Opinion
Opinion: Samsung makes its customer happy by giving 3 major Android upgrades while OnePlus just did the opposite
Nowadays, there are a lot of new smartphones available in the market, offering low to high-end specs and ranging from budget to flagship price. But how do you really choose to purchase a new smartphone and what should it really offer to you? That’s a big question and we’re here to answer it with a good example.
Every smartphone maker offers new hardware and after-sale software upgrade services with their new releases but do they really keep that promise? I know one company and its name are Samsung, as a regular user of its different devices, I’ve enjoyed being a customer of the smartphones made by Samsung and its after-sales services.
On the other hand, I recently noticed a report about a Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus’ that informs the users of its latest smartphone, OnePlus Nord lineup that they will get “only one major” Android upgrade.
In detail, OnePlus has confirmed that the Nord N10 5G and Nord N100 will only receive only one major update from Android 10 to Android 11 (OxygenOS 11). To be noted, these two phones come pre-installed with Android 10.
One thing is sure that this move is surely frustrating for most of the consumers of OnePlus.
Meanwhile, Samsung is committed to providing the up to date mobile experiences with the Galaxy devices and continue working to bring more secure and exciting new features to the devices already sold.
The South Korean tech giant provides two major Android OS upgrades to its budget phones and “three” major upgrades for its high-end smartphones including the Note, S, Fold/Flip, Tab S series, and select A series smartphones.
With its already impressive update policy, Samsung is extending the lifecycle of its smartphones and provide a simple and secure mobile experience that takes advantage of the various new features via OTA, as soon as possible.
For example, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series was announced with Android 10 out of the box and announced to get three OS upgrades starting with Android 11 (One UI 3) up to Android 13 (One UI 5).
“Samsung is committed to providing the latest Android OS upgrades until the hardware specifications allow us to provide the optimized mobile experience for our users.” – Said Samsung in an official statement
Adding to this, Samsung provides monthly Android security updates to its select smartphones for 2 years and 2 more years of quarterly security updates to keep secure all the Galaxy owners’ smartphones. Furthermore, Samsung even provides occasional software updates for Galaxy smartphones that have already completed its update tier.
On the matter of providing security updates, Samsung is one step forward compared to the stock Android because the Galaxy Z Fold 2 device has started receiving November 2020 security patch before three days of the starting of November.
And this time, Samsung has gone even further by rolling out December 2020 security patch for the Galaxy S20 series smartphones who are testing the upcoming Android 11 based One UI 3.0 as a beta.
Software support is a huge difference-maker for both the smartphone maker and the buyer and a crucial part of after-sale services. While monthly software update keeps the user’ data and privacy safe from different threats, major updates improve the overall device experience and performance with the latest features and enhancements.
What do you think of this the software update policy of Samsung and what does it matter to you, Let us know in the comments.
Purchasing a new smartphone can be an easy decision, but it becomes a tough task to upgrade from iOS to Android. To make it easier, we are listing the top 5 reasons and special benefits that make the switch from Apple iPhone to Samsung Galaxy a generous move.
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1. Android app ecosystem
Compared to iOS (iPhone), Samsung Galaxy devices offer two great Android app markets – Google Play Store and Galaxy Store. The Play Store has continued its growth trajectory as the world’s largest app store. Moreover, you’ll find that virtually all of your favorite apps are just a download away on your new Galaxy phone.
2. Wearable ecosystem
Aside from mobile phones, the South Korean tech giant has an impressive array of wearable devices and they all work together in the seamless Galaxy ecosystem. The Galaxy Watch 5 allows you to answer a call, respond to emails, and get real-time feedback.
3. Samsung DeX
iOS can never beat Samsung’s amazing DeX feature, which allows your Galaxy device to power a full desktop experience by connecting it to a monitor or smart TV and pairing a keyboard and mouse. The DeX feature allows you to take full advantage of the processing power of the phone.
4. Secure Folder
One UI introduces the Secure Folder feature, which allows you to separate your most sensitive personal apps. Galaxy users can easily move apps and files into Secure Folder and even have two instances of apps including the first in the Secure Folder and the second on your home screen.
5. Knox Security
Samsung Knox is a complete suite of security features, combining both hardware and software functions. All Galaxy device users get real-time mobile protection and encryption from the moment they turn on their devices. Introduced on the most recent flagship phones, Knox Vault takes that to another level.
