… And that’s a good thing.
While Samsung has committed to monthly Android security patches for many of its high-profile smartphones, so far only devices on Android 6.0 Marshmallow have actually let users see how up-to-date their security is. In the Samsung world right now, that’s a grand total of zero phones.
As of the latest round of Lollipop-based Samsung updates, however, security is getting a bit more visible.
The most recent batch of monthly updates for high-end phones including the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ (on Android 5.1.1) now show an “Android security patch level” field under Settings > About Phone. That’s significant because until now Lollipop users haven’t been shown this info, even if their phones have been receiving the promised monthly security fixes.
We’re seeing this security patch info on the most recent GS6 edge+ (G928FXXS2AOK9) builds in Europe and Note 5 (N920CXXU2AOK6) builds in the Middle East, and it’s likely other high-end Samsung phones will see it when they get the most recent Android security patch. Whether the change is a Samsung thing or a Google requirement is unclear. Nevertheless, transparency in security is an important part of allaying fears over Android glitches and exploits. And although one field in an “About” screen isn’t going to change much, it’s an important first step.
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