This Research Ranks Popular Android Smartphones Based On How Long Their Security Updates Take To Reach To Device Owners

Major Android updates do not matter nowadays as the Google Play Store updates the various components of the Android OS. This means that users on a bit older Android versions such as 8 or 9 can still access the apps and features as users on Android 10. Yet, the Android Security updates released monthly by Google are vital to keeping your devices safe. A lot of security vulnerabilities are discovered every month, and Google releases security patches then in timely manner.

These security patches are not delivered to devices directly, because, manufacturers need to integrate them into their own taste of Android. Then the manufacturers introduce them as system upgrades.

It is evident that some manufacturers are better than others at patching their devices, yet it is difficult to make a direct comparison. It’s is difficult to track down data when exactly the upgrades are rolled out.

Android Police (AP) has created a list which ranks popular smartphones based on how long a security update takes to reach from Google to gadget owners. Android Police initially compiled of list of dates for security patches for each significant Android flagship of 2019 and the list of times when each security upgrade was released. Then the score for each Android device is calculated by using a weighted average of the number of days between an Android security update was made available and the device’s over-the-air programming (OTA) was rolled out. Then each device was assigned a score from 1-10 with 10 being the perfect score. Here is the list compiled by AP, ranking the smartphones.

Google Pixel 3 and 4 scored 10 points.

Samsung Galaxy S20 also scored 10 points.

Samsung Galaxy S10 scored 8 points.

Nokia 9 PureView was able to achieve 7.5 points.

Sony Xperia 1 achieved 5.5 scores.

Asus Zenfone 6 scored five marks.

OnePlus 7T Pro only scored 4.5 points.

OnePlus 7 Pro also achieved 4.5 points.

LG G8 Thinq got only three scores.

Motorola Moto Z4 scored 2.5 points.

Asus ROG Phone II scored 0.0 on AP scale.

Which manufacturer updates its smartphones fastest - chart

Ranking the smartphones according to the security updates record is a difficult task as there are various factors to be considered. Initially, AP shortened their data focusing on rollout dates for smartphones in the US. Secondly, AP tracked the dates when the carrier-unlocked variations of each smartphone are rolled out, besides where differently specified. Then, the starting date for each security patch recorded by AP and the date when the ‘Android Security Bulletin’ is reported by Google. Forth, the information collected by AP for each smartphone starts in Jan 2019, or when the manufacturer released the device (whichever date comes last). Lastly, AP researchers only focused on the flagship smartphones of each dominant manufacturers that introduce smartphones in the United States. It is quite difficult to keep track of every significant global phone manufacturer at this time.

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