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Phil’s Ramblings
check for upgrades on either phone I am told
that my software is up-to-date.
More troubling is delay in passing along monthly
security updates to Android phone customers –
or discontinuing security updates completely. If
you read monthly releases from Google, you will
see that each monthly update is important and
addresses new security issues. Yet, the most
Hello, everyone! recent security update on my LG phone is from
This month, I’ll cover two technology devel- March 2018. For the Huawei phone it is January
opments that offer user benefits – but that 2018. Once again, I am told that my software is
may require purchase of new hardware. If up-to-date when I check for updates.
you are thinking of buying a new cell phone Moreover, delegating Android decision-making
in the next year or so, you should get up to authority to manufacturers has another down-
speed on these new developments before side. They are free to add their own “skins” and
you pull the trigger. apps (“bloatware”) to the Android phones they
The first is Android One. This program is manufacture. So, there can be some noticeable
already in effect and promises to improve differences between “Android” phones.
the customer experience for anyone buying (Samsung is probably the poster child for this
a new Android phone. free-lancing.)
If you have been using an Android phone for To address this lack of consistency and create a
some time, you are probably aware that standardized version of Android that is updated
Google does not directly update your An- and upgraded on a regular basis, Google has
droid phone with security updates and/or come out with the Android One program. Partic-
new versions of Android. Instead, they pro- ipating manufacturers agree to install a stock
vide updates and upgrades to the various version of Android on their Android One phones
Android cell phone manufacturers. These and delegate upgrades and updates to Google.
manufacturers in turn make internal deci- Thus, anyone buying an Android One phone can
sions about how long and how often they will be confident that it will be running stock Android,
push updates to their customers. free of bloatware, that will be updated and up-
graded on a timely basis by Google for at least
As an example, I have two Android cell two years.
phones, one from LG and the other from
Huawei. Both are inexpensive phones; the Initially launched overseas in 2014, Google is
kind that manufacturers stop updating soon- now extending this program to U.S. customers.
er than their flagship phones. My LG phone You can find reviews of Android One phones
is running Android Nougat 7.0; so is the currently available in the U.S. at https://
Huawei phone. Yet Google has released www.androidauthority.com/android-one-phones-
two new versions of Android since 7.0 – 845455/.
Oreo 8.0 and (recently) Pie 9.0. When I
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