How frequent are Android updates on Samsung Galaxy S9+?

[D3z4R1]

I'm looking to replace my iPhone with an Android device -- I'm leaning towards a Samsung Galaxy S9+ or Note 9.  I was curious how frequent (or quickly) does the device get updated after Google releases their base update?  Unlike iOS being available for all compatible iPhones as immediately as Apple posts their IOS updates; Android devices have to wait for carriers to push their updates to their respective devices.  I'm curious as to how quickly Fido will push Android updates to Samsung's Galaxy (Note) S9s.

[ravedave2]

The Note 9 hasn't been released yet and probably won't till the fall 

S9 ships with Android Oreo which is the latest OS

The first Android P builds just came out and are only available for Pixel devices, and final build will be probably available when Google announces the new Pixel devices in the fall

to give you an idea, the S8 just received the Oreo update which was announced in march 2017 by Google, and final build was out in August/September 

If i didn't tell you, would you see the difference between android Nougat and android Oreo on a samsung device?
Probably not. Samsung has had many features way before Google introduced them, so most changes are under the hood that you will never see 

Choose a phone based upon what it has to offer today, not what it might be able to do in a year

also for Security Updates, Samsung is a month or two behind Google on them
(i find security updates way hyped up too, unless you visit shady websites, install random APKs, open links in e-mails that ask for your bank account number and birthday, but then the problem might be YOU, not the security of your phone)

hope this helps

[EFTC · Accepted solution]

It's not the Carrier's job to push updates to customers. The phone manufacturer (e.g., Samsung) makes the update and then push the update to the phone carrier. The carrier then test and approves the update and then release it to the customer. Apart from Google and Apple, most of the Android manufacturers lack behind when it comes to pushing updates to their customers.  If you want timely updates and must have the latest and greatest, go with Apple or Google phone (e.g., Pixel, Pixel 2,...etc). If you don't care as much, then other manufacturers (Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei, Acer, Asus...etc) might work for you.

Keep in mind some manufacturers will NOT update their phone OS or release security updates regardless of what Google is doing. Furthermore, some manufacturers will post update plans on website yet does not provide any ETA on when the update will be released.  If you are the kind of person who gets very defensive or anxious about cell phone manufacturers releasing the updates on a timely basis, I suggest you stick with Google or Apple.

Furthermore, most manufacturers will only support the phone up to 3 years past it's release date. In other words, if you have a phone that was released 2 years ago, don't expect the manufacturer to prioritize updates to your outdated phone.