If trustworthy and regular security updates are your primary concern when purchasing a phone, no other Android gadget comes close to matching the record of Pixel gadgets. Well, except for the Essential Phone, however those days are over.
We put together a list of dates for security spots for each major 2019 Android flagship, beginning from January 2019 or when the phone was launched in the United States (whichever was earliest).
The date for each security upgrade is the first evidence we could discover of a public rollout, either from an official statement from the gadget maker, news protection of the update, or confirmed reports from social media (whichever was earliest).
Each gadgets rating is computed utilizing a weighted average of the variety of days between a security upgrades accessibility and the gadgets OTA being launched, the resulting “score” being stabilized into a number out of 10, and after that a standard penalty being evaluated for any given month-to-month update that is missed out on deducting from that score.
While there were a couple of instances of Nokia presenting the update in the first week of the month, the majority of spots were launched around two weeks later on. The February 2020 update rolled out on February 24th, the December 2019 spots were launched on December 31st, and so on.
Only time will tell if Samsung can maintain its rapid release schedule, however if last years Galaxy S10 is any indicator, you most likely will not ever need to worry about security with the S20.
It should not come as a surprise that Googles flagships get perfect ratings. Since the days of Nexus phones, Google has released security updates for its devices at the same time as the main security publications, effectively offering Pixel phones day-one updates.
Unique thanks to The Android Soul, Xperia Blog, SamMobile, and 9to5Google for covering a few of the device updates we would have otherwise missed.
If youre interested how we collect this information and assess it, we explain our approach more on the 2nd page. Heres the brief variation:.
While Samsung has done a well adequate job of keeping its flagship smartphones approximately date with the current security patches– the Galaxy S7 is still getting quarterly repairs– the business improved its schedule slightly with the Galaxy S10.
The 7T Pro was launched only a few months prior to the coronavirus break out in China, where OnePlus and other Chinese OEMs had to operate at limited capability. The 7T Pro didnt get its January security upgrade up until February 14th, for instance. Since then, the upgrade schedule has been more consistent, however still only bi-monthly (and normally 2-3 weeks after Pixels).
The Z4s very first update came in mid-July (containing May patches), then there were no updates at all till mid-November. Oh, and the November update was two months behind in security spots.
Pixel phones are the only devices weve tracked that didnt miss a single month. There are a few instances where a security bulletin comes out a day or more before the Pixels get their updates, and vice-versa, however on average the delay is still absolutely no days.
Matching Google for first location is Samsungs present flagship phone, the Galaxy S20. Approved, the phone has actually only been offered to purchase for a couple of months, but Samsung has been incredibly fast to update the phone up until now.
The Zenfone 6 was something of a turning point for Asus mobile department when it was released last year. It great device in its own right, as we highlighted in our review, but Asus likewise made regular updates a higher top priority.
Asus has actually used fast and regular updates for its primary flagship, the ZenFone 6, but that exact same attention has actually not carried over to the companys existing video gaming phone.
Still, theres some space for improvement. I hope Asus can keep it up with its next mainstream phones.
Numerous components of the operating system are updated through the Play Store, so even if youre on Android 8 or 9, you can still access many of the same apps and functions as someone on the most current release of Android 10. The security updates that Google launches on a monthly basis are still important to keeping your phone or tablet safe.
There is one significant caveat to our data on the G8: were utilizing rollout dates for the AT&T design, because there isnt enough public data about the US unlocked version.
I definitely didnt expect an Asus phone to be in the leading half of this list, however I have to offer credit where credits due. Despite the fact that this isnt an incredible score, it does narrowly beat out devices that are often perceived as offering more frequent updates, like the OnePlus 7 Pro.
Motorola launched its very first flagship smartphone in years, the Edge+, this previous May. It hasnt been readily available long, so we do not have an extensive data set readily available yet, however Motorola is currently off to a rough start.
This story was initially released 2020/03/18 8:07 am PDTon Mar 18, 2020 and last updated 2020/07/08 10:22 am PDTon Jul 8, 2020..
I know this will come as a total shock to a number of you, but LG is not good at updates. The companys mainstream 2019 flagship, the G8 ThinQ, has actually avoided several months of updates and has a high typical hold-up.
