Lollipop now the most popular version: Pathetic

[LIVEFRMNYC]

It seems like the heavier the skin, the slower the updates. Samsung and LG have been the slowest of the best known manufacturers. While Moto has been the fastest. At least Samsung seems to get it's incremental security and bugs updates in a decent time. Just needs to work on full version updates.

 

[epicrayban]

It seems like the heavier the skin, the slower the updates. Samsung and LG have been the slowest of the best known manufacturers. While Moto has been the fastest. At least Samsung seems to get it's incremental security and bugs updates in a decent time. Just needs to work on full version updates.

Yep. And don't forget that TouchWiz already has a lot of the features that stock Android doesn't.

It never hurts to have timely updates, but it just isn't enough to be a dealbreaker. Not when you consider the whole package and realize what advantages you get with Samsung's hardware and TouchWiz. Not when you consider Google updates all their core apps through the Play Store.

And if it is a big deal, there are Nexus devices.

Like I said, hopefully Samsung is listening though, and begin to stand their ground more on the carriers.

 

[gotluck]

Those extra features and the carrier involvement are just making the devices harder to support in my book

I would trade those features for generally quicker and smoother updates over a longer term for sure, the device will be better off in the long haul.

Too many cooks in the kitchen

 

[tbayrgs]

Yep. And don't forget that TouchWiz already has a lot of the features that stock Android doesn't.

It never hurts to have timely updates, but it just isn't enough to be a dealbreaker. Not when you consider the whole package and realize what advantages you get with Samsung's hardware and TouchWiz. Not when you consider Google updates all their core apps through the Play Store.

And if it is a big deal, there are Nexus devices.

Like I said, hopefully Samsung is listening though, and begin to stand their ground more on the carriers.

But I don't think you can categorically dismiss the importance of system updates. For instance, one of the biggest changes in marshmallow, Doze, could be significantly important to improving what's considered one of the greatest weaknesses of the Galaxy S6 devices--poor battery life. For many S6 users, this could very well be a deal breaker, something that if improved could mean they aren't upgrading to a different device.
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It seems like the heavier the skin, the slower the updates. Samsung and LG have been the slowest of the best known manufacturers. While Moto has been the fastest. At least Samsung seems to get it's incremental security and bugs updates in a decent time. Just needs to work on full version updates.

I can understand how navigating through all of the necessary steps to updating their devices could take a few month if OEMs were only getting access to the newest version of Android at or around the time of release, but that's not the case. Google offered a developer preview months before marshmallow was released to the public and now they've released the same for version N a good 7-8 months before expected release. Do we really believe Samsung or LG need a year to get everything squared away for their software updates?

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

But I don't think you can categorically dismiss the importance of system updates. For instance, one of the biggest changes in marshmallow, Doze, could be significantly important to improving what's considered one of the greatest weaknesses of the Galaxy S6 devices--poor battery life. For many S6 users, this could very well be a deal breaker, something that if improved could mean they aren't upgrading to a different device.
[doublepost=1457656517][/doublepost]

I can understand how navigating through all of the necessary steps to updating their devices could take a few month if OEMs were only getting access to the newest version of Android at or around the time of release, but that's not the case. Google offered a developer preview months before marshmallow was released to the public and now they've released the same for version N a good 7-8 months before expected release. Do we really believe Samsung or LG need a year to get everything squared away for their software updates?

The unlocked and unbranded versions always get the updates months ahead of carrier branded versions. So you have to factor in the carriers as part of the delay.

Then you always have some bugs that delay things.

 

[spinedoc77]

That's the one thing that the carriers are pushing out fairly well. The security updates. I've gotten them on Tmobile, too.

[doublepost=1457634491][/doublepost]Between the security updates, the Google updates of their core apps through the Play Store, the already feature-rich TW, and my being on Tmobile where the bloat is little to none, I'm okay on this front. My S6 on Tmobile should be getting Marshmallow almost a year out from the date of the S6's release. I think that's reasonable. It seems late to us because Google's software releases are on a different timetable.

Still, I'm on the same side as most of you. The less the carriers hinder with software and updates, the better. And it's time for Samsung to step up, too.

Timely article: http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/10/1...rrier-crapware-revenue-trick-samsung-software

Well the security updates are from 2/1/16, so I guess a month and a half later isn't bad for ATT.

I also agree it's not a deal breaker, despite my moaning and crying. After all I still have and use my Note 5, and absolutely love it as THE best phone on the market.

 

[Sensamic]

Eventually, I got tired of waiting... It's like waiting to be rich or to earn a date with Scarlett Johansson It's pointless. You wait for so long that when it does arrive you stop caring or a new update has been announced (I got MM a week ago, and this week N was announced, so...). I've been also thinking of jumping to iOS due to this. 3 years of punctual guaranteed updates is very enticing, but Android is still my favorite mobile OS.