Samsung Devices & Updates?

[Ncage1974]

Does they lack of updates for samsung devices really bother you guys? Apparently it must not bother a lot of people because samsung is the most popular android manufacturer by far. See my thing is not getting the newest bells & whistles but my issue is security updates. I have very sensitive info sitting on my phone (as i'm sure a lot of you do to). Also i'm not someone who upgrades every year. So i'd like to keep my phones for at least 3 years if possible. Samsung just seems to throw stuff out there and don't really want to support phones that have already sold.

Here is the thing i love the hardware side of the S9 plus. I've been following the leaks of the Pixel 3 XL and have been unimpressed. From the notch (which i don't want), to the price (which seems like it will be at or above $1000), to the multiple failures i had to deal with when i had a Pixel 1 XL.

Of course the update issue is just not samsung its almost every android manufacturer other than google. I'm on old iphone for now until this fall and honestly i much prefer android but you don't have to worry about the update store with apple.

Opinions/thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks....

 

[badcatz]

Yes it bothers me to the point that I find myself using an Essential PH-1 more than my S8+. I like my S8 and in some areas (display and camera) it's better than most other devices.

It is true that if you have concerns about security patches there aren't many options in the Android universe. In my experience Motorola is terrible. Samsung is better than most. I just find them inconsistent in the timing of the patches. Sometimes a month or two elapses and sometimes it's only a month behind the Google release. If Samsung could reliably release the patches three or four weeks after Google did I would be satisfied and I think most others would be as well.

The monthly patches and access to the P betas make the Essential appealing to me especially since even used Pixel 2s are still a bit pricey. I'm finding that I'm not wild about the size and shape of the S8+ but that is a personal thing that everyone needs to figure out for themselves.

 

[Ncage1974]

Thanks for your thoughts. I was maybe considering the S9+. I guess the security thing just bothers me to much and i don't think i'm going to do it. Phones these days are full fledged computers and need to be patched. If i didn't have banking/credit card/ect on my phone then it wouldn't matter but a lot of people do. I guess i'll wait until the fall and see what happens with the upcoming iPhone & google releases. If i'm going to stick with android i guess its going to have to be the pixel. If not then i will go with the iphone. Although i much prefer android security trumps everything else.

 

[joe71]

My last Samsung device was the galaxy S3. I remember the last update it got was the premium suite update, when Samsung basically decided that merge features from the note 2 with the S3. I am currently using a LG g6 . I am planning on moving to the note 8 if not the note 8. Then either the galaxy S9+ or the oneplus 6.

 

[The_Chief]

The more manufacturers skin their devices with proprietary enhancements, the more testing is required before a new system upgrade is pushed out. Yes, stock Android is great... and it can be updated quickly and easily. Samsung's UX, however, is heavily modified and - while it's way better than TouchWiz - it takes considerable time for Samsung to test the new OS and make sure nothing in the UX crashes. And once Samsung is confident of the upgrade, it THEN goes to the carriers, who have to individually test that with their own components and bloatware. After a couple of rounds of soak tests with limited users, it finally it gets rolled out to everybody... usually around the time the NEXT version is announced. And it all repeats.

 

[mikedt]

FWIW I've got a UK variant S7 here, and it's been OTA updated to 8.0 Oreo, with the July 2018 security patch.

 

[The_Chief]

Other than Pixel, no other brand is going to ship a brand new phone with a newly-released OS. For example: people wonder why the Galaxy Note9 will not ship with Android 9 Pie. Here's the reason:

Samsung wants an established, proven OS on their new devices so that if something is wrong, they can immediately determine that it's either the phone or the way it's interacting with Android. If they release a brand new phone, with a brand new operating system, they may waste valuable time and resources troubleshooting a phone issue that, in the end, turns out to be a bug in the OS. That's why the major manufacturers have a very strict protocol to follow when working on OS upgrades, long before the first OTA rolls out.

 

[wrinkles]

Doesn't bother me that it will take a very long time to get--if ever--Pie on my S9+ (that sounds messy). Less than 2 months after I bought it Samsung did push a security update out, which I took.

 

[The_Chief]

This isn't our first time dealing with Android Pie...

I remember the rumors in 2013 that the Galaxy Nexus would get Android K, Key Lime Pie, so I went ahead and tried it... and yes, it was messy...

 

[chanchan05]

If you're in North America, security updates could be a problem, but once you are outside that continent, Samsung delivers near consistent monthly security updates. Typically you get the security update at the second or third week of the month, every month, at least for Asian variant devices.

 

[mikedt]

If you're in North America, security updates could be a problem, but once you are outside that continent, Samsung delivers near consistent monthly security updates. Typically you get the security update at the second or third week of the month, every month, at least for Asian variant devices.

I posted previously I've got a UK variant S7, originally supplied by Vodafone but it's unlocked, and it seems to be receiving the security updates in China no problem.

And FWIW my China variant Huawei Mate 10 received an OTA update when it was in the UK for a few weeks last month.

 

[The_Chief]

Here's why new phones, coupled with a new OS, is a bad idea...

https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/13/pixel-xl-fast-charging-android-pie-update/

 

[KBU2]

Why lose money supporting something you've already sold when you can make more money selling something new nothing personal it's just business from the minds of Samsung brass

 

[chanchan05]

Why lose money supporting something you've already sold when you can make more money selling something new nothing personal it's just business from the minds of Samsung brass

Because lack of support would make the people not consider buying your devices in the future if the competition has support? Part of the overhead on the phones are for the future support anyway.

Not supporting the devices is a bad business decision these days.

 

[mikedt]

Why lose money supporting something you've already sold when you can make more money selling something new nothing personal it's just business from the minds of Samsung brass

Well Samsung does support their phones with updates for at least two years AFAIK. I know a two year old S7 is still receiving updates, including Oreo back in May. Similar with a Huawei Mate 10 I've got, that's also receiving regular updates. These are premium top-of-the-line devices when released though. Something cheapo on the other hand, don't expect any updates at all.

 

[JAy3001]

Crumbs, no complaints from a Nexus user to an S8+ user. Very happy with the regular security updates, and shock horror OS updates.

Personally I am more concerned about having the latest security updates on my phone, rather than the latest and greatest OS version. (Of course you like these too) and Samsung has been doing a stellar job of this.

 

[Hadron]

Other than Pixel, no other brand is going to ship a brand new phone with a newly-released OS.

You say that, but the first phone to be released with Nougat was the LG V20, before the Pixel. They also started rolling Oreo out for it before the Pixel 2 was released.

However, as G6 owners know, this was not an indication of how fast LG would be with updates generally...

 

[KBU2]

Well Samsung does support their phones with updates for at least two years AFAIK. I know a two year old S7 is still receiving updates, including Oreo back in May. Similar with a Huawei Mate 10 I've got, that's also receiving regular updates. These are premium top-of-the-line devices when released though. Something cheapo on the other hand, don't expect any updates at all.

Oh I'm familiar with most of all Samsung products all around and not just their cell phones. I was just giving the OP something to ponder about on why a lot of their devices weren't receiving updates. I have an S8 I'm still learning about and not to forget a programmable stainless steel refrigerator and a washer and dryer that the dryer will would send text messages when it's done. Oh yes I am a Samsung user