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Samsung has done a lot to step up their software upgrade efforts in recent months, but for one Dutch watchdog group it hasn’t been enough. The Dutch Consumers’ Association (otherwise known as the Consumentenbond in the country) has sued Samsung after failed attempts to get the company to upgrade their phones to new versions of Android in the two years since their launch.
The group claims Samsung didn’t provide a single upgrade to new versions of Android for 82% of the phones released in The Netherlands. DCA’s efforts not only involve demanding said updates, but also demanding more transparent communication on update expectancy for each device sold, as they feel it’s anti-consumerism to sell phones that they have no plans to support down the line.
To be fair to Samsung, it’s not just them. The DCA suggests this is an issue with most manufacturers in the country, but Samsung was singled out for this particular lawsuit since they own 80% of the market share in the country. That’s no small number, and any progress made in the court case is sure to have rippling effects for the rest of the players in the region.
Of course, a lawsuit is a lawsuit. Whether Samsung will eventually be forced to comply with any demands regarding smartphone support remains to be determined, and even if the DCA gets the desired result it doesn’t necessarily mean Samsung has to uphold those rules outside the country. Still, it’s nice to see someone willing to take action and do anything they can to improve an everlasting sore spot of this industry.
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