Samsung out with Oreo before Essential? - Essential Phone Guides, News, & Discussion

I am shocked by Samsung's release of Oreo beta before Essential. I was under the impression that Essential woild be releasing Android updates soon after Google released them.
Any news on Oreo update for Essential?

well the S8 and S8+ are 8 months old phones. Essential was released 2 months ago so...

Negotiator50 said:
I am shocked by Samsung's release of Oreo beta before Essential. I was under the impression that Essential woild be releasing Android updates soon after Google released them.
Any news on Oreo update for Essential?
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I was actually thinking the exact same thing. I can understand Essential does not want to rush out an update which is barely usable, but at least a very rough estimate would be highly appreciated. "Soon" is not an actual timeframe.

Actually, Oreo hasn't been released for the S8 and S8+. It's only a beta test program, limited to 7500 users (about 0.1% of total devices) world wide. In the US, one has to be on TMO or Sprint or have a carrier unlocked device (purchased directly from Samsung) to sign up.
I expect that Essential will release the full production version of Oreo before Samsung (expected early next year, based on past experience).

Related

HTC and Security Updates

Right now I have a Google Huawei Nexus 6P, support for it will end this October (thanks google). I am considering jumping ship to HTC due to a few things: Sense being very Stock-ish, Speakers, and Optics. I am curious on how HTC's reliability is with Android Security Updates. I am aware on the full version changes (6.0 -> 7.0 -> 7.1) it will be nowhere near as fast as I am used to, but I am very curious about HTC's track record with providing timely security updates and how long they tend to support their phones.
@anthonyjc2010 said:
I am very curious about HTC's track record with providing timely security updates and how long they tend to support their phones.
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Better than average OEM, but still not great. They tend to keep their flagships alive for at least two years, e.g. HTC One m9 released in March of 2015 is still being updated but I highly doubt it will get Android O.
My EMEA unlocked One m9 is currently on Nougat 7.0 with security patch February 1st, and EMEA unlocked HTC 10 Lifestyle is on Nougat 7.0 with security patch December 1st 2016. Carrier's versions in Europe are usually updated shortly after Unlocked, that rule does not apply to USA.
TL;DR: If you want bleeding-edge updates Pixel is the only way to go; if not, then HTC is fairly reliable*.
*applies only to flagships, HTC abandoned some of their budget devices shortly after release.
buttie said:
Better than average OEM, but still not great. They tend to keep their flagships alive for at least two years, e.g. HTC One m9 released in March of 2015 is still being updated but I highly doubt it will get Android O.
My EMEA unlocked One m9 is currently on Nougat 7.0 with security patch February 1st, and EMEA unlocked HTC 10 Lifestyle is on Nougat 7.0 with security patch December 1st 2016. Carrier's versions in Europe are usually updated shortly after Unlocked, that rule does not apply to USA.
TL;DR: If you want bleeding-edge updates Pixel is the only way to go; if not, then HTC is fairly reliable*.
*applies only to flagships, HTC abandoned some of their budget devices shortly after release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does HTC release the OTA's for the unlocked device?
I guess official RUU's will be available since it's not a VZW restricted device?
fuzzynco said:
Does HTC release the OTA's for the unlocked device?
I guess official RUU's will be available since it's not a VZW restricted device?
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Click to collapse
HTC US does not officially release the US Unlocked OTAs, but links to them get captured and posted here on XDA and the zips also get re-hosted on AFH. US Unlocked RUUs are usually posted by HTC US a bit after the corresponding OTA starts rolling out, but again the links are guessed ahead of time and RUU executables as well as RUU zips and decrypted firmware are posted. The threads are already here.
VZW RUUs are more like RUUs for non-US markets - RUU zips usually become available from unofficial sources. Obviously, there is no Verizon firmware for U11.
---------- Post added at 11:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 PM ----------
@anthonyjc2010 said:
I am very curious about HTC's track record with providing timely security updates and how long they tend to support their phones.
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Click to collapse
Judging by post-Nougat HTC 10, US Unlocked gets security updates relatively frequently, maybe every other month. Other regions are SOL, still stuck on January.
buttie said:
Better than average OEM, but still not great. They tend to keep their flagships alive for at least two years, e.g. HTC One m9 released in March of 2015 is still being updated but I highly doubt it will get Android O.
My EMEA unlocked One m9 is currently on Nougat 7.0 with security patch February 1st, and EMEA unlocked HTC 10 Lifestyle is on Nougat 7.0 with security patch December 1st 2016. Carrier's versions in Europe are usually updated shortly after Unlocked, that rule does not apply to USA.
