Samsung has just weakened one powerful iPhone advantage
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesWhat are the most important factors when it comes to choosing your next smartphone? A simple question which reveals a myriad of possible answers. Price is increasingly, at the moment, important, but so are brand loyalty, screen size, camera specs, operating system, and the list goes on. Security might not always be at the top of the purchasing options checklist. Still, for those savvy buyers who do care about their data, the iPhone has always had an advantage over Android devices: operating system update support longevity.
Apple will continue to provide operating system updates to your iPhone for five years or five major iOS updates. That's some peace of mind right there when investing a not inconsiderable sum on a mobile phone. With operating system updates come improvements to security and privacy, and knowing that you'll be sorted for five years is a powerful iPhone advantage if ever there was. Not least because even Google only guarantees three years of Android upgrades for its Pixel handsets, while Samsung users only get two years.
The Samsung numbers are significant because, as of July 2020, it had the biggest mobile vendor market share worldwide, according to GlobalStats. In second place, with 24.82% compared to Samsung's 30.95% was Apple. Yet Samsung users are at a security disadvantage because of that two-year system updates guarantee. But now Samsung has weakened, if not destroyed, that iPhone advantage with a feisty update move: 31 flagship handsets will now get three generations of Android OS upgrades.
Millions of Galaxy devices to benefit from three generations of Android upgrades
In an August 18 press release, Samsung announced that it was raising the bar by committing to three generations of Android OS upgrades on millions of Galaxy devices.
"As people hold onto their devices for longer, we are working to bring secure protection and exciting new features to the devices already in their hands," Janghyun Yoon, head of the software platform team, mobile communications business at Samsung Electronics, said. Extending the lifecycle of Galaxy devices is something that cannot be underplayed when it comes to securing the smartphone experience.
That said, of course, Android remains a fractured-ecosystem, and this can and does cause problems when it comes to the delivery of those updates. Not all devices are created equal, even the ones that are the same out of the box, with geography and network operators having an impact on how long it takes for updates to arrive. I own a last-generation top of the heap Samsung flagship, a Galaxy Note 10+ 5G, yet it rarely gets security updates at the very start of the month, and Android OS upgrades take forever to emerge.
Sometimes even the monthly security updates can be problematic, as I reported August 8, when many Note 10+ 5G users discovered the update to be borked. This is something that iPhone users do not have to worry about as equality in terms of iOS updates, and therefore security fixes, is really a given. Indeed, it’s the main reason I am contemplating a move back to Apple after many years of Android smartphones.
Android ecosystem could still cause upgrade problems
It will be interesting to see how well Samsung can live up to this promise, though, given those ecosystem hurdles. The notes at the bottom of the press release give a clue that the guarantee might not be watertight: "Availability of Android OS upgrades and features may vary by device and market. Upgrade schedule will depend on factors including but not limited to complexity of the update, model, as well as market penetration and more."
I have reached out to Samsung to further clarify the position regarding OS upgrades in such a fractured ecosystem, and will update the article if any such clarification is forthcoming.
Still, anything that reduces the gap in terms of OS upgrade assurance between the two disparate market-leaders has to be welcomed. What does this mean, say, if you bought a Galaxy S20 earlier in the year, which was powered by Android 10? You will now be guaranteed three OS upgrades starting with Android 11.
According to Samsung, 31 Galaxy smartphones will now get the three-generation upgrade assurance, and they are:
- Galaxy A71 5G
- Galaxy A71
- Galaxy A51 5G
- Galaxy A51
- Galaxy A90 5G
- Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G
- Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Galaxy S20+ 5G
- Galaxy S20+
- Galaxy S20 5G
- Galaxy S20
- Galaxy S10 5G
- Galaxy S10+
- Galaxy S10
- Galaxy S10e
- Galaxy S10 Lite
- Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G
- Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
- Galaxy Note 20 5G
- Galaxy Note 20
- Galaxy Note 10+ 5G
- Galaxy Note 10+
- Galaxy Note 10 5G
- Galaxy Note 10
- Galaxy Note 10 Lite
- Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G
- Galaxy Z Fold 2
- Galaxy Fold 5G
- Galaxy Fold
- Galaxy Z Flip 5G
- Galaxy Z Flip
August 24, 2020 at 06:31PM
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Samsung Weakens Powerful iPhone Advantage With This Feisty Update For Galaxy Users - Forbes
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