Can Samsung ever catch up?
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Apple released iOS 26 to all eligible iPhones on September 15. Just 14 days later, the iOS 26.0.1 update was made available to all those same iPhones. For any users wavering on the new liquid OS, Apple even offered iOS 18.7 and iOS 18.7.1 as an alternative.
Apple pushes its security and privacy message hard. And with good reason. Despite Google’s evolving campaign to lock Android down, iPhones still win on both counts.
Samsung, meanwhile, is pushing out its new One UI 8 as fast as it can. Months behind Pixel, it’s a lottery as to which devices in which regions get it when. It has also pushed out an October update which isn’t October’s security update. That’s still to come.
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Google’s Pixel makes a lot of noise. It is undoubtedly a serious threat to Samsung’s flagships in the U.S. But in the wider flagship world, only Apple and Samsung matter. Google is an also-ran, with just a fraction of the duopoly’s market share.
But Pixel can almost match Apple’s everyone, everywhere update process. Google is the only Android OEM which controls both hardware and OS software — much like Apple. And Pixel users, despite their modest numbers, are first to the best new features.
If you’re dropping more than $1500 on a phone, you should expect expedient software updates, especially when those updates patch security vulnerabilities under attack. But while Apple can rush out a fix and Google can turn its monthly update into an expedient rollout, Samsung can’t change its usual rollout schedule and approach.
Apple’s (likely) next update will be iOS 26.1. And this opens an even wider gap to Samsung in the flagship stakes. Apple is revamping the “Rapid Security Responses” it introduced in 2023 and used just once. These now become “Background Security Improvements” and install instantly and silently when there’s an urgent fix.
It’s likely that iOS 26.1 will be released at the end of October, by which time most recent Galaxy phones will have received One UI 8. That update brings Android 16, which was released to all supported Pixels on June 10. That’s a more than four month gap.
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The updates Samsung is rolling our are exceptional and it commands the greatest Android share of any OEM for good reason. But when it comes to updates, it’s playing second fiddle to Google’s control. And given Android 16 brings critical security and privacy upgrades, that’s an awkward wait and see for millions of users.
Google is now resetting its Android update schedule. Most updates will be corralled into a major quarterly release, with just critical updates in between. This may help Samsung catch up. But Apple is rolling out major and minor releases with ruthless efficiency, and could now make that better still. One can’t help but think something needs to change.