TL;DR: If you want bleeding-edge updates Pixel is the only way to go; if not, then HTC is fairly reliable*.
*applies only to flagships, HTC abandoned some of their budget devices shortly after release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I wanted the bleeding edge of updates I would stay go with the xl version of the pixel coming this October (when support for my phone ends, again... thanks Google). I honestly don't want a Pixel for various reasons, that is why I am looking at HTC. My only concern is security patches. I find it concerning that the 10 Lifestyle (Basically HTC 10 but with 3gb of RAM and a Snapdragon 625... right?) is still on December 1st 2016, but maybe Europe is just behind...
Oh, and I am not in the market for a budget HTC phone... besides in the US the only phones we can buy from HTC's website (that I can see) are the HTC U11, HTC U Ultra, HTC 10, HTC Bolt (so the flagships and their larger, lower spec'd counterparts). And I would never get a phone carrier locked (flashback to the days of using a Verizon locked android phone *shivers in terror*).
I probably misworded what I asked.
I meant is, if I am on a bring your own setup, (U11 on Verizon for example), who offers for OTA the patches and updates?
It seems to me Verizon woudn't its not their software. Would Google or HTC?
fuzzynco said:
I probably misworded what I asked.
I meant is, if I am on a bring your own setup, (U11 on Verizon for example), who offers for OTA the patches and updates?
It seems to me Verizon woudn't its not their software. Would Google or HTC?
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Click to collapse
HTC, since you'd be using the US Unlocked version of U11.
HTC seem to be very poor at releasing security updates to be honest.
The only real vendor that actually does it monthly appears to be Google themselves or a 3rd party like Lineage.
Electronic Punk said:
HTC seem to be very poor at releasing security updates to be honest.
The only real vendor that actually does it monthly appears to be Google themselves or a 3rd party like Lineage.
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Click to collapse
Currently using the Xperia X Compact until the U11 comes out and they've done a monthly update since release. Sony is pretty great about it now.
Got a Sony tablet and they have been pretty quick at updates on that (despite dropping Tablets from their lineup) but I don't get monthly updates tho
everdred said:
Currently using the Xperia X Compact until the U11 comes out and they've done a monthly update since release. Sony is pretty great about it now.
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this just sounds anectodal. One device getting a update is no guarantee the rest of the devices will get it.
Frankly, all OEM's are as bad. Sometimes they are better, sometimes not. My 10 still has Jan patch and android 7.0. Not that i think u there is anything wrong with the current software, and security is quite vague. I dont know of a single instance where people has been exposed to risks or data loss because of a old patch level.
Often people download bad apps and thats just like windows, if you download trojans there is nothing htc or google can do for you.
Electronic Punk said:
HTC seem to be very poor at releasing security updates to be honest.
The only real vendor that actually does it monthly appears to be Google themselves or a 3rd party like Lineage.
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Click to collapse
Very poor compared to who ? Maybe Google on the pixel series but pretty much no other. Look at Samsung they take 6 months to get system updates if not longer. Htc has in the past promised system updates with in 90 days. I do not think its fair to call Htc's updates system or security to be poor. Calling Samsungs poor would be more correct and honest.
DirtydAmbrose said:
Very poor compared to who ? Maybe Google on the pixel series but pretty much no other. Look at Samsung they take 6 months to get system updates if not longer. Htc has in the past promised system updates with in 90 days. I do not think its fair to call Htc's updates system or security to be poor. Calling Samsungs poor would be more correct and honest.
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You mean the S7 with April security updates, the S8 with its May ones.
LG are also on April.
Can call it pretty poor with EMEA being on January.
Electronic Punk said:
You mean the S7 with April security updates, the S8 with its May ones.
LG are also on April.
Can call it pretty poor with EMEA being on January.
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My Note 5 received the May security update a couple of days back. They always seem timely with the security updates, it's the general updates that take longer. I only received Android 7 a couple of months ago on it.
A timely article:
https://www.androidcentral.com/just...-months?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
These models have security updates from the last 2 months, although it can't be strictly true.
My mom's Sony Z5 (E6653) is not receiving any update for month... last was Android 7.1.1 with Security Update from September 2017.
My wife's HTC U11 is on Android 8.0 with November 2017 Security.
So I can't recommend any of those company's.
But Samsung is not better - when your mobile gets older > 2y your out of support....
This situation is really poor - hope it get better with Android 8.

