According to the search engine major Google, the number of Android devices (regardless of whether it is a mobile phone or any other hand held device) that received a security update (at least one) exceeded 730 million in the year 2016. Although this number appears to be impressive, nevertheless, it does fail to impress given the total number of these devices that are actually being used globally, which exceeds a whopping 1.4 billion. So, it can be safely said that although the above mentioned numbers of Android devices did receive a security update, majority did not. It does imply that not all Android device users update their security patches whenever a new version of it is launched in the market. This is in sharp contrast to the iPhone users that make use of the latest version of iOS.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Although the scenario mentioned above does give a gloomy picture, the need for latest security updates is increasingly important due to the fact that the number of Android users is growing by leaps and bounds. This was stated as per a latest Android News. However, the good news is that Google has decided to offer faster security patches for Android devices in the current year 2017 simultaneously announcing the lacunae of the previous year and offering solution as to how it ought to be fixed. The Android devices that received timely security updates in the previous year include the following-
- Nexus 5X
- Sony Xperia X Compact
- Vivo V3 Max
- Bq Aquarius M5
- LG V20
- Google Pixel XL
- Motorola Moto Z Droid
- Google Pixel
- OPPO A33W
- Nexus 6
- Nexus 6P
- Asus Zenfone 3
- Samsung Galaxy S7
As per the Android News, it is also being said that Google still has miles to go if it intends to bridge the gap not only for the smartphones but for the other hand held devices too. Also, in the year 2017, it is expected that the security updates will be streamlined. This will in turn equip the manufacturers to incorporate security patches in the newer devices that will be launched in the market. In fact as per the latest Android News, the main person behind Android security patches announced that the so called “wait time” for security updates has been reduced remarkably from 9 weeks to 6 weeks, particularly in the United States. And this step has been taken taking into account a closely knit collaboration between the manufacturers of such devices as well as “wireless carriers”.
Identifying Harmful Apps
According to the latest news, the search engine major has also declared that it is taking all measures to identify so called PHAs or Potentially Harmful Apps that are available in the Play Store. To this effect, it stated that in the previous year 2016, through its effective and efficient Verify Apps system, more than 700 million checks were carried out to detect PHAs on a daily basis. This is in sharp contrast to the figures that were recorded as only 450 million in the year 2015. By the year 2016 end, only a handful number of PHAs were actually detected when an app was downloaded from the Google Play Store. This essentially applies to the Android devices.
However, there is an important message that is being conveyed by the search engine major and that is it is urging Android device users to download apps only from Google Play Store so that they don’t fall prey to malicious websites and software that might cause immense damage to the devices, which applies not just for the mobile phones but also for other hand held devices that run on Android operating system.
