Google will require regular security patches for smartphones going forward

Ask anyone what their biggest gripe with Android is, and one of the most common answers will likely be the updates. Or, rather, the lack of updates. Unless you're rocking a flagship from a big manufacturer or a Google Pixel device, you're probably not getting them as frequently as you'd like, and that includes monthly security updates.

Unfortunately for all of us, Google can't force OEMs to keep their smartphones on the latest version of Android. But what they can do, at the very least, is somewhat force them to keep their devices up-to-date on security patches, and that's going to be a part of Google's OEM partner agreement going forward.

That's what they talked about at Google I/O, anyway. Google briefly dropped that new detail, but without any other, more specific details. We don't know how frequently partners will be required to update their devices, be it monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc. There also aren't any specifics on how Google will be enforcing this.

So don't get too excited just yet, but cross your fingers that your next (or current!) smartphone will get significantly more updates to keep you safe.

source: XDA Developers