Why my next Android device will NOT be a Samsung

One of the many mobile devices I own is Samsung Galaxy S7.  While from a general feature performance standpoint it is an excellent device, there is one area where Samsung has fallen down and that is keeping current with Android.

 I tend to purchase unlocked devices - personally I have always felt that it is the best approach - allowing me switch carriers easily if needed and not locking me into payment plans or contracts.  My Galaxy S7 is one such model the SM-G930U.  

 My device current runs Android Marshmallow 6.01 and has security patches through Dec 1, 2016.   

 Google released Android Nougat (7.0) back on August 22, 2016 and is already at 7.1.1 but yet my device has yet to update.  In fact Google is already well into development of Oreo or Android 8.  

 Samsung is the market leader in smartphones - selling over 311M devices in 2016 alone.  More than the entire PC market and nearly 100M more than Apple. 

 As Google's largest "customer" of Android - you would think they would have the edge when it comes to understanding the latest upcoming version and would take a leadership position of insuring that their customers have the latest OS running on their devices.  They certainly have the resources.

 Now sure 2016 was a rough year for Samsung with the Note 7 battery issues - but still in my opinion there is no excuse for not having their flagship device running the latest Android version.  In fact I would argue that it should have been available within days of the Google announcement.   

 But yet here we are nearly 7 months later and many Galaxy S7 users have still not received Nougat.   And while you can argue that Samsung have to work with the carriers etc.  That's a load of crap and a cop out on the part of Samsung. Especially in one of their largest markets - the US.

 I'm sorry but you don't think that AT&T or Verizon or whomever wouldn't want to make sure that one of their largest selling devices isn't up to date ?

 Samsung has scheduled the announcement of the Galaxy S8 for March 28.  So most likely it will run Nougat.  But if Samsung stays to their current ways - guess what those buyers won't see Oreo for maybe 6 - 9 months following release.   I would think Samsung would be much more in tune with this as their largest competitor Apple releases to world at one shot and that owners of previous devices are guaranteed a level of protection as they know they will most likely get it.

 Now this problem has plagued Android since it's inception and Google has has to be partly to blame as well since they don't really enforce any timeliness around updates with the OEMs.  

 But I go back to Samsung and say - get your act together and support your flagship customers.  As you seem unwilling to do so, then as many I will move on to another vendor who will support my investment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Solar Storage - 2023 Update

  A few years back I published a 2 Part post discussing Solar Energy systems.  The discussion focused on all the due diligence and prep work needed and what were some of the key considerations around designing and implementing a solar system. One of the discussion points was around solar storage or batteries.  What were the use cases for batteries and if they were a good investment and should you incorporate them into your design. Back in 2020 - the math around batteries said no - that you wouldn't be able to break even on the cost of a storage system over its normal warranty life of 10 years. So here we are three years later and so I figured it was time to revisit.   There are two primary uses cases for solar storage.    First is what's called peak offset or peak shifting.  This is a concept where you utilize stored solar generation to run your home during what many utilities call Peak Periods that are part of a general category of rate plans known as Time of Day (TOD) plans.
Read more

ASUS RT-AC68U Router & WDS - a nice solution for a large home.

I recently had a newer Asus RT-AC87U Router die.  The wireless chipset never seemed to work well and first the 5Ghz bands started to fail and then the 2.4Ghz failed leaving my 25 wireless device household high and dry. So after some due diligence I decided to replace with 2 of the older RT-AC68U and implement a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) configuration. In the past - I've mentioned an open source router OS called DD-WRT.  The Asus routers come pre-installed with their version of DD-WRT.  Asus does utilize their own UI overtop DD-wrt and overall I do not like nearly as much as the traditional UI - but core dd-wrt capabilities are there.   Additionally you can flash the RT-AC68 with native DD-WRT if your so inclined. In my previous configuration I was also using an older Linksys 4200 running dd-wrt configured in Client Bridge mode that allowed clients to connect to the Linksys as well as use some of the bands to connect back to the RT-AC87U. While it worked - I felt that
Read more

Home Automation Platforms + Matter - Early Observations

For those of us who have been involved in automating homes by adding "smart" devices from light switches to thermostats, cameras, sensors, controllers, etc - there was always a challenge with managing the wide range of devices. While each OEM had their own app that would allow you to control their devices - you'd often end up with anywhere from 4 - 10 apps that were required to manage the entire home.  And depending on your product choices you also had to have hubs to communicate from your Wifi network to other RF networks like Zigbee or Z-Wave.  With many of these "hubs" they had native support across multiple vendors or you had to add plugins or provide specific OEM support. Some OEM apps were great, some sucked, but it became challenging to provide a solution for a client where they could easily manage their home on their own.  Between having to maintain multiple credentials/logins across the apps and even communicating which app controls what - it sometimes
Read more