Software updates should ideally be a straightforward process, but they never really are. Once Google released the stable version of Android 12, Samsung as usual tweaked it to suit their needs and released it as One UI 4. After the One UI 4 update left beta and made its way to several Galaxy devices, that is when reports of bugs cropped up, prompting Samsung to halt the rollout and try to fix the reported bugs.
Those who participated in the beta received another test build, which Samsung used as a basis for a revised stable update. Despite this, the bugs were not entirely found and fixed. It has taken quite a long time for the South Korean company to identify the root cause of the problems, but at last, the company has started rolling out the update once more.
The update, which is hopefully more stable, will first be available for Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra, along with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3.
Recently, devices like the Galaxy A52 and the Galaxy Note 10 series have also received the update.
Google normally works with other manufacturers to minimize chances of mishaps happening during the launch of a new version of the Android operating system, while also trying to deploy the latest update as quick as possible. However, device makers, while making tweaks to the stock Android version in order to add their identity, are bound to face challenges that Samsung has been going through. The more tweaks made by an OEM, the higher the chances of encountering unexpected bugs.
The One UI 4 update from Samsung includes several changes from the stock Android 12, including a visual redesign of Google’s Material You and an updated keyboard. Users, on the other hand, did not get to have a smooth experience with the update, with most of them experiencing poor performance, screen flickering, issues with Google Play services among other bugs.
The Android 12 release has not been unkind to Samsung alone, OnePlus have also been experiencing problems of their own, forcing them to halt the rollout of their own OxygenOS 12 update. The OxygenOS 12 update was first intended for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, but reports indicate the update is also facing multiple bugs of its own.
“We are aware of the issues caused by the OxygenOS 12 update and our software team is fixing them… We will suspend this software update and roll out a new iteration as soon as possible,” OnePlus said in a statement to Android Police.
Even Google themselves have not had it smooth. The Pixel 6 had some bugs to kick everything off, which we looked at here. The update meant to fix it introduced new connectivity issues that Google is yet to fix fully. Google has also made Android 12 available for older devices, such as the Pixel 3A, 4 and 5A. These devices have also had their share of bugs, but they do not seem to be as bad as those experienced by Samsung and OnePlus users.
Whether this will be the last we hear of Android 12 experiencing issues is hard to tell, but the experience should now be smoother moving forwards. There is also the expected Android 12L update that should make things much more convenient for large screen devices like tablets and foldables.
