Surely you have wondered, at least once, what are the reasons for those constant software updates that your phone receives without any apparent and really marked novelty that improves the user experience that the mobile offers. If so, then welcome to this post, which is dedicated to solving this question.
Android usually offers regular software updates that keep things up to date. One of the sections that are almost always dealt with with each of these is security and privacy, and for that there are security patches, which are the ones we talk about below.
All about Android security patches
For starters, Android security patches are simple enhancements that Google regularly releases for mobiles from smartphone manufacturers. These are promised month by month by these, although generally they usually arrive every two or three months on mobile phones.
Once Google releases an Android security patch, smartphone makers take it and customize it for each of their models. Not all security patches are applicable for all mobilesIt is worth noting, because each phone model is different, both at the hardware and software level; each terminal receives its own security patches from time to time. This is why we do not see releases of these firmware packages in unison.
The patches are not only responsible for increasing the security and privacy of the mobileBut they also often implement bug fixes, system stability improvements, and various general optimizations, as well as eliminate potential vulnerabilities.
It should also be noted that Google releases "generic" security patches, so to speak. Smartphone manufacturers usually add custom modifications for their respective mobiles, so they may arrive loaded with interesting news.
It is always good to install them to be up to date
You don't have to do much to receive them. In fact, there is really absolutely nothing to do -except to install them once they arrive-, since it is up to the manufacturer to send security patches to your mobile periodically, as Google dictates. However, with Android 10 there is a new possibility, and it is to install some system security components through the Play Store so as not to have to wait for the arrival of an OTA, but this is already a somewhat impractical method for some.
Every time there is a software update available for your terminal that comes with a new security patch, a notification will appear. If you do not receive the notification, you can check from time to time in the updates section in settings.
We recommend always installing them, as this way the device, your personal data and you will be safe at all times… at least as much as possible. On the other hand, the most recent security patches do not usually always arrive with the most recent updates for mobile phones. Sometimes, manufacturers launch OTAs with security patches from months ago for some terminals, and not the last one that Android has released at that specific time; This is a negative thing that may leave some mobiles vulnerable until they receive their next update.
On the other hand, some security patches are implemented in beta versions of updates. In this case, they extend the security and privacy of the respective phone in the same way, but it is possible that they arrive with errors and various problems that throw the user experience down a cliff, although this is unusual, since smartphone manufacturers tend to polish their beta firmware packages to the point where they are highly unlikely to be buggy.
That said, we take the opportunity to recommend installing only stable OTA updates. However, if you want to have news before many, the beta are the bridge that takes us to the goal.