In the days following the emergence of Android’s Stagefright vulnerability, Google, Samsung, and LG all committed to pushing monthly security updates for their Android devices. You might notice that there are some big names missing from that list, and now we know why at least one company hasn’t made the same commitment.
HTC Americas President Jason Mackenzie recently described monthly Android security updates as “not realistic.” In response to a question about why HTC hasn’t committed to monthly security updates, Mackenzie said that those updates are unrealistic because you have to get carrier approval for those updates, and sometimes you can’t do that because there’s no room in carrier testing labs. Mackenzie went on to say that HTC “will push” for these updates, but that it’s unrealistic for anyone to guarantee monthly updates.
@bkerensa @htc 1. Because commitment to this is not realistic. In order to push an update you have to get carrier approval.
— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) October 3, 2015
@bkerensa @htc 2. Sometimes you won't receive due to lack of space in their labs (they only handle so many projects at once).
— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) October 3, 2015
@bkerensa @htc 3. We will push for them, but unrealistic for anyone to say guaranteed every month
— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) October 3, 2015
HTC has done fairly well recently when it comes to being transparent about its Android update process and pushing updates out in a reasonable time. Mackenzie says that HTC will “continue to lead in Android updates,” but some HTC folks are sure to be upset that the company isn’t committing to monthly security updates like Google, Samsung, and LG. Of course, that doesn’t mean that HTC devices won’t get any security updates at all.
