the state of smartphones in 2007. In 2007, what percentage of people had smartphones?
Anecdotally, from what I recall... around 10%, but they were the most lucrative 10%. Nearly all of the smartphones had keyboards (except for Palm OS-based devices, many of which used a stylus), and they looked quite different from today's phones. I personally had several pre-touchscreen smartphones, the first a Palm Treo 600 that I got for Christmas in 2003.
I'm no fan of Apple, but they definitely changed the world when it comes to the smartphone market.
Yes, they got rid of the keyboards and moved us to the "black slab" touchscreen smartphone era. Note that Apple wasn't the first company to make a touch
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Re:Six months (Score:4, Interesting)
What if I told you that sometimes the carrier is the only place to get a particular model of phone that one wants, or is the least expensive source for the phone?
For four and a half years I was running a Kyocera DuraForce XD, a rugged phone. I bought mine from T-Mobile because it was lot less expensive than anywhere else, even just paying cash for the phone instead of financing.
I had to stop using it because no updates for it ever came and finally I had applications I needed for work that no longer ran on that phone. So I went Pixel 4a 5G because I knew I'd get at least a few new releases of Android.
I'm still a bit miffed that the old phone didn't make it to five years. I think we need legislation requiring all smartphones sold in the United States to receive vendor support for OS updates for a full five years from date of last new sale, for all examples of the model. This obsolescence due to being abandoned software is outright ridiculous.
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I'd be happy with 3 years after the date of last new sale. The problem I see is that the "clock" starts when they sell the *first* phone, and then we're lucky to get 3 years of updates. So if someone buys a phone 6 months after release, they've only got 2.5 years of updates left.
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This is JUST security patches. Samsung phones won't be getting years of OS updates. Essentially, Samsung has now inherited the title of 'World's Biggest Paramecium'; still nothing to see, but more than the other nothings.
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Yeah, back when I had a Samsung Galaxy phone (back in the S3 era), we only got 18 months of security updates and they came from the cell phone carrier instead of the manufacturer. The cell phone carrier always bundled additional bloatware with each update, so the phone would be slower and less stable after every release.
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4 years is hardly very long, especially since they mean 4 years from when the phone was first released, not from when you bought it. I know that they want to sell lots of new units, but I want to buy one and run it until it physically falls to bits. Few need a new/faster/whatever device as for most people they are more powerful than needed anyway: Yes gamers might want better but that is not most of us.
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Exactly why I stopped using Samsung.
I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 which was stuck on Android 4 because they brought out a new model out 6 months later and stopped providing updates for the old one.
I had a Samsung Galaxy S2 which would constantly get locked out of my work network because updates were not coming out. So I switched to the Pixel and never had that problem again.
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Exactly why I stopped using Samsung.
I had a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 which was stuck on Android 4 because they brought out a new model out 6 months later and stopped providing updates for the old one.
I had a Samsung Galaxy S2 which would constantly get locked out of my work network because updates were not coming out. So I switched to the Pixel and never had that problem again.
I don't think you mean that.
I bought the original Galaxy Note back around 2012 and the final software release for it was Android 4.1.2. It sounds like you had the same model.
The "it ain't broke" effect. (Score:2)
Wonder how much of this is a slowdown in the purchasing of new phones?
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I think the effect has been one to make consumers buy new because Android 5.1.1 no longer runs the programs they want or need to run, they figured selling phones without support would force upgrades.
Well for me it did force an upgrade, to a vendor that promised to provide new versions of Android for three years. Figuring I likely will get around three years on the last new version the phone gets before new applications don't support it, that means around six years or so of useful life. To me this seems re
So they will get some updates and just wait? (Score:2)
Until the next scheduled time?
While people are beimg hacked?
That sounds ... /wrong/ ... probably even criminal.
Does Samsung update their bloatware? (Score:2)
Does Samsung still have dozens of mandatory apps that you can't uninstall and never get updates? I ditched Samsung a few years ago over this. My phone had at least 3 audio playing apps that Samsung would not let me uninstall, that no longer worked, and didn't get updates. The phone was unusable even after a factory reset because the mandatory apps took up so much space that it couldn't install the Android updates.
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Yes, unfortunately Samsung still won't let you uninstall Gmail, Photos or Chrome.
Itâ(TM)s about time (Score:3)
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After almost four years, my Android phone is about ready to be retired. And access to security updates and regular patches is a major concern for me. Apple wins that, hands down. However, I have also been using an iPad, and I find much of the Apple credo "my way or the highway" to be rather obnoxious. For instance, if I want to move a video from my PC to the iPad, I have to either download a video player app and move the video to the private storage of the video player (and then only that specific video pla
Re:Its about time (Score:2)
been hoping they would do this (Score:2)
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For the most part, it would be better if you kept your current phones, and make sure they are as up to date as possible.
Swapping phones when ever one has an advantage, is going to be a big waste of money.
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Re: been hoping they would do this (Score:2)
Check out GrapheneOS. Only works for pixels with official Google support, but it's the first time I feel like I truly "own" my own phone.
Re: been hoping they would do this (Score:2)
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Also https://lineageos.org/ [lineageos.org]
Running this on an EOL/EOS Pixel 2 without any problems for the last 6 months. Updates at least monthly, sometimes multiple times per month.
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I've been running LineageOS since ...must've been around 2010 or so, when Android was still in the 2.x versions. It was still CyanogenMod back then, before they incorporated and fsck'ed it up. I've converted the first Android phone after a week of stock-OS use or so, and all following phones on the day I bought them, or the day I've found a LineageOS build available (whichever came first).
