Samsung commits to 5 years of Android updates... for its enterprise smartphone users at least
- Reference: 1625000465
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/29/samsung_five_year_android/
- Source link:
The eligible devices include the enterprise versions of the Galaxy S20 series, the Galaxy S21 series, the Galaxy Note 20 series, the ruggedised Galaxy XCover 5, and the Galaxy Tab Active 3. Other enterprise devices will receive four years of security patches, as is the case with all Samsung's consumer smartphones and tablets released after 2019.
With respect to the cadence, Samsung said patches will be delivered on a monthly and quarterly basis. Based on Samsung's track record, we'd assume it would provide monthly updates for a certain period, before switching to a less demanding quarterly schedule as the device approaches its end-of-life.
[2]
As the name implies, this security policy is aimed at corporate clients where the phones are supposed to be administered and deployed as part of an IT fleet.
[3]Samsung pushes out single console all-in-one RAN kit for cramped European markets
[4]Samsung mulls delaying next 'fan edition' phone in light of semiconductor shortage
[5]Samsung brags that its latest imaging sensor has the ittiest-bittiest cam pixels in the world
[6]Smartphone shipments jumped 26% in Q1 – only to recapture ground lost to the pandemic
The enterprise kit also lets admins control the patching of deployed devices, issuing software updates en masse, and holding back Android version upgrades for those wishing to ensure compatibility with their business apps.
Despite that, Samsung will happily sell their enterprise kit to the general public, with sales available through their business website. Although the enterprise versions of the S20 5G and S20+ 5G are slightly cheaper than their consumer equivalents, both variants of the 128GB Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G retail at the same price of £1,149.
[7]
Samsung has, in recent years, outperformed its competition on the update front, [8]exceeding even the Android One programme , which guarantees three years of patches and at least two software version updates in the years following the initial release date.
However, it has fallen short of the standard raised by Apple, which continues to [9]support vintage phones like 2016's iPhone 6s and the iPhone SE . Both will receive iOS 15, which is expected to launch later this year. ®
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[1] https://www.samsung.com/uk/business/mobile/enterprise-edition/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YNuX-9X1lI35ERHHODMx1wAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/23/samsung_one_antenna_radio/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/14/samsung_considers_delay_to_launch_galaxy_s21_fe/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/10/samsung_isocell_jn1/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/smartphone_q1_shipments/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YNuX-9X1lI35ERHHODMx1wAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/05/04/samsung_galaxy_s8_support/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/apple_ditches_support_for_pre2015/
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Quarterly schedules won't work for Android
When Google puts out patches the clock starts ticking for bad guys to develop exploits. There's already a delay between when Google puts out a patch and when OEMs make them available. Now Samsung wants to delay that further by up to three months to give themselves a more comfortable patching schedule?
Microsoft can patch on a schedule because unless the bug is discovered by someone else and becomes public the extra time isn't spent with a known bug in the wild. Google can patch on a schedule because until they release the source the same is true. For Android OEMs, every day they delay after Google releases the fixes increases the danger.
Re: Quarterly schedules won't work for Android
That's why I think government should step up and require phone companies to open up the firmware. This way users won't be put in a limbo when a fault in the software is discovered. They could get it fixed themselves or via software shop.
You could also get some custom features done and so on.
This could actually develop into a new sector and improve the economy.
No thanks
Samsung likes to disable features or make them unusable through updates. At least that was the case for me. I would never update a Samsung phone if it is working fine.
I think there should be more regulation in that aspect. I would even be up to "right to repair" for firmware and sofware.
You know if you find a bug or something, you could take your phone to a software developer to get it fixed rather than having to wait for an update from mighty Samsung that will probably break something else.
5 years from when ?
It will be from when first released, not from when you bought it. So for many they will only get 2-3 years of updates - this is nothing like enough.
I get it that they want to sell you a new shiny as soon as possible but that is not what I want - I will replace mine when it breaks.
Good on Samsung but as I've said before Google need to be taking the lead on this. They're quick enough to bug hunt in other people's software and disclose them if they aren't patched as quickly as Google think they should be, but lagging behind when it comes to product lifecycles themselves.