Samsung is going to court in the Netherlands for not updating its phones

Back in 2016, the Consumentenbond, a Dutch non-profit organization that supports consumer rights, sued Samsung for not providing two-years of updates for certain smartphone models. The trial started today in Dutch Court. The consumer rights group is trying to get manufacturers like Samsung to guarantee updates for two-years after purchase. According to the Consumentenbond, most smartphone providers currently do not provide updates for this length of time.

Ironically, Samsung does have such a policy. But the consumer agency points out that the two-year period used by Samsung starts from a phone's market launch, and someone could end up buying the device a year after the phone is released. That would give the purchaser only one year of updates.

So to clearly state the differences here, the Dutch consumer group wants to see updates offered for two-years after a phone is purchased, while Samsung's policy covers updates for two-years after a device is launched. See the difference? In addition, Sammy explains that its policy is only a guideline and points out that its top-of-the-line Galaxy S models receive OS updates for a longer period of time. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S4 was released in 2013, the Samsung Galaxy S5 launched in 2014 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 hit the market in 2015. All three of these models were updated as recently as 2017.

During the trial, the Consumentenbond is expected to point to the four to five-years that Apple iPhone models receive iOS updates. However, Samsung will surely respond by saying that Apple produces both the hardware and software of the iPhone, giving it an advantage that Android manufacturers don't enjoy.

source: Telecompaper via AndroidPolice