Software plays a crucial role in the overall flagship smartphone experience, so it stands to reason that software updates also play a crucial role. A software update can not only fix bugs but also bring in new features and make our phones perform better than their originally purchased condition. But while software updates can fix things, they can also break things, making our experience worse and leaving us with the regret of accepting that cursed update.

Cursed updates aren’t commonplace, but they are more frequent with some OEMs than others. They also vary anecdotally, as different people use their phones differently and are affected by various bugs differently. What is an experience-breaking critical bug for me may not be the same for you, and vice versa.

User experiences often also vary by how many updates their phone has been promised and how many they have received. Some budget phones are pledged to only a couple of updates, and if these updates introduce groundbreaking bugs, then the user is left worse off with little recourse. If a phone is offered many updates frequently, there is a higher chance that annoying bugs are squashed with the next update that is just around the corner.

In the early days of Android, most OEMs would offer only two years of software updates as a standard promise, if at all they did so. There was little clarity on how long a phone would be supported, and no promises were made on how quickly or frequently updates would arrive. Thankfully, Android has matured past that stage, and most phone OEMs now have clear software update policies for their popular phones.

Still, promising a software update and rolling it out flawlessly are two different tasks. Phone OEMs can promise many years of software updates but fail spectacularly during rollout. Maybe the updates are cursed and filled with bugs, or perhaps they arrive too late in the phone’s lifecycle. Maybe your phone gets plenty of attention early on, but the experience in the latter part of the software update promise leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Then there is the case of platform, security, and bug-fix updates, with the fine print often varying between the three. Platform updates are practically annual in nature, while security updates should ideally be monthly. Bug fix updates should be as needed, and you shouldn’t need them in the first place if your OEM has reasonable quality control and testing for updates. Some OEMs, like Google, also have Pixel Feature Drop updates that attempt to add new features for individual devices and the Pixel ecosystem as a whole.

But you, as a consumer, shouldn’t have to think about any of these. Whenever you update your Android phone, you should always land on the best possible experience that your phone has to offer.

So, with all this being said, which company do you trust the most for software updates? Which company not only promises a lot of software updates in your region but also delivers them on time? Which company has given you the best software update experience, improving your phone with every update without fumbling?

Have you ever received a cursed update? Did your phone OEM mess up things badly on your phone with an update? Have you ever regretted accepting a phone update? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!