But it was always a mixed package for me -- not because Lineage is not great -- it is, and I like it. But it's "only" an
A feature I'd buy a phone for (Score:2)
My 2 first Android phones were Samsungs, when my s4 broke I wanted to try other brands since I thought Samsung was getting a bit expensive compared to other manufacturers.
I'm happy with my current phone (Xiaomi) and I don't care much about the usual features Android manufacturers uses to set themselves apart from others (slightly better cameras and such), but this is a feature I'd be willing to buy a phone f
well NOW they are (Score:2)
Tell that to my Galaxy J3 that got 2 updates and stopped with 9 despite the baseline firmware/hardware having the foundation for 10.
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To those wondering, they both happened within 24 months of purchase. 10 came out within the 36 month window but Samsung/Verizon never released 10 for the J3 series.
I see (Score:2)
Me love you long time.
Get 6 years from Lineage.... (Score:2)
Re: Get 6 years from Lineage.... (Score:2)
Problem is not only the OS part, but also the baseband/radio. Standards evolve and carrier equipment gets bugfixed, so what happens is that your connection quality degrades slightly but steadily, to the point where 2-3 years down the line without official vendor support it rrally gets annoying.
As long as vendors keep pushing updates, you can still hand-flash the official radio from the stock package, and go with LineageOS as your OS. But when that stops, your phone starts rotting even with bleeding edge Lin
(looks at ancient and revered iPhone6) (Score:2)
Released late 2014.
Just received security update last month. To iOS 12.
That's 6+ years.
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There's no point in mentioning this, Android users think Apple are evil no matter what they do.
Re: (looks at ancient and revered iPhone6) (Score:2)
They *are* evil. Android vendors are, too, probably a lot more than Apple. But that doesn't make Apple the good guys.
Having said that, I would've gotten myself an iPhone 2 months ago as a long-term Android user exactly because of the long-term support thingy. But the I accidentally found GrapheneOS, bought a Pixel, and never looked back.
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For different reasons though.
The main thing I don't like about iDevices is that Cupertino has veto power over what applications I can run on them. The only source is Apple's App Store, and they often refuse to authorize applications. Unlike Android, you don't have the option of getting apps from competing stores or sideloading package files; if Apple doesn't want you to have something you're not getting it unless you jailbreak the device. There are entire classes of app that Apple won't authorize: web brows
3+4 = 7 years of security updates (Score:1)
3 years of full OS updates (which include security updates), followed by 4 years of security updates only; 7 years total.
We keep an old S5 mini (release year 2014) in our family room to control the TV and cast Netflix. It got a security update last month. I was pretty surprised as I don't remember when I last saw one come in.
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I don't think it's 3 + 4. I think it's 3 years of OS updates (features), and 4 years of security updates. The first 3 come with the OS, last year is on a slower basis with no OS updates, just security.
"So it sounds like three years of monthly security updates and one more year of quarterly updates."
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Update: Yeah, it's just 4 years of security updates, which includes 3 years of monthly, and the 4th year falls to quarterly updates:
"Samsung Electronics announced today Galaxy devices will now receive regular security updates for a minimum of four years after the initial phone release. By extending support for security updates delivered on a monthly or quarterly basis".
https://www.samsungmobilepress... [samsungmobilepress.com]
This ain't charity (Score:2)
A lot of these updates are commercial in nature. Meaning, Samsung patches, updates, or replaces your software so that Samsung can make more money. I just got a Samsung update on my S10 last night. In addition to making the UI more ugly, it replaced the "Bixby" panel when you accidentally swipe left from your home screen with something else. I didn't want Bixby and I don't want the new thing, either. This is not a big concern for Samsung, apparently.
a welcome change, but... (Score:2)
...they both still fall behind Apple.
I know there's a lot of Apple hate around these parts, but my (kid's) iPhone 6S—released in 2015; five-and-a-half years ago—is still getting FULL iOS updates, not just security updates. Sure, not all of the new features work on the phone due to hardware changes over the years, but it's still leaps and bounds better than any Android device I've owned—yes, I'm looking at you, Samsung—perhaps short of my Nvidia Shield.
Re: a welcome change, but... (Score:2)
And, if you look at benchmarks, youâ(TM)ll find that most apps open/switch faster than when the phone was originally released (I think this was from iOS 13).
Bloat (Score:2)
And they also have a lot of bloatware programs that aren't removable. Nope. I'm never going Samsung again until they fix that fact.
Reason to get a new phone & how to fix bloat (Score:2)
This story is a bit aged so my comment probably won't be up-voted, but it's here.
First, someone NOT ONE PERSON mentioned here about getting a new phone is all the new bands that even the iphone doesn't support, but the S21 especially the Ultra does, including C-band and (for Ultra) WiFi-6. Combined with the security updates, this means I won't have to consider replacing it for 4 years because it's unlikely any new bands will be operational by then.
Second, there are many articles (look them up) on how to rem
Yay! (Score:2)
This is what the Android ecosystem needs: device makers competing to offer the longest support lifetimes.
It's what Google was hoping to provoke when Pixel became the first smartphone manufacturer to offer specific software support lifetimes[*]. Personally, I've been advocating for five years of support (I work for Google, on Android security -- note: not on Pixel; to my team Pixel is just an OEM whose devices we use for development). Five years would actually be a pain for me because I work on hardware-re
Banks conspire (Score:1)
Banks are conspiring to force obsolescence of these phones, by refusing to allow banking apps to run on phones that no longer receive security updates.
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Now if they'd fix the UI.. (Score:2)
Now I can be tortured with the Samsung UI even longer per a phone!