Android users should update phones now to avoid | Tech News

Android phones offer a enormous vary of design, options and price in contrast to their iphone counterparts, however no matter which handset you’ve, one of essentially the most important issues you are able to do is keep them up to date with software program security patches.

Android manufacturers corresponding to Samsung and Google have gotten significantly better in recent times in supporting newer smartphones for longer. Both firms now offer seven years of software program updates for a lot of of their gadgets, a massive enchancment on older Android phones, which a decade in the past barely bought one or two years.

Given the massive vary of apps and providers we use these days, it’s more important than ever to keep your smartphone absolutely up to date with the latest software program. Unfortunately, criminals usually strive to exploit flaws in Android to get at your personal knowledge, often in an attempt to defraud – and phones with out of date software program are prime targets.

Google, the maker of Android, has simply revealed its Android security bulletin for May 2026, which particulars a “critical security vulnerability” that has been found. Only by putting in the May update will your cellphone discover itself protected in opposition to this bug, which shall be out there first for Google Pixel phones – one of the benefits of proudly owning Google’s own Android handsets.

It’s then up to Android makers to take the software program update and apply it to their gadgets, so that you should head to the settings app in your cellphone and test when you’ve got an update ready for you. It’s all the time smart to set up it.

“Exploitation for many issues on Android is made more difficult by enhancements in newer versions of the Android platform,” Google mentioned. “We encourage all users to update to the latest version of Android where possible.”

Security consultants all the time advise shoppers and companies alike to keep their Android gadgets absolutely up to date.

“May’s Android security bulletin is light in volume but notable in shape,” mentioned Adam Boynton, Senior Enterprise Strategy Manager at Jamf.

He mentioned it was an uncommon bug to have discovered its means into Android, making it all of the more important for cellphone house owners to guarantee they set up the patch as quickly as they get it.

“The single critical issue, CVE-2026-0073, allows remote code execution with no user interaction required, exploiting a debug interface that should never have been a production attack surface. It is the same architectural pattern commercial spyware operators have built mobile exploit chains on for years: system-level access, no user action, no obvious indicator.”

The newest model of Android is Android 16, which most new Android phones will run. However, the security updates Google pushes out might be utilized to older variations of Android too, should your cellphone’s producer resolve to help older handsets with the updates.

If you assume your cellphone may very well be operating out of date software program, it is likely to be time to contemplate a new gadget.