Smartphone security comparison gives Apple top billing, only two Android brands do ok

An analysis of security updates for different smartphone brands unsurprisingly gives Apple top billing, with just one criticism. When it came to Android brands, however, only two managed halfway decent ratings, with many big brands being rated poorly …

SecurityLab tweeted a table which examined four different factors:

• The shortest time to publish a security update following discovery of a vulnerability
• The maximum delay in making the update available to all
• Whether or not updates were independent of carriers
• How long a device is supported with security updates

These were further broken down – for example, in the shortest time to update, this was split by the first device and other devices from the same manufacturer.

Apple was rated green in all categories. Its shortest time to issue an update was measured in days, they are available worldwide within one day, updates are independent of carriers, and Apple supports devices for five years – with the sole exception of the iPhone 5c which was supported for four years.

Essential Phone and Google were the only two Android brands to score reasonably highly, though both were dinged for relying on carriers for some security updates, meaning that what should take days can end up taking months. Both brands also issue security updates for only three years rather than five.

Market leader Samsung was a long way down the rankings. The fastest security updates are measured in weeks rather than days, other devices can take months, and some updates are only issued quarterly. Samsung also only supports devices for times ranging from 2.5 years down to as little as one year for some phones.

Photo: GottaBeMobile

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