When a New Android Update Hits, Do You Update Right Away or Wait?

This is one of those topics that I can probably guess where it’ll go, because this is an enthusiast site, but it’s a topic I saw brought up recently. The idea of software updates and when to take them appears to be a thing people consider before pulling the trigger. My brain has only ever been wired to try things right away even if that’s a bad idea, so this is fascinating to me.

So let’s talk about updates and why you would take them right away or why you might wait until you know things are truly stable.

Again, for me, my brain or my personality or some combination of the two, likes to jump into new stuff. This has been who I am since as far back as I can remember, especially when it comes to technology. I was one of the first kids in high school to test out all of the software that allowed for the best mix CDs in the area, which of course were super legal and legit. I remember testing the latest graphics card drivers the minute they’d release, because I would do anything for more frames in Unreal Tournament, even if they’d end up breaking stuff – you could always go back.

And nothing changed when Android became my world. When the original Motorola DROID released and we all went through that ROM flashing period, I tested all of the builds. That was when the DROID was the only phone I had too. It’s not like now, where I could probably download an update that bricked my daily phone, and then just reach into a drawer to get a replacement. In the DROID days, that phone was everything. And I was foolish enough to flash a new ROM on my way out of the house more times than I’d like to admit, with a high likelihood that cellular connectivity might die or I’d land myself in a bootloop.

As Android has improved over the years and Google sends mostly-stable updates out at the beginning of each month, I still flash them the very minute they drop. I enter the beta programs on both iOS and through the Android Beta Program. I jump into developer preview builds when I probably shouldn’t. If Samsung opens up a beta, like the new One UI 6 beta, I find any Samsung device I have that can run it and I sign up. It’s in my blood. Tinkering with new things is who I am.

But I also get why someone would hesitate before taking an update. The phone in your pocket is likely your only phone and if it breaks because of a bad software update, getting it back to working may not be that easy to do. You may not even have time or the knowledge/skills to do that.

I’d love to hear where you stand on software updates and when it’s time to hit “Install” on your phone. Do you go right away or are you waiting a bit?

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