Motorola confirms it won’t be providing monthly Android Security updates

Security is a big issue nowadays with our high-tech devices being open to numerous bugs and hacks. This has led to Google providing monthly security updates for Android, which close many loopholes found within Android and then is released every month. For the most part, the latest devices receive these updates, even if they aren’t in a timely manner.

Motorola is taking a different approach to its view on the Android security updates, by not providing them every month. Instead the company has called the updates “difficult” and won’t commit to releasing a security update every month. Instead, the company is planning on bundling security updates within a “scheduled Maintenance Release (MR) or OS upgrade.

Here’s the statement provided to ArsTechnica:

Motorola understands that keeping phones up to date with Android security patches is important to our customers. We strive to push security patches as quickly as possible. However, because of the amount of testing and approvals that are necessary to deploy them, it’s difficult to do this on a monthly basis for all our devices. It is often most efficient for us to bundle security updates in a scheduled Maintenance Release (MR) or OS upgrade.

As we previously stated, Moto Z Droid Edition will receive Android Security Bulletins. Moto G4 will also receive them.

When looking at the latest Motorola devices, the Moto G4 lineup and the Moto Z lineup, none of these devices feature the most recent Android security update. In fact, the devices are almost three months behind, as being featured with the May 1st security patch. Motorola has released a statement which claims the Moto Z and Moto Z Force will receive an update shortly after launch, but that will still leave users months behind.

For Motorola to take the low-road and ignore Android’s monthly security patches seems a bit amateur, and surprising when you consider that the devices feature an experience that closest resembles the Nexus lineup. Well, I guess now we can say that Motorola just moved a bit further away from that experience, and will probably leave many potential buyers looking for another option.

[via ArsTechnica]