One of the biggest challenges the Android platform faces is that manufacturers are often slow at providing software updates. This prevents many Android devices from having the latest security patches. Soon Google is reportedly going to provide manufacturers with an incentive to speed up the software update process. According to Bloomberg, Google is going to publicly rank manufacturers from the best to the worst based on security patch and operating system updates.

Google already tracks the rankings internally, but it has been kept private for now. The goal of the ranking leaderboard is to get the slower vendors to step up their game. Even after Google releases new versions of its mobile operating system, the majority of the 1.4 billion active Android devices end up only having access to older software – which is a problem that should be fixed. Apple usually does not have to worry about these types of issues because it has full control of its software updates.

To further reduce the amount of time it takes to push new versions of Android, Google is working with mobile carriers to reduce update testing cycles. And some carriers are being asked to skip security update cycles entirely. But Google’s decision to "shame” slower manufacturers could potentially backfire because some bugs could be overlooked in order to meet harder deadlines.

In the past, Google attempted to make software updates more seamless by launching the Update Alliance organization. However, manufacturers tend to favor selling newer and more expensive devices rather than maintaining the older ones. To an extent, Google has been able to circumvent security problems by providing software updates through Google Play Services. And nowadays, many of Google’s newest features are being released as separate apps through Google Play rather than being packaged within the Android operating system.

Last year, Google introduced a feature in Android 6.0 Marshmallow that showcases the security level of the devices. Within the "About” settings menu, Google added a line called "Android security patch level” that highlights the date of the latest security update. After enterprise mobile security company Zimperium discovered a vulnerability within the Android operating system that became known as "Stagefright,” Google and its manufacturing partners such as LG and Samsung vowed to provide monthly security updates. However, smaller Android manufacturers like HTC said that goal was "unrealistic.” And a source at Motorola told Bloomberg that it is aiming for quarterly updates rather than monthly.

Manufacturers tend to get held up in releasing Android updates regularly because of the update certification process. Every update certification costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and takes months to complete. It takes months to test the devices because the mobile carriers want to make sure that the software updates do not affect service quality issues. Mobile carriers have to be cautious about service quality problems because their representatives often have to bear the brunt from angry customers.

Agencies