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Report: Android users more likely to be happy with phone updates than iOS users

In a survey, a significant margin exists between how happy Android and iOS users are to get software updates.
By
January 14, 2022
Sony Xperia system update complete on display
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
  • A survey of 1,000 people gives us an idea of habits and opinions users have on iOS and Android updates.
  • Evidence suggests Android users are more likely to be happy about updating than iOS users.
  • iOS users are also slightly less likely to update as soon as they get a notification for it.

One of the biggest things separating Android and iOS users is software updates. In general, Android users see fewer updates over the lifespan of their device when compared to iOS users. iOS users also almost always see a longer period of software support, usually at around five years.

Related: You told us that major Android updates are a major requirement

However, how do users actually feel about all that? Additionally, what are the habits of users when it comes to iOS and Android software? That’s what Router Network set out to discover in a recent survey it conducted of around 1,000 smartphone users.

Overall, the company discovered surveyed Android users are pretty passionate about software upkeep. Meanwhile, iOS users are generally less passionate about them. In fact, a larger percentage of iOS users avoid updating their devices quickly when compared to Android users.

Check out an example of some of the data below.

iOS and Android updates

The chart above shows that Android users were much more likely to be running the most recent software on their phones. Router Network also found that recent Android updates were a positive experience in more cases than for iOS users.

Interestingly, everyone in this study was either using an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy S device. The surveyed users were all in the United States, so this makes a lot of sense for our country’s smartphone buyers.

Router Networks paper includes a lot more interesting little factoids. Astonishingly, a higher percentage of Android users were on the latest software version when compared to iPhone users. A whopping 98% of responders using a Galaxy S21 were on the latest Android update, while only 91% of iPhone 13 users could say the same.

Of course, there were also some unsurprising results. The Baby Boomer generation, for example, was the least likely to have the latest software updates. Gen Z users were the most likely to have them. Also, people with newer devices were much more likely to have the latest iOS and Android updates.

Check out all the results for yourself here!