Google, Samsung Pledge Monthly Security Updates For Their Devices

[Guest]

Google and Samsung start to get their act together in regard to security updates and will push security patches every month from now on.

Google, Samsung Pledge Monthly Security Updates For Their Devices : Read more

 

[targetdrone]

Sounds fine and dandy until security updates are blocked by carriers because they want you to buy the latest phone to get the latest OS.

I'm talking about you T-Mobile.

 

[gangrel]

The point about the customized versions is, by my lights, a huge one. It will be interesting to see how many of the larger handset makers, who do implement custom versions, start promising the same thing. BUT, even if they do, they'll still take longer to push out a fix. If nothing else they have to wait for Google to create the fix, then regression test their own code and make any necessary adaptations.

Been considering a midrange phone; the new Moto G is probably just about right from my perspective. Still, I've also been waiting to see when the Snapdragon 425 handsets come out; it shouldn't be too far off. BUT, unless there's a new Nexus phone using the 425, or 618/620...it's dollars to donut holes that they'll be custom versions of Android...and thus, have this time-to-fix issue.

 

[JPNpower]

With mobile hardware advancing, I don't see why Android can't do as Windows has done for ages now with easy upgrades to any device.

 

[gangrel]

Android is massively fragmented. Google can do this for stock Android, ergo Nexus and Motorola, and maybe some others. They can't do it for the heavily skinned versions, like Samsung and Sony; the changes Google makes, may break the extensions to the core products that those developers made.

Now...why can't stock Android improve its update pulls? I believe Windows Update supports both push and pull; Android's "check for updates" looks like a pull request, but Google blocks it. I just tried to get the Stagefright patch for my Nexus 9. It does exist...but the response was "no updates available." THIS is where improvements can be made. Microsoft managed a massive, MASSIVE rollout with Win 10, that I daresay was orders of magnitude larger than the Stagefright patch, in terms of overall bandwidth and server requirements. OK, I can side-load the file...I ultimately did this with Android 5.0 for my Nexus 7...but that requires rooting it, and that's a poor choice.

 

[heffeque]

Sounds fine and dandy until security updates are blocked by carriers because they want you to buy the latest phone to get the latest OS.

I'm talking about you T-Mobile.

It's as easy as buying your own phone instead of buying crap-ware riddled T-Mobile phones.

 

[targetdrone]

Sounds fine and dandy until security updates are blocked by carriers because they want you to buy the latest phone to get the latest OS.

I'm talking about you T-Mobile.

It's as easy as buying your own phone instead of buying crap-ware riddled T-Mobile phones.

Who else makes a Galaxy Note that supports all of the T-Mobile LTE bands and doesn't lock the boot loader?

 

[heffeque]

Sounds fine and dandy until security updates are blocked by carriers because they want you to buy the latest phone to get the latest OS.

I'm talking about you T-Mobile.

It's as easy as buying your own phone instead of buying crap-ware riddled T-Mobile phones.

Who else makes a Galaxy Note that supports all of the T-Mobile LTE bands and doesn't lock the boot loader?

Why not buy your own phone and use a cell phone company that uses common international LTE bands? And if the boot loader is locked... unlock it.
People just love to complicate their lives...

 

[gangrel]

Why not buy your own phone and use a cell phone company that uses common international LTE bands?

1. Then you're paying full-bore retail. The days of phone subsidies may be coming to an end...but they're not over. The providers didn't give you a discount for BYOD, so you're getting stuck paying the price of the phone, AND the markup built into the plan to pay for the phone subsidy. This argument will probably become moot in a few years as subsidies disappear.

2. I don't think most phones actually handled that many different bands until fairly recently...and generally, I suspect those are the higher-end phones.

And if the boot loader is locked... unlock it.

This voids warranties.

And you're talking the techno-geek solutions. Joe Q. Salesman doesn't know the difference between CDMA and GSM, and doesn't care about LTE bands. He wants to know: is this going to work where I have to travel? Can it give me my high-speed data? And what about service? If the phone doesn't work...if you got it from your carrier, it's at least theoretically possible to swap it out at their phone store.

