Updates are not something that users Android have in abundance. Despite the fact that smartphone manufacturers have started to pay more attention to software support recently, many continue to neglect updates. The update dissidents themselves explain this in different ways. Some are afraid of ruining a properly working device with a problematic update, others believe that updates slow down smartphones, and still others, like me in my time, simply believe that even though there is no harm in this event, there is no benefit either. And how really?
Updates for Android are very important, don't neglect them
Update Myths Android
Updates – especially if yours Android – are very important for a number of reasons. But first, let me dispel the most common myths about them.
Updates slow down Android
Updates Android don't slow down smartphones
Updates do not hinder your smartphone's performance. Whatever you think about them, but they really do not have such a goal. Firstly, it is impossible not to notice a sharp drop in performance. The user will definitely start digging and the first benchmark that comes across will show him a decrease in performance.
And how can you reduce it if one has been using the device for the third year already, and the other has just bought it new in the store? Secondly, if there are enough dissatisfied users, they will sue the manufacturer, and then it will not seem enough for him. Even Apple, although it slowed down iPhone with worn-out batteries, still allowed replacing them with a new one and returning the original performance.
Updates break Android
Updates do not break Android. At least constantly
Despite the fact that from time to time developers really make mistakes in the work on updates, provoking breakdown of certain mechanisms, this happens by accident. That is, they have no purpose to spoil your device on purpose. For this reason, pretty soon the manufacturers release updates with a bug fix, if any.
But, in fairness, I can say that I myself have personally encountered such a problem only once, and even then, it would be too loud to call it a problem. It's just that after the next update on my Honor View 20, the 'Settings' menu items stopped opening when I try to open them from the search. However, if you follow the direct path to them, everything opens quite correctly.
Empty updates Android
Empty updates Android happen, but extremely rare
This myth, oddly enough, is the most widespread. For some reason, many do not believe that manufacturers and developers are actually focused on improving their smartphones. Of course, there are exceptions here in the form of dummy updates that some vendors send out, but practice shows that today there are almost no such updates.
In fact, updates – even if they don't bring new features – are very, very helpful. They fix a lot of vulnerabilities not only in the operating system, but also in the hardware. If you know what the Google Security Bulletin is and have read it at least once, you should know that even Qualcomm's flagship processors are prone to vulnerabilities that need to be patched. Otherwise, expect trouble.
Why install updates
The presence of vulnerabilities is in itself harmless. However, it is dangerous if attackers find out about them, who can create a universal hacking tool that allows, firstly, to establish control over an infected device, and, secondly, to steal its user data. This can be personal correspondence, passwords, photos, data of banking applications and payment cards. Remember the situation with Jeff Bezos, who was hacked with a regular video sent via WhatsApp. Only later it turned out that he had been modified in a special way, which allowed him to overflow the buffer and create a backdoor through which the attackers pulled out all the information they were interested in.
OnePlus smartphones are updated for three years. In this sense, they are preferable to all others.
A unique feature Android – smartphones is that they receive updates to the operating system only for two years, but the rest of the time they are supported by updating Google services. Thus, the search giant is trying to keep the devices up to date, expanding their functionality and fixing the revealed bugs. For example, it was through the update of Google Play services that smartphones on Android 6.0 and newer received support for the tracking system for patients with coronavirus. But this is not enough. By themselves, Google services do not fix system vulnerabilities, let alone hardware vulnerabilities, since they do not change the operating system code, which is very important. Therefore, frankly speaking, after two or three years Android – smartphones can be written off.
Which smartphones take the longest to update
You can try to protect yourself from danger thanks to smartphones that update as long as possible. There aren't that many at Android: Google Pixel, Samsung and OnePlus. Everyone else is either giving up halfway maintenance for their machines, or doing it so irregularly that the whole point of monthly security updates is simply lost. After all, if a smartphone is idle for 3-6 months without patches, it remains vulnerable, which means that the risk that it will be hacked and do anything with it increases many times over.