The Ultimate Guide to Software Updates— Part 1

Let’s discuss those occasional bothersome pinned notifications that are often ignored. This is the 1st of the 3 part series that I’m planning to write on this boring topic. So, I’ve divided this part into 3 sections i.e.; What are they, Why are they important, and a few controversies over the years.

What :

Software or OS (operating system) updates in smartphones are collections of changes pushed to update and improve the security and performance of the device. These updates usually bring in new and interesting features and fix any bugs. Software updates are released by smartphone manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, and Google, and are usually made available over the air (OTA) via a Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Pretty much the entire smartphone industry is run either by Android or ios. Android Inc., was bought by Google Inc., in 2005 which powers various smartphones other than those of Apple which are powered by ios, the second most widely installed mobile OS, entirely different from Android.

Talking of two entirely different things, updates and patches which are often used interchangeably aren’t really the same thing. It really comes down to the scope they cover. Patches are usually narrow relating to specific updates to address vulnerabilities whereas updates are more significant in scope addressing multiple problems as well as introducing new features.

Security patches are usually released every month whereas updates are released every year.