How many rom update per year ?

Thinking of buying the Mate 10/10pro non-China version. However would like to know how frequent are the updates the international versions receive. So how many rom updates did you Mate 9 users receive in one year ? State your country as well as it might vary by region.
Don't expect much if updates are your priority then don't buy this phone. Buy google or oneplus. If you want stable ios like experience with all the perks of android go ahead and buy the mate.
I'm from the Netherlands and have had about 5 to 6 updates this year.
Doesn't bother me that much really, it's a rock solid and stable phone anyways.
Oreo incoming soon.
Yeah that's about right, 5 or 6 in the last 11 months for the C432.
There's been 15 updates since 2016-11-23 for MHA-L29C432... Not all have been pushed to everyone though.
If you are buying a phone, under the pretense of updates, stick with the Apple iPhone, or the Google Nexus/Pixel phones.
Most other manufacturers do not provide timely updates.
I've had 3 Huawei phones. The Mate 2, 8 and now the 9 which I picked up about a month ago. I keep coming back to
Huawei for a couple reasons. The BATTERY SIZE, the value, and how stable they are. Even with the SD400 processor
and 720p screen of the Mate2, coupled with the Nova Launcher, the phone was VERY stable, snappy and performed well.
My 2, came with Jelly Bean, they pretty much skipped KitKat, and went to Lollipop, and had they not given the ability to
easily switch back, I probably would have skipped Lollipop. My 8 came with Marshmelow, and did not receive Nougat 7
until April of 2017, but 6 was very stable.
What I'm trying to say is unless you just got to have the latest version of OS, or, require the frequent security patches,
the stock OS, at least for my use, has been VERY stable, that I have not even bothered to unlock or root my phones.
What little bloat, and, there hasn't been much, was easy to either uninstall, or block.
They are good solid phones, very well made, and for me a great value.
p51d007 said:
If you are buying a phone, under the pretense of updates, stick with the Apple iPhone, or the Google Nexus/Pixel phones.
Most other manufacturers do not provide timely updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Add Sony to this list.
I bought Sony Xperia XZ (F8332) to my wife at same time when I bought Mate 9.
I noticed that Sony released following updates on to XZ:
Android 6.0.1 - 2 updates
Android 7.0 - 5 updates
Android 7.1.1 - 7 updates
Now we are waiting for Android 8 and XZ has big chances to this update.
In the past we had other Sony phone - Xperia ZL. And it got 3 major versions of Android.
I'm very excited how Sony does update cycle!

Oreo

Any news about the 8.0 update for s7/S7 edge?
Not sure but expect Samsung to release Oreo a couple weeks after they release their Flagship. I only assume this because maybe they want to treat flagship users more as they have bought the phone

Android 11 Update Timeline?

Hey Guys,
It's been a while since I last used a Samsung device, my last one being a Galaxy S3! Since then I've used Nexus and Pixel devices which get updates immediately, although I don't except Samsung to match the speed, I was just curious to hear from long time Samsung users to know how far has Samsung come to quickly rollout updates?
Thanks!
They've gotten much much better. I'm not sure if it's the same with unlocked versions but I get updates pretty quickly compared to how it used to be through my carrier.
Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk
I would think a public beta would be coming pretty soon and full rollout for Android 11 by end of the year.
The Samsung Wearable app just received an update for OS R support.
Public Beta for OneUI 2.0 began on Oct 14th last year for select devices. Seems Samsung may be slightly ahead of the schedule they were on last year so I'm hoping we see a public beta for one ui 3.0 in the next 2-3 weeks. Beta will likely open up to S20 line first then the Note line. If you are on either S20 or Note 20 I would expect official stable release before the year is out. Likely sometime in the month of December.
I was on a Verizon branded note 10+ that time last year and got the Android 10 update towards the end of December.
AeroSatan said:
They've gotten much much better. I'm not sure if it's the same with unlocked versions but I get updates pretty quickly compared to how it used to be through my carrier.
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Great to hear! I remember on my S3 I used to get so frustrated with the amount of time Samsung used to take to rollout updates. I own the AT&T Note 20 Ultra, hopefully it won't be delayed for long
I want to say it was January until I got the update on my unlocked Note 10.
zedwards said:
I want to say it was January until I got the update on my unlocked Note 10.
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Click to collapse
Was December 19 for mines... But I had the exynos variant.
Well, their testing Android 11 with OneUI 3.0 for the S20 series, no word yet on the Note 20 series
K0wneD said:
Great to hear! I remember on my S3 I used to get so frustrated with the amount of time Samsung used to take to rollout updates. I own the AT&T Note 20 Ultra, hopefully it won't be delayed for long
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Honestly back then it made a noticeable difference in feature sets. That's no longer the case TBH. Samsung runs a pretty refined software experience, and stock android is now kanging Samsung. Almost every feature Google introduces, Samsung has had for some time.

