Which manufacturer updates its smartphones fastest - Android 10 rollout edition - Android

Each year we get a new version of Android. In 2019, that version was Android 10, the first update for the operating system without an official “sweet treat” name attached. Following the Android 10 rollout, the dessert names will be gone with just numbers instead.

If you bought a phone prior to Android 10’s stable launch date (September 3, 2019), you might be eligible for a software upgrade. However, depending on which company manufactured your smartphone and what model it is, you may or may not have received it yet.

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If you’re one of the unlucky ones who won’t see Android 10 on your phone, you might want to buy your next smartphone from a company that updates its phones quickly and frequently. To help you out with that, we’ve ranked the top-ten Android OEMs below with a quick summary of how long it took each one to start their own Android 10 rollout. Theoretically, those companies should be just as fast (if not faster) at rolling out Android 11.

Before we get into it, though, here are some important notes:

• This article is based on information found in our Android 10 update tracker. You can find all the relevant links there.
• We’ve ranked the OEMs purely by speed. Keep in mind, though, that speed isn’t everything (check the OnePlus section, for example).
• Updates roll out at different times in different regions for different people, so view the dates below as estimates.
• We haven’t included Google phones because they’re the starting point for Android updates; it’s the fastest OEM by default. If you simply want a phone that’s guaranteed to be updated quickly, a Google Pixel is what you want!

Also, be sure to check out our previous Android rollout roundups for Android Pie, Oreo, and Nougat to see which OEMs are improving and which are losing ground.

1. Essential

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: Essential Phone
• Date of first stable rollout: September 3, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 0

The good news when it comes to Essential is that, outside of Google, no company has been faster at delivering Android updates. That is absolutely the case when it comes to the Android 10 rollout, as the Essential Phone got it on day one, the same day as Google Pixel devices.

The bad news is that Essential is no more. Going forward, the one and only smartphone from the brand will no longer receive any official updates at all, including operating system upgrades. In other words, next year there will be another company in this first position.

2. Redmi

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: Redmi K20 Pro (China only)
• Date of first stable rollout: September 3, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 0

Redmi — which is now its own sub-brand instead of being connected directly with Xiaomi — earned a second-place slot on this list with its incredibly fast day-one update of the Redmi K20 Pro. However, it didn’t earn first place because that update only landed on Chinese variants of the device.

It wouldn’t be until September 24, 2019, that Android 10 would land on K20 Pro units in another country, specifically India. If we only judged Redmi on that it actually would have come in third place behind OnePlus, but we gave it credit for surprising us all with a launch day announcement, even if it was in a country where Google services don’t exist. Regardless, Redmi is proving that it is taking Android updates quite seriously!

3. OnePlus

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro
• Date of first stable rollout: September 21, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 18

One of the main reasons OnePlus fans are so crazy for the brand is the company’s track record when it comes to updates. OnePlus certainly didn’t disappoint when it rolled out Android 10 to the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro just 18 days after the stable version of the operating system became official. That beat the company’s previous record of 46 days for Android 9 Pie.

However, speed isn’t everything. Unfortunately, the initial Android 10 rollout was plagued with problems and the company eventually stopped distributing the update for a time. Because of this, the rollout of Android 11 might actually take longer than it did this year as the company very likely will not want to repeat the same mistakes.

4. HMD Global (Nokia)

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: Nokia 8.1
• Date of first stable rollout: October 9, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 36

Most Nokia-branded smartphones from HMD Global run a version of Android — either Android One or Android Go  — that’s very close to stock. As such, it’s not surprising that Nokia phones are usually some of the first to see new Android updates, as we saw with the rollout of Android 10.

The first Nokia-branded device to get Android 10 was the Nokia 8.1, one of the many mid-rangers from HMD. The company’s only bonafide flagship, the Nokia 9 PureView, didn’t get the latest version of the OS until December 5, 2019. As of now, even the budget-oriented Nokia smartphones from 2019 should be running Android 10.

5. Asus

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: Asus Zenfone 6
• Date of first stable rollout: November 5, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 63

Asus really surprised us in 2019 by releasing one of the most exciting devices of the year: the Asus Zenfone 6, which features a unique flipping rear camera. It then doubly surprised us by getting Android 10 out to the Zenfone 6 in just over two months.

Only a short time later, the company’s Android 10 rollout hit the Asus Zenfone 5Z. Unfortunately, it took a really long time for Asus to get the latest version of Android to the ROG Phone 2 — that update didn’t land until March 2020. Just goes to show that just because a company is good at getting updates to some of its devices doesn’t mean it’s going to get it to all of them in a similarly timely manner.

6. Xiaomi

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: Xiaomi Mi 9
• Date of first stable rollout: November 5, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 63

Is there any company more confusing than Xiaomi? The first Xiaomi-branded device to see Android 10 was the Xiaomi Mi 9. That update came skinned over with MIUI 11. However, other phones saw MIUI 11 updates prior to this, but MIUI 11 was skinned over Android 9 Pie.

To make things more confusing, even some of Xiaomi’s Android One products — which should, theoretically, get Android updates the fastest — didn’t see the update until well into 2020. This is without even mentioning the flagship-killing-favorite, the Pocophone F1, which only got to enjoy Android 10’s delights in March 2020. As such, even though Xiaomi tied with Asus for the number of days until a stable Android 10 rollout, we’re knocking it down a notch simply for how incredibly confusing its lineup is.

7. Huawei

• First device(s) with stable Android 10: Huawei P30 and P30 Pro
• Date of first stable rollout: November 14, 2019
• Days passed since official OS launch: 72

2019 wasn’t the best year for Huawei. In May, the company was put on the so-called Entity List by the US government, effectively banning it from working with any US-based firms, including Google. That means devices launched after May 2019 don’t have access to any Google services.

Luckily, the 2019 flagship Huawei P30 and P30 Pro devices launched prior to the ban, so they will continue to have access to Google services. They also saw Android 10 in no time at all, with just a two-month wait from when the OS became stable. Other Huawei devices should see Android 10 (if they haven’t already) as Android updates are not directly tied to Google. However, what good is the latest version of Android if you can’t even download Google Maps from the Play Store?

8. Honor