Older devices are often left out of the update cycle after some time and are left vulnerable to new security exploits that pop up from time to time. Thankfully, unlike most OEMs, Samsung and Xiaomi are still committed to pushing updates to their older devices.

Galaxy S6 Edge January update released in some regions

Samsung started rolling out the January 2018 security patch for its handsets during the past few weeks. After having released it for mid-range handsets like the Galaxy A5 and even low-end models like the Galaxy J3, Samsung finally released the update for a nearly three-year-old flagship device.

Samsung has made it a habit of releasing new security patches for mid-range handsets before flagships, and it looks like they're sticking to the script for this month’s patch as well. The security patch includes fixes for six critical vulnerabilities in the Android operating system aside from fixes for several other vulnerabilities.

While an Oreo update for the Galaxy S6 is extremely unlikely, despite speculations that there might be one next month, we're glad that Samsung is committed to releasing security patches for all their devices on a regular basis.

40 Xiaomi devices that will get updated to MIUI 9

One of the drawbacks of buying cheaper devices is that they receive fewer updates than flagships. But that isn’t the case for Xiaomi, who produce a ton of devices that range from flagship prices to under $100. Xiaomi just announced that it’s updating 40 of them to MIUI 9, the latest iteration of their widely popular Android fork. MIUI is very heavily customized, and it takes Xiaomi a lot longer to push core OS updates which is a part of the reason MIUI 9 is still based on Android 7.0 Nougat. Here’s the complete list of devices that will be updated to MIUI 9:

Xiaomi Redmi 5 PlusXiaomi Redmi 5AXiaomi Mi 5XXiaomi Redmi 5Xiaomi Redmi Y1 (Note 5A)Xiaomi Mi Note 3Xiaomi Redmi 4 (4X)Xiaomi Mi Max 2Xiaomi Redmi Note 4XXiaomi Redmi Note 4Xiaomi Mi Mix 2Xiaomi Mi 6Xiaomi Redmi Note 4XXiaomi Redmi Note 4Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Xiaomi Mi 6Xiaomi Mi Pad 3Xiaomi Mi 5cXiaomi Redmi 4AXiaomi Mi MixXiaomi Mi Pad 3Xiaomi Mi 5cXiaomi Redmi 4AXiaomi Mi MixXiaomi Mi 5s PlusXiaomi Redmi 4 PrimeXiaomi Redmi ProXiaomi Redmi 3xXiaomi Mi 5s PlusXiaomi Redmi 4 PrimeXiaomi Redmi ProXiaomi Redmi 3xXiaomi Redmi 3sXiaomi Mi MaxXiaomi Mi Note 2Xiaomi Mi 4sXiaomi Redmi 3sXiaomi Mi MaxXiaomi Mi Note 2Xiaomi Mi 4sXiaomi Redmi Note 3Xiaomi Redmi 3Xiaomi Mi Pad 2Xiaomi Mi 4cXiaomi Redmi Note 3Xiaomi Redmi 3,Xiaomi Mi Pad 2Xiaomi Mi 4cXiaomi Mi 5sXiaomi Redmi 2AXiaomi Redmi Note 2Xiaomi Mi 5Xiaomi Mi 5sXiaomi Redmi 2AXiaomi Redmi Note 2Xiaomi Mi 5Xiaomi Mi NoteXiaomi Redmi 2Xiaomi Mi 4Xiaomi Redmi 1SXiaomi Mi NoteXiaomi Redmi 2Xiaomi Mi 4Xiaomi Redmi 1SXiaomi Mi Pad 7.9Xiaomi Redmi NoteXiaomi Mi 2SXiaomi Mi 2

We're hoping that eligible devices get an Oreo update soon, as Xiaomi seems to be behind the competition when it comes to delivering updates. You can expect an OTA update on the above devices anytime in the near future.

Essential Phone Oreo Beta 3 now available for download

The Essential Phone, for all practical purposes, was a damp squib with a negligible amount of units sold, despite the hype surrounding it. Despite the underwhelming market response, the company is committed to providing their users with the latest software. The Oreo Open Beta for the Essential Phone has been out for a while. Now, a third update has been issued, primarily to protect the device against the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities.The new version (build OPM1.170911.254) is a 1GB download if you grab it from the Essential site. A smaller OTA appears to be rolling out to devices running Beta 2 already.