Android 13 Upgrade Report Card: Surprise!

 

It's funny how much a popular narrative can differ from reality once you start bringing cold, hard data into the equation.

Over the past couple years, Samsung has worked hard to improve its reputation as a reliable provider of software updates in the Android arena. And to be sure, it's made some meaningful strides along the way.

But when you go beyond the broad impressions and objectively measure the company's commitment to timely Android operating system rollouts — well, the story gets a teensy bit more complicated.

[ Keep up on the latest thought leadership, insights, how-to, and analysis on IT through Computerworld’s newsletters. ]

That's precisely why I started doing these Android Upgrade Report Cards way back in the platform's prehistoric ages. From the get-go, we've seen some wild variance in how well different device-makers support their products after you've finished paying for 'em — and as an average phone-owner, there's no great way to know what's gonna happens six months or a year after you shell out your dollars for a top-of-the-line phone.

It's in part just par for the course with the nature of Android as a platform. The operating system is open source, and that means each device-maker can modify it how they want (for better or sometimes for worse). And consequently, that means the responsibility falls on each company's shoulders to process every new incoming Android version and get it out to its customers.

[Get level-headed knowledge in your inbox with my free Android Intelligence newsletter. Three things to know and three things to try every Friday — straight from me to you.]

While we can't control the level of care and commitment each company puts into that process, we can control our own knowledge about how much different device-makers prioritize post-sales support. That way, you can at least have the context you need to make an educated decision about which phone is right for you — not just for the first few weeks that you own it but for the entire two-, three-, or maybe even four-year period that you're likely to carry it around.

Now that we're six months past the launch of Android 13, it's time to step back and look at who's making upgrades a priority and who's treating 'em as an afterthought. Only you can decide how much this info matters to you (hint: It oughta matter — a lot), but whether you find post-sales software support to be a top priority or an irrelevant asterisk, you deserve to be armed with all the data that empowers you to make fully informed future buying decisions.

Want the full nitty-gritty on how these grades were calculated? You can find a detailed breakdown of the formula and every element taken into account at the very end of this article.