People just love to complicate their lives...

WRONG. Most people want SIMPLE SOLUTIONS all handed to them. They want to use their phone without thinking about it. What you're suggesting is great for the cognoscenti, but not the plebes. And as always, the latter, in numbers, overwhelmingly dominate.

 

[heffeque]

Why not buy your own phone and use a cell phone company that uses common international LTE bands?

1. Then you're paying full-bore retail. The days of phone subsidies may be coming to an end...but they're not over. The providers didn't give you a discount for BYOD, so you're getting stuck paying the price of the phone, AND the markup built into the plan to pay for the phone subsidy. This argument will probably become moot in a few years as subsidies disappear.

2. I don't think most phones actually handled that many different bands until fairly recently...and generally, I suspect those are the higher-end phones.

And if the boot loader is locked... unlock it.

This voids warranties.

And you're talking the techno-geek solutions. Joe Q. Salesman doesn't know the difference between CDMA and GSM, and doesn't care about LTE bands. He wants to know: is this going to work where I have to travel? Can it give me my high-speed data? And what about service? If the phone doesn't work...if you got it from your carrier, it's at least theoretically possible to swap it out at their phone store.

People just love to complicate their lives...

WRONG. Most people want SIMPLE SOLUTIONS all handed to them. They want to use their phone without thinking about it. What you're suggesting is great for the cognoscenti, but not the plebes. And as always, the latter, in numbers, overwhelmingly dominate.

1. There are alternatives without subsidies that are cheaper than with subsidies. Perfect for people that have their own phone.

2. I don't see your point.

3. My father just bought a Motorola E and got a more or less good deal on the minutes+data (cheaper than with subsidies). No weird solutions.

 

[gangrel]

I'm not saying people *can't* go this route...do your device research, do research on your MVNOs. I'm saying that a lot of people don't want do, at best, and a significant fraction of those would get confused if they tried to work through all the details.

 

[JPNpower]

Android is massively fragmented. Google can do this for stock Android, ergo Nexus and Motorola, and maybe some others. They can't do it for the heavily skinned versions, like Samsung and Sony; the changes Google makes, may break the extensions to the core products that those developers made.

Now...why can't stock Android improve its update pulls? I believe Windows Update supports both push and pull; Android's "check for updates" looks like a pull request, but Google blocks it. I just tried to get the Stagefright patch for my Nexus 9. It does exist...but the response was "no updates available." THIS is where improvements can be made. Microsoft managed a massive, MASSIVE rollout with Win 10, that I daresay was orders of magnitude larger than the Stagefright patch, in terms of overall bandwidth and server requirements. OK, I can side-load the file...I ultimately did this with Android 5.0 for my Nexus 7...but that requires rooting it, and that's a poor choice.

So basically, more devices need to use stock Android....

 

[heffeque]

I'm not saying people *can't* go this route...do your device research, do research on your MVNOs. I'm saying that a lot of people don't want do, at best, and a significant fraction of those would get confused if they tried to work through all the details.

What details. It's as easy as buying a phone and getting a cheap contract. My dad is a total tech-illiterate and managed to do it by himself without a sweat.

 

[gangrel]

Did he go to Walmart or Best Buy, or direct to an MVNO, and get the phone and plan at the same time, as a nicely bundled little transaction? Or did he buy the phone from Amazon (or whomever), with NO sim, then find the MVNO, get the sim, and get it activated? The 2 processes are not at all alike. If he got a bundle, with phone and plan, then all you're really saying is you have alternatives to the big companies and how they handle business. That is quite true. You are, tho, limited to the offerings of the various outlets you research; specifically, both Virgin and Boost, who promote lower end (but QUITE useful) phones and less expensive plans, don't have a very wide range of phones to choose from. When you say, pick a phone, I read it to mean free choice of every model of phone marketed in your area...so Moto E, Alcatel Idol 3, Samsung A3 or A5. Then pick the MVNO. Still might sound simple...but if you are trying to use Amazon or eBay, you'll soon learn it's not. There are numerous SKUs...you can get US market or international market. They support different LTE bands. The Moto E has 3G and LTE variants, with different processors. Same with the Moto G...there's 2 or 3 variants that aren't clearly different until you read down deep into the specs.

