INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
patch its older phones.While Google dishes out software updates for Android on a regular basis, it passes them on to the phone manufacturers
for distribution to users
taken to court by Dutch consumer rights group Consumentenbond, which argued that the company should update its phones for at least four
years after they go on sale, or for at least two years after they are sold
It even wanted the company to provide the patches within three months of them becoming available.Losing (court) battleConsumentenbond
some of its older models not receiving any updates at all.The Hague administrative court, however, disagreed with Consumentenbond and ruled
distribute updates to all its phones, or may not patch the software at all, depending on the nature of the bug and the limitations of the
phone hardware.Samsung supportMost phone manufacturers support their handsets for two full years after launch, with some companies,
including Google, adding another year to the support cycle for security updates
After all, phones have a two-year warranty in many countries, including the EU, and one year everywhere else.While this may not sound very
show that not doing so affects sales
that matter, is in the right, but extending the support cycle sounds reasonable enough when Android is a highly targeted operating system.
