Ryan Haines / Android Authority
iOS 26 was released a couple of days ago, and I immediately got the notification to install it on my test iPhone 13 Pro Max. A four-year-old phone, which sits at my desk and doesn’t serve me most of the time, has the latest software available with all its Liquid Glass questionable glory. My iPad Mini also received iPadOS 26, and my Apple Watch Series 6 got watchOS 26. It’s the last update my watch will get, but that’s not a bad record for a watch launched in 2020.
Meanwhile, Android 16 has been out since June 10, but the update state of my Android phones and tablets is as “complicated” as my best friend’s Facebook relationship status. My Pixel phones and tablets already have Android 16, my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra would have it in beta… only if I lived in the US, my Nothing Phone 2 promises to get it soon, and my realme and HONOR phones, well? It’s anyone’s guess. Also, my Pixel Watch 3 still doesn’t have Wear OS 6, even though that new update was released in July.
Do you wish Android updates rolled out faster to more phones? 134 votes Yes, of course. 84 % I'm fine waiting. 9 % I don't care about the speed of Android update rollouts. 7 %
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Sure, I’m in the minority because I have all of these devices at my disposal, but I think this gives me a unique perspective into the disparity and confusion that comes from the state of Android’s releases and updates. I have to keep manually checking, looking up online reports or rollouts, and researching beta or stable releases, methods to join them, and countries they’re available in to ensure my phones have the latest and greatest.
When Google or Samsung announces that a new Android version is available, I know it's a lie. Or semi-truth.
Even when Samsung officially announced that One UI 8 is rolling out to Galaxy phones, I knew it was a lie. Or semi-truth. The devil is in the details: starting in South Korea, Galaxy S25 first. So when will my Galaxy S24 get it in France? September 25, or maybe October, who knows? I have to keep looking for other announcements and leaks, and hope that one of them is true.
All of this makes me very, very envious of Apple users and journalists. One day, same time, all devices, all around the world, and updates are a go. It’s beautiful. You don’t have to search or wait or keep checking. Even Google can’t manage it with Pixel phones; it gets close, but there are always delays in the OTA rollout or devices that must wait. Worse yet, Google can’t help but shoot itself in the foot sometimes, like it did with the Android 16 rollout. After announcing a bunch of new features, it forced itself into an early June release cycle, which came with nothing substantial, and a footnote, “Oh, sorry, you know that spiffy new Material 3 Expressive design and Live Updates features? Yeah, you’ll get them in the next QPR update in the fall.”
Unexpected update schedules and delays are the price of diversity and choice in the Android ecosystem, but it still should be better than this.
... continue reading