You just said "go buy your own phone." It looks like what you meant was, go get an unlocked phone...and you can do this at many places that will offer unlocked phones compatible with their network, with a sim that'll work, but isn't carrier-locked.

 

[gangrel]

It's as easy as buying your own phone instead of buying crap-ware riddled T-Mobile phones.

Android itself is massively riddled with bloatware. I don't want Newsstand, or text to speech, or Hangouts, or...the list can go on and on. The GOOGLE apps can be disabled...but NOT removed. Conversely, I believe apps put in by T-Mobile can usually be competely removed. I would MUCH prefer to see the Google apps be removable!

And for that matter, quite a few manufacturers put heavy skins over Android that degrade performance.

Finally, as long as the apps can be removed, is this any different from buying a Dell, Acer, or Asus PC? I got an Acer a while back, because the price was too good to pass up. Yeah, it had a ton of Acer junk on it...some of it might have been kicked off at boot tome, so it would slow things down some. Not good, but Windows makes it easy for a relative novice to remove programs. So, even for a novice, I don't think it's a big issue.

Heh...to continue the analogy, Windows 10 is acting a lot like Android. It's including ohhh ALL these neat NIFTY gadgets and feeds and whatnot! UNIINSTALL!!!! When you can...not always. I think I had more cleanup to do from Win 10 than from the Acer junk.

 

[heffeque]

Did he go to Walmart or Best Buy, or direct to an MVNO, and get the phone and plan at the same time, as a nicely bundled little transaction? Or did he buy the phone from Amazon (or whomever), with NO sim, then find the MVNO, get the sim, and get it activated? The 2 processes are not at all alike. If he got a bundle, with phone and plan, then all you're really saying is you have alternatives to the big companies and how they handle business. That is quite true. You are, tho, limited to the offerings of the various outlets you research; specifically, both Virgin and Boost, who promote lower end (but QUITE useful) phones and less expensive plans, don't have a very wide range of phones to choose from. When you say, pick a phone, I read it to mean free choice of every model of phone marketed in your area...so Moto E, Alcatel Idol 3, Samsung A3 or A5. Then pick the MVNO. Still might sound simple...but if you are trying to use Amazon or eBay, you'll soon learn it's not. There are numerous SKUs...you can get US market or international market. They support different LTE bands. The Moto E has 3G and LTE variants, with different processors. Same with the Moto G...there's 2 or 3 variants that aren't clearly different until you read down deep into the specs.

You just said "go buy your own phone." It looks like what you meant was, go get an unlocked phone...and you can do this at many places that will offer unlocked phones compatible with their network, with a sim that'll work, but isn't carrier-locked.

He just went to Amazon, got a Moto E and got a SIM in GoUSMobile (he pays like $12 a month). Done. Tadaaa!

 

[gangrel]

OK, going Motorola simplifies things. I look at too many international models. US phone, built for US carriers...the problems reduce to GSM or CDMA, and the MVNO and phone will use the same terms. It's when you get into seeing if a Xiaomi that maybe you could get through eBay would work that life gets harder.

 

[heffeque]

OK, going Motorola simplifies things. I look at too many international models. US phone, built for US carriers...the problems reduce to GSM or CDMA, and the MVNO and phone will use the same terms. It's when you get into seeing if a Xiaomi that maybe you could get through eBay would work that life gets harder.

Well... Motorola is chinese now (Lenovo), but yes, going Motorola is a no-brainer to make things easier.

 

[gangrel]

And they're not over-doctoring Android, so security updates should be more timely. In fact, just read a review of the Moto G for 2015; it'll be delivered with the Stagefright patch in place. May end up being a choice between that and the announced, smaller version of the Alcatel Idol 3, but I would have more confidence that Motorola will get updates out quicker, and that's an important consideration.