Samsung is setting an example in the Android industry by bringing longer OS upgrades to a maximum number of Galaxy devices. While A-series 4 Android upgrades amazed us all last year, Samsung’s silent decision to expand it to the Galaxy M series is just unbelievable, at least for China.
As the world is serious about pushing sustainable efforts, smartphone vendors are also finding ways to support them. Nowadays, premium phones lack a free charger in the box, consumers also want to have a phone that lasts longer without any kind of lags or security concerns for the time being.
Samsung first extended the Galaxy Android support in the second half of 2020. The company confirmed three major OS upgrades for all premium Galaxy devices launched in 2019 and later. Prior to this, the company was committed to offering two major upgrades to all phones and tabs.
At Samsung, there are no limits to innovation, as it’s committed to bringing the best and most stable user experience. Not everyone wants to spend much on a smartphone, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t get longer software support as the Galaxy A is here as a decent option.
At the Galaxy S22 launch event, the South Korean tech giant announced its revised Android support policy. The latest Galaxy software guarantee ensures up to four years of Android plus One UI updates for flagships starting Galaxy S21 and select Galaxy A phones (A53, A73, A54, and A34).
Seeing Samsung’s clever yet iconic move, Android rivals such as OPPO and OnePlus copied the software promise and announced to bring Samsung-like Android updates to their flagships launched in 2023. They copied but there’s a difference, which is not hidden from anyone – CREDIBILITY.
Software version strategy and support can be copied from Samsung’s ecosystem, but China can never do what Galaxy devices can offer. As a striking move, the Galaxy M series begins offering up to 4 generations of Android updates, not all, but the Galaxy M54 becomes the first product.
This way, the world’s biggest smartphone vendor proved that there are no limits to pro-grade features, and can be brought to mid-rangers too. Compared to the Google Pixel flagship (source), Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy M54 phone has longer OS updates support, which isn’t copyable.
Google smartphones starting the Pixel 6 series supports up to five years of monthly security updates. Meanwhile, Samsung is offering the same security patches promise to plenty of Galaxy Z, Galaxy S, Galaxy A, and Galaxy M series smartphones.
Apart from longer support, Samsung is also reducing the firmware deployment delay. With Android 13, the company amazed all Galaxy users and further promised to provide updates even faster with the next Android and One UI versions.
Samsung Theme Park is a great application, which is available on select Galaxy devices through the Good Lock suite. As Android 14 development continues, hopes are high for the next One UI version and we advise Samsung to integrate Theme Park customization tools into One UI 6.0.
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Theme Park is an app, that belongs to the Good Lock customization suite. The application makes it possible to create a custom theme that consists of wallpaper, keyboard, quick panel, icon, and volume panel. Combining Theme Park tools, Samsung can swiftly make One UI 6.0 the ultimate customizable software.
Theme Park tools should be a part of One UI 6:
Since Good Lock is not available for all Galaxy models and all regions/markets, Theme Park can only be used on a limited scale. At the same time, some users are either unaware of the Good Lock tool or don’t want to enter into the hurdle of creating a custom theme.
Using the Theme tool of the Theme Park app, you can set the wallpaper and get the color combination for the theme. It is somehow similar to the Color Palette but allows you to manually select a main color and a style, which affects the overall color and mood of the theme.
The Keyboard customization tool of Theme Park is also useful. It brings fruitful features such as personalization of Key style, and tap color as well as allows you to use an image on all keys. If you spend some free with the Keyboard tool, you can create give an epic look and feel to it.
Quick panel can’t be customized in the One UI software, except for changing colors derived from the Material You palette. Using the Theme Park app, users can give different color shades to the elements of the Quick panel such as primary toggles, brightness slider, and text as well as blur level of background.
Icon customization is the greatest feature of the Theme Park application. There is a huge directory of shapes that can be altered with One UI’s default icon shapes. Moreover, the tool also lets users pick their preferred color for the icons and background tray.
One UI 5.1 removed Material You theming from the Volume panel to deliver a better user experience. However, it doesn’t mean the Volume panel can’t be customized as the Theme Park app is here to help us. However, we can just assign different colors to the interface elements.
One UI 6
Samsung may begin the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 Beta testing by August 2023. The Galaxy S23 series is ready to become the first Galaxy to run the new One UI 6 software, however, the company is expected to release the official version later this year. We want Samsung to integrate Theme Park tools into the next One UI version.