Android has always received flak for not offering timely updates to a majority of its devices. Most of us don’t realize that manufacturers have to put in extra efforts in order to release the update. And some of the devices won’t even receive a single major Android update in their lifetime. Counterpoint has released a report that shows the frequency of updates by different manufacturers.

The report shows that when it comes to pushing the updates Nokia takes the lead. Nokia earned this title by updating 96 percent of its phones with Android Pie in 2018. Samsung trials Nokia with 89 percent of its devices receiving the latest Android update. Xiaomi and Huawei are trying to close the gap with 84 percent and 89 percent respectively. Meanwhile, Lenovo, Oppo, and Vivo are lagging behind with an update rate of less than 50 percent.

Among the top 10 smartphone makers, nearly 96% of Nokia smartphones, sold cumulatively since Q3 2018, are already running on Android Pie or have had an Android Pie update issued to them. Samsung closely follows Nokia with 89% and Xiaomi with 84%. Xiaomi is good at ensuring its mid-price range products launch with the latest version of Android.

There are a lot of factors that play a role in issuing software updates. But some brands put much more effort into reducing the time lag from the release of the latest Android version to issuing the update to all their smartphones. Only a few brands commit to making sure their smartphones are always running the latest version.- Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Counterpoint.

Nokia has already announced that it will be upgrading all of its lineups with Android 10 by Q2 2020.  Security updates are one of the most crucial elements of Android phones. As you can see, premium smartphone manufacturers have a better track record when it comes to offering the latest Android update. So next time you want to buy an Android smartphone, please do keep this in mind.