Samsung versus iPhone — the Google factor.

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Samsung has an Android problem — and it’s getting worse. Hundreds of millions of Galaxy owners await its latest upgrade bringing critical security updates, with no confirmation yet as to when and where it comes. Google’s Pixel benefits from this, but the real winner is iPhone — and that’s bad news for Samsung.

As I’ve warned before, this is a fundamental disconnect in Android, with Google owning the OS but also growing Pixel in competition with its OEMs. Samsung outsells Pixel more than 15-1. And yet it’s Pixel that’s first to everything, including the new Android 17 beta update, which is now available to its users.

But Samsung doesn’t outsell iPhone — it’s the other way around, marginally. And as Samsung watcher SammyFans has just pointed out, “I’ve never seen iPhone users waiting for software updates like Samsung." Apple is “consistent with iPhone software development and rollout,” which Samsung is not and “comes second.”

This plays out with major firmware updates. Pixels get new Android updates immediately, while Samsung wraps them in its One UI OS and then releases them many months later. Apple upgrades iOS once a year to everyone, everywhere.

But it also plays out monthly. Pixels get Android security updates faster and more seamlessly. Galaxy owners are drip-fed updates through the month. Apple rolls out iOS security fixes to all iPhones at the same time. Every time.

“Apple has a systematic channel for software update development and release," SammyFans says. “The same goes for Pixel: Google releases updates for all Pixels at once, and the rollout is the same. Unlike Apple, Google changes its release date based on development of the software. It has to cope with the Android ecosystem partners and ensure that their experience doesn’t lag. On the positive side, Google keeps everyone posted about the development roadmap to the final release date.”

But “unlike Apple and Google,” the website says, “Samsung publishes no prior information about its software development roadmap, shares no estimated launch date, or anything else regarding the final rollout. So, basically, existing Galaxy device owners don’t know when they will receive the next update because there’s no pattern in software development or the rollout.”

And while that’s clearly a Samsung problem, it’s also an Android problem. It would be the same if Apple allowed third-party OEMs to use iOS to power their own devices. Apple would always be first and it would always be best. This is the problem catching Android out. The OS framework was not designed to support a broad OEM base as well as a phone from Google itself, the OS developer.

This is why rumors swirled last year that China’s Android OEMs — which account for most non-Galaxy Android sales — were considering branching out on their own, following Huawei’s lead, or even adopting its OS in place of Android.

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And the situation is exacerbated by Google’s dominance with its other apps and services on Android. Gemini overwhelms Galaxy AI on Samsung phones and Samsung has just ditched its own messaging app in favour of Google Messages.

Android 17 is now in beta for Pixel owners, the latest iteration of this non-stop roundabout for Samsung owners with expensive flagship phones. One can’t help but think that something needs to give as Android evolves.

It’s hard to imagine this situation persisting for another ten years, as Pixel grows into a more dangerous market threat to Samsung while still first to everything. But it might be the iPhone comparison that prompts change, with Apple’s control over its hardware and OS building ever stronger market share.