TL;DR
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Samsung has acknowledged its less-than-frequent Google Play system updates on Galaxy devices.
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It has said that it only delivers software after testing, refuting Google’s plan to split updates into crucial and optional updates.
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However, it has said that it will resume updates in January 2026.


I think Samsung’s reasoning is sound, Google sometimes like to play loosey-goosey and break things with updates. I prefer that Samsung tests all Google Play updates before deploying them for their various models. It’s great having a filter against potentially stinky updates that break things. We aren’t on Arch, no need to move too blazingly fast (unless there is a problem that requires urgent patching).
Yeah I agree with this.
On Reddit you’d often see Pixel users gloat over Samsung users about their fast updates, but then you’d see the same Pixel users complaining about bugs in the recent update lol. I think a lot of people don’t realize that’s the trade-off. And no one knows how long Apple holds iPhone updates internally before releasing them.
I have a Pixel, but I do not install updates immediately when I get the notification. I let them simmer for a week or so, and check Lemmy/Reddit to see if there are any issues before I install it.
Releasing updates as fast as possible is not always a good thing.
There’s this recent post about buggy pixel google play system update https://lazysoci.al/post/40568159
Yeah, I used to be the pleased Pixel owner that got fast updates, until one burned me. My device wasn’t bricked, but it was dizzy as fuck post update. Google later fixed the issues it caused, but, I stopped jumping on updates until at least a month passed by. The same with Windows, and occasionally I will pass on an immediate update on Linux (most distros I use are solid). Apple had their fair share of stinkers though…I lived through a few of them. It wasn’t fun, as Apple has absolute control over their iOS software and still failed to make a viable update in many cases. That’s what made me more patient and wait until my device was literally begging me to update.
Now that I have my grubby hands on Android 16 on the Galaxy 25 FE, I can be absolutely patient for updates going forward. Fast updates do mean more mistakes are going to be implemented; some of which can kill your mobile computer.