Apple is well on the tape when it comes to security updates for its smartphones

The Twitter account SecurityLab is very recent and does not have many followers, but it has done a very interesting job: periodically, it surveys the situation of security updates in a series of segments in the electronics world, whether focusing on operating systems or hardware of the most different types.

Recently, a very revealing study was published about smartphone brands and which ones have best fulfilled their function of providing consumers with quick updates and protecting them from any vulnerabilities that may be discovered on their devices, taking into account also the longevity of this coverage.

The table below separates the data into platforms (iOS, Windows, PrivatOS and Android) and the brands that produce handsets based on each one. Four primary aspects were taken into account, subdivided into some categories:

  • Minimum time taken by the manufacturer to release a security update after the discovery of a vulnerability;
  • Maximum time to make this update available to all affected devices;
  • Whether the update was operator-independent or not;
  • For how long, on average, a device is supported by the manufacturer after the release.

The results are as follows, arranged in colors according to their efficiency:

SecurityLab survey on security updates by smartphone manufacturersClick / tap to enlarge.

As we can see, Apple is the company with the most positive results, reaching green level (the best) in all aspects. Ma, according to the survey, releases updates for all its devices in days, at most, regardless of the operators linked to them; the five years of support (on average) offered by the company were also the largest in the segment, as well as the wide availability of updates for all devices one month after its release.

Ironically, the only platform that achieved results close to Ma's was Windows, which is breathing for devices and could be killed at any time by Microsoft (in the mobile world, that is). PrivatOS, a niche system created by Silent Circle and focused on security and privacy, achieved average results, while the only Android manufacturers with reasonable indexes were Essential and, understandably, Google itself.

Below that, all the marks were in red, with punctuals dyed yellow here and there. Samsung was especially criticized for causing delays of even quarters in the global availability of security updates; other established brands, such as ASUS and HTC, lost many points by offering security updates to a given device only up to a year and a half after its launch.

In other words: at least in terms of speed in protecting its users, Ma still has a good advantage in the face of competition. The consumer is left with this data in their personal balance when deciding which smartphone to buy.

via Apple World Today