A couple of days back we brought you news that — along with the March security patch — the LG Nexus 5X was getting some much needed performance improvements with the latest OTA software update. As it turns out, the Nexus 6P is subject to similar improvements with its own over-the-air update.
Google has just posted the new factory images with February’s security patch for Nexus devices. The images are still based on Android 6.0.1, so don’t expect anything besides security fixes. There’s also a new factory image for the Pixel C…
Many manufacturers have committed to keeping up with the monthly security patches being released by Google. The move came after a major security threat, dubbed ‘Stagefright’ was discovered a few months ago. Among them, Samsung stated that it would release security updates to its high-end devices. Up until now, however, you haven’t been able to see how up-to-date the security is on your Samsung flagship.
In its latest round of firmware updates, Samsung has updated the ‘About Phone’ section within the settings menu to show when the last security patch was delivered. Spotted by Android Central, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ builds in Europe and Galaxy Note 5 builds in the Middle East are seeing this new information. The builds specifically mentioned are G928FXXS2AOK9 for the S6 Edge+ and N920CXXU2AOK6 for the Note 5.
Like in Android Marshmallow, the new Lollipop firmware on these Samsung phones shows a new field with the label, ‘Android security patch level’, followed by the date when it last received a security update. If you have recently downloaded a new version of firmware, you can check for yourself by heading to Settings, scrolling down to ‘About Phone’ and the new security patch level field could be there.
Up until now, Android Marshmallow was the only software which showed how up-to-date security is on a particular device. This development could signal a couple of things: Either Google has mandated that manufacturers need to start showing this information, or that Samsung is genuinely attempting to keep users in the loop, and being transparent about its software delivery. Either way, this can only be a good thing.
You may remember earlier in the summer, Google responded to a serious vulnerability — called Stagefright — by stating that it would commit to regular and consistent security updates for its Nexus devices. This way, customers would update their software every month or so and always be protected against any known-about vulnerabilities. With Android 6.0 and the new Nexus smartphones, Google is giving us a new, simple way to tell how up-to-date our mobile security is.
As you can see in the photo above, heading in to the ‘about’ page in settings on the Nexus 5X reveals a new piece of information: ‘Android security patch level’. This will show when your phone received its last security patch, letting you know how secure the device is. It’s a relatively small update, but one which could be very useful to consumers.
Thanks for the pic, Tom
