Can Samsung best its own record with Android 10 release

One of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, Samsung, is gearing up to bring the latest version of Android OS, Android 10, to its flagship devices. While the likes of Nokia, OnePlus, and Huawei have announced tentative release dates, the South Korean OEM is taking its time, hashing out finer details.

Like every other year, this year, too, Samsung refreshed its Note and S-series lineups, releasing the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 devices in March and August, respectively. As expected, the Note 10 and S10 will be the first Samsung devices to get the Android 10 update. However, with many companies already announcing their Android 10 rollout dates, the pressure is on Samsung to beat the clock.

Release Trend

Galaxy S9 Android Pie update took over three months to release
Galaxy S8 Oreo update took about over five months
Galaxy S7 Nougat update took about over five months

Since inception, Samsung has been embedding custom software on top of Google’s Android OS releases. While adding custom software usually enhances the experience for users, it also postpones the initial release.

Flagship S-series phones are generally the first devices to receive latest updates, but Samsung has not fared very well in that department, either.

Last year’s flagships, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, got the Android Pie update in the week of December, four months after Google rolled out the update to its Pixel lineup. 2017 devices, S8 and S8 plus, got the Pie update alongside its predecessors but had to wait until February 2018 to taste Android Oreo — six months after Google released the OS.

Finally, the S7, which came with Marshmallow out of the box, got Nougat in February 2017 and received Oreo more than a year later in April 2018.

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What Samsung Needs to Do to Win

The section above clearly demonstrates how lackluster Samsung has been in rolling out major OS updates. However, considering how stiff the competition is these days, the South Korean OEM must step up to the plate to maintain its foothold in the sector.

Google and OnePlus, who maintain Android’s pristine form, are the obvious frontrunners and have already launched multiple betas/developer previews. Huawei and Nokia, too, have unveiled tentative release dates.

Samsung probably won’t beat any of these devices to the punch, but as per rumors, they, too, are quietly working on a beta. The company hasn’t released any details, but they must make sure to roll out the beta by the end of September, at the latest. As for the stable release, users would greatly appreciate it if the company could roll it out by the end of October. Forget that actually, given the recent trend, even a November release won’t count as bad ni our eyes, actually!

Promising Signs

As mentioned, Samsung hasn’t given out any details, but a leaked video has confirmed that the company already has a pretty solid Android 10-based One UI 2.0 beta in place.

Last year, Samsung overhauled its entire user interface, introducing the One UI. This year, the company will only build on what has already been established as a stable platform. There will be changes, sure, but nothing groundbreaking.

Back when OnePlus and Pixel devices weren’t dominating the market, Samsung used to be the undisputed king. The company beat the likes of Motorola, LG, Sony, and HTC to earn its crown with ICS (Galaxy S2) and Gingerbread (Galaxy S) updates. The last five years have pushed Samsung down the order, at least in the software department.

This year, Samsung’s going on a mission to regain some of its lost glory. It looks to be an uphill climb, for sure, but you wouldn’t be wise to bet against this South Korean tech giant.