[EOL]PREVIEW]Petition for Android 11 update for S9+, S9 and Note9

Postponed due to a similar petition was launched (long ago)
Sign the Petition
Give Android 11 / OneUI 3.0 to Galaxy Note9 / S9(+) phones.
www.change.org
Yea get rid of it. People have been making these things for years. It's useless. It's cause so much issues on xda people arguing your petition don't mean jack to them
TheMadScientist said:
Yea get rid of it. People have been making these things for years. It's useless. It's cause so much issues on xda people arguing your petition don't mean jack to them
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But samsung broke curse for S10 this is due to accumulating demand, i am doing this for s50 for 4 system updates
jjgvv said:
But samsung broke curse for S10 this is due to accumulating demand, i am doing this for s50 for 4 system updates
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Click to collapse
Yea thats why I'm on a note 10 f ds. All my American friends whine about having locked bootloader and do the same thing petition after petition and not gone nowhere. That why I buy unlocked bl now so I don't deal with it
As I said in an other thread we will recive android 11 through the note 10 lite port. they share the same exynos processor.
so it will not be an official release but it's better than nothing.
For the snapdragon variant i don't think they will get anything
The petition should be about the Samsung S9 Plus snapdragon variant getting the oem unlocked
We are getting one UI 2.5 the next month in October anyway so so after wireless dex there is nothing important coming
mhmedahmed1996 said:
The petition should be about the Samsung S9 Plus snapdragon variant getting the oem unlocked
We are getting one UI 2.5 the next month in October anyway so so after wireless dex there is nothing important coming
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Click to collapse
I like this idea
mhmedahmed1996 said:
The petition should be about the Samsung S9 Plus snapdragon variant getting the oem unlocked
We are getting one UI 2.5 the next month in October anyway so so after wireless dex there is nothing important coming
Click to expand...
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Exynos does not have locked BL?
leonardojt said:
I like this idea
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OK i will try to make this petition
Petition give android 28 like it's something new and we need!!!
INfact this is GOOGLE's fault, they created such STUPID idiotic OS. Normal OS can get security updates independent from manufacturer, but google made so that only manufacturer can update phones, which is STUPID. Android OS should be in-depended from manufacturers. Android 28 will be just like that
afigienas said:
Petition give android 28 like it's something new and we need!!!
INfact this is GOOGLE's fault, they created such STUPID idiotic OS. Normal OS can get security updates independent from manufacturer, but google made so that only manufacturer can update phones, which is STUPID. Android OS should be in-depended from manufacturers. Android 28 will be just like that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is sensible, but you need
*All phones has unlocked bootloader
*All phones support treble
TheMadScientist said:
Yea get rid of it. People have been making these things for years. It's useless. It's cause so much issues on xda people arguing your petition don't mean jack to them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The op has valid points. These are not some $200 ~ $300 phones which are low powered to not be able to run few iterations of os. These were about $900 plus when launched. We're not talkin about 2011~2015 when phones had 1 gb ram as standard or 2gb but after 2 years the os required more hence those were not considered upgrade worthy. Now these phones have minimum 6GB at least my S9+ has and i'm sure Note also would be same or higher. Also there is enough hp in the chipset to pick up few updates. My phone got updated last night to 2.5UI and everything is so smooth and with tons of widgets on home screen updating real time there is still about 2.6gb ram available all the time and not a single stutter.
In these current times people will not upgrade $1000 plus phones every 2 years in many countries since unlike USA/EU we don't get carrier contracts. People buy upfront and would like to stick for 3 years at least .
So am totally with OP on this. We should have one more update on the os.
edit: lol just noticed my Signature. Shows when I was last active on this site. After S4, had Note 4, S7 edge and now S9 +. None after S4 were rooted or tampered with since the os was good enough and smooth enough.
As said before. They owe us no updates. We buy them as is. Its generosity that they give what they do. They are not obligated to do any more after sales other than warranties

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