Samsung took everyone by surprise the day it kicked off its first beta program for a major Android upgrade. The first one was for Android Marshmallow for the Galaxy S6, and Samsung has run a beta program for each major Android upgrade since then for its Galaxy S flagships. The Galaxy S9 Android Pie beta program is expected to start soon, so here's a question we pose to you: Does Samsung's beta testing for updates interest you, or do you prefer waiting for the stable update?
Beta testing is important for Samsung
Beta testing for major updates is useful for any Android manufacturer, but it's doubly so for Samsung. The Korean giant's flagships sell in the millions each year, and its software is also among the most heavily customized out of all major Android OEMs. That calls for heavy testing before an update can be released, which is where the beta programs come in. Last year, Samsung also extended beta testing to a number or countries other than the UK, US, and South Korea. Those markets are likely to be part of the Android Pie beta tests this year.
But beta software brings with it many issues and kinks, which is why not everyone is keen on running it on a smartphone they may be using as a daily driver. Others, however, jump right in so they can test the latest and greatest ahead of the official release. And we'd like to know which camp you fall in, so go ahead and vote in the poll below, then take to the comments section to expand on your thoughts.
Results: So it seems 50 percent of voters like Samsung's beta programs, which is something the company's software team will like (if they ever read this, that is). 40 percent say they want to test the betas but Samsung hasn't run betas in their country. We hope Samsung will expand its beta program's availability this year, but we're guessing it's a tall order given the number of countries where the Korean giant sells phones. 9 percent voters say they prefer stable software, while 2 percent say they used to take part in the betas but aren't interested anymore.