The OnePlus 7 Pro has actually been offered since mid-2019, however for the moment, it gets the same score as the more recent 7T Pro. Like the businesss other phones, the 7 Pro usually avoids every other month.
Its worth noting that OnePlus does have an Open Beta program, where gadget owners can receive updates prior to they are ready for prime time, but that can include bugs and other effects.
Not only has the S10 received security updates in a timely manner, however it was also among the first phones to get an update to Android 10. Not bad at all.
Sony skipped the July and August 2019 patches for the Xperia 1, however the phone lastly was upgraded in September. Given that then, the business has been more constant with spots.
The security updates that Google releases on a month-to-month basis are still critical to keeping your phone or tablet safe. Its hard to track down details about when exactly updates are released, so news protection frequently relies on device owners seeing the update themselves. The Z4s very first upgrade came in mid-July (consisting of May patches), then there were no updates at all until mid-November. Oh, and the November update was two months behind in security spots.
The Galaxy S10 has just missed 2 security updates since its release in early 2019: the patches for June and July 2019 were included in an August update. The S10s common delay from when Googles security bulletins were published is the primary reason it falls behind other gadgets.
Not only has the phone avoided a number of months of updates in less than a year on the market, but the security spot levels are always significantly behind many other phones.
According to our data, the PureView has actually only avoided one month because its release. The May 2019 patch was never ever rolled out (Nokia combined it with the June patches), however thats the only exception so far.
The added step of provider approval might be including some hold-up, however the frequency of patches is the G8s primary problem. There were no updates at all from late September up until mid-February– and the February update only had the December patches.
The excellent news is that weve done all the effort for you. This is our supreme security update tracker, where were offering each recent flagship phone an easy score from 1-10, based upon for how long it considers security updates to obtain from Google to gadget owners.
Given that its United States release in early 2019, Sonys Xperia 1 has skipped several security updates. In basic, updates were provided on a bi-monthly basis, but the phone did go 3 months without an update throughout one duration.
The Edge+ delivered with the March 2020 security spot, and the first update with the April 2020 patch showed up over a month late on May 13th. Nevertheless, the June 2020 spot landed much quicker on June 11th, so well see if security rollouts for the phone enhances as time goes on.
Its typical understanding that some business are better than others when it concerns covering their phones, but making direct comparisons is rather difficult. Its difficult to locate info about when exactly updates are released, so news coverage typically relies on device owners seeing the upgrade themselves. Providers and slow rollouts just make matters more complex.
The Xperia 1 is coming up on its very first birthday, so lets hope Sony does not drop the ball once again after its successor is eventually launched.
The ROG Phone II gets the most affordable score on our scale for two factors. Not just has the phone skipped several months of updates in less than a year on the market, however the security spot levels are always substantially behind a lot of other phones. For example, the ROG Phone II didnt get the August 2019 patch level till October 2nd.
However, unlike app and API updates, the security patches cant be provided directly to gadgets– phone producers have to integrate the changes into their own flavors of Android, and release them as system updates.
The Galaxy S20 hasnt missed out on a single month of updates up until now, and a minimum of as soon as, Samsung has rolled out patches before Googles Pixels. The May 2020 update started rolling out on April 29th, and was commonly offered by the time the Pixel 4 was updated.
Nevertheless, OnePlus often offsets the avoided updates by pushing the next one quickly. The phone didnt get a July 2019 update, but the August spot was provided on July 31st– 5 days prior to Pixels got the exact same fixes.
There was also an extended delay in security updates while Asus was working on the phones Android 10 upgrade. The ROG Phone II was stuck on the October spot level from last November to when the Android 10 upgrade rolled out in March of this year.
The Nokia 9 PureView is the closest thing HMD Global needed to a flagship Android device in 2019 (Nokias line of product have a lot of overlap), and even though the phone struggled with video camera and finger print reader bugs when it launched, the PureViews security upgrade record has actually been pretty good good.
Motorola has a known history of being very late with software application updates, unless you occur to reside in South America (where the company tends to focus its resources). The Moto Z4s position near the bottom of this list probably isnt much of a surprise.
We plan to keep this guide upgraded as each new month passes. See the 2nd page for details on how were dealing with elements like regions, staged rollouts, computing dates, and more methodological details.
OnePlus is typically praised for its quick updates, so this rating for the companys final 2019 flagship may come as a surprise to many of you. Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, the data does not lie.
