Poll of the week: Are software updates highly anticipated or an annoyance?

As every Monday, we assess how you responded to our survey and discuss the results with the community. In this issue, we ask for your opinion on software updates. We can say that the results were quite consistent, regardless of the country in which you live.

Expectation for updates

So, let's start with the first question about whether you're looking forward to new updates. There is no room for doubt here: The vast majority of you are eagerly awaiting software updates. This is clearest in France, where 88% of respondents answered "yes". But this opinion also prevailed in the other domains (BR: 71%, COM: 78%, DE: 74%). The first figure makes this clear:

You want it all, and You want it now

The answers to the first question already anticipate the results for the second survey. The question here was whether you prefer to postpone updates, or resolve them as soon as possible. Here too, the result was very similar across all countries: You want the updates, and you want them right away!

The graph shows that only between 9 and 19% of respondents are postponing updates. This means that at least 80% of you update immediately as soon as the update arrives at your device. Here, too, France takes first place with 91% of the vote, Brazil (85%), Germany (87%) and the English site (81%) are close behind.

Most of your phones are up-to-date

With the third question, we directly address those of you who use Android. At best, you will receive monthly system security updates, which is why our question revolved around when you received the last of these fixes. As is often the case with our surveys, of course we have to take into account the fact that we have particularly tech-savvy readers. 

At this point, this not only means that you have an idea of ​​when the last of these updates were installed, but also that you tend to have more modern phones than average. Also here we could see a great agreement, in which the overwhelming majority have already received the May or even June update. 

This time, our readers of the English site are in the lead: 22% already have the June update and 57% have the May update. In France, at least 21% already have the June update and 39% with the May version of the security package.

The May update is also the most widespread in Brazil (47%) and Germany (51%). It is also interesting to note that, in both Brazil and France, 15% of our community claim to have a security package prior to December 2020.

You would like to receive updates for three years

The fourth and final question was how long you would like to receive software updates. If that doesn't matter, if one year is enough, two years is mandatory or if you want a three year or more upgrade warranty.

Here, too, there was a clear trend: the longer, the better. So you definitely have an interest in getting updates for a long time and "long" in this case doesn't mean two years — but three or more! A staggering 71.75% of all respondents expressed a desire for updates over at least three years — a clear signal in the direction of sustainability and, of course, directed at business.

This signal came most clearly with 85% of Germany; on the COM domain, at 53%, they were decidedly more cautious than on our other sites. On the other hand, 44% would be satisfied with two years of updates among readers of the English site.

In conclusion, we can say that you are not kidding when it comes to updating the system. You wait for new updates for as long as possible and, as soon as they are available, they are installed as soon as possible. Very commendable, friends! 

We would like to thank you once again for taking part in the NextPit poll of the week and for explaining in the comments. On Friday (11) we will bring you a new question, and we would be happy if you would join us again! Thanks!

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Original text of June 4th

In this week's poll, we want to find out what you think about software updates. Do you eagerly scour each article to find out what new features await you, or are you ambivalent about them, or perhaps you are annoyed by updates?

Let's talk about software today, where we will not concentrate on either Android or iOS in particular. Rather, we are looking at the updates that you receive on your smartphone's operating system. Since both of these mobile operating systems have been duking it out with each other for the longest time, they've also been a source of much conversation. Hence, it is not uncommon for such conversations to concern their respective update policies.

Apple seems to have perfected the art up system updates with its iOS compared to Google and their Android system, where the latter has a slew of hardware manufacturers with an insane number of devices, resulting in the huge challenge of adopting these software versions to a particular handset or model. 

• Android 12: Here's everything you need to know
• Android 12: These smartphones can expect to receive the update
• iOS 14.5: Will your iPhone receive this major privacy update?

Regardless, the reactions in both camps cover an entire spectrum. There are those who are extremely excited to install it right away and to check out each new feature. For others, their blood pressure rises at the thought of another large update to download. There are also others who could not be bothered about such software updates and are perfectly fine not knowing the Android version that powers their smartphone.

These are reasons enough that make us want to get a clearer picture of which side of the fence you are on. Hence, the birth of this poll of the week! Let us begin:

Are you happy about new updates?

Which faction do you belong to? Do you know all the available features on the new iOS or Android version by heart, are you annoyed by the system updates, or do you not care and have no idea on what version of Android is your device running on? Let us know in the first poll:

Do you delay installing system updates?

Yes, even among our editorial team at NextPit, there are some who knowingly delay installing the latest system updates. These are the kings and queens of procrastination! And no, for their sake, I'm not going to name them! Is there an update? Yeah sure, but I won't be installing it, especially NOT NOW!!! So you decline to do so, no matter how many times the system reminds you to perform the update. Are you also like that when software updates or new security patches arrive?

Which security patch do you have installed (Android)?

As a user of the Huawei P30 Pro, I can tell you this: Yes, there is life without having to grapple with a new Android version! However, security updates tend to be looked at a little differently, don't they? In the best-case scenario, these updates will arrive every month. However, Android manufacturers normally take their own sweet time in distributing them.

So here's a chance to see how up-to-date the Android smartphones in the NextPit community are. Check out your handset's settings. Go to "About this phone" and tap on "Android version". You should be able to see the latest security patch listed here.

How many updates do you expect when buying a new smartphone?

A vendor's update policy can also play a role in your purchase decision. Samsung certainly hasn't done any harm to itself by promising a four-year update guarantee for many of its models. Do you have a preference in this department or does it play only a minor role when buying a new handset? Let us know in this final poll for today:

That's it, folks. As always, we would like to thank you for participating and would be delighted if you discuss your update habits and opinions on the update policy of various smartphone manufacturers in the comments section. Just make sure that it doesn't blow up into a flame war! ;) As usual, there will be an evaluation on the poll results when Monday rolls around, so stay tuned!