By JOHN ONAH, Abuja
HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, leads the Counterpoint Research
2020 trust rankings based on the four pillars of software, security
updates, build quality, and devices recommended for enterprises.
These pillars comprise various weighted criteria with a comparative
analysis done for the leading Android smartphone brands.
The findings are a part of Counterpoint Research’s latest whitepaper
titled “Nokia Phones Lead the Trust Rankings based on Software,
Security Updates and Build Quality”
Highlighting the whitepaper findings, VP & Research Director, Peter
Richardson, noted, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made the world even more
digitally connected than before.
According to him, with smartphones being devices that are always-on
and connected, they are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks which are
growing both in frequency and severity.
This is the second successive year where Nokia phones lead the global
rankings in providing the fastest software and security updates with
the highest share of portfolio recommended for enterprises.
Nokia phones lead across the price tiers in providing the fastest
software and security updates; Nokia phones are also joint first in
providing the latest software updates across their portfolio.
Nokia phones also lead in build quality by applying tougher tests than
the industry average.
“This makes software and security updates for Android smartphones a
critical aspect. Due to the pandemic, there have been changes in the
work environment with many more people working remotely.
“This situation calls for an enterprise-grade security solution for
data security, to block malware, and to prevent things like phishing
attacks.
“For the second year in a row, Nokia phones have topped our rankings
in providing the most comprehensive software and security updates and
it has the highest share of portfolio recommended for enterprise use”.
“The performance of Nokia phones continues to be a competitive
advantage over the rest of the smartphone brands in the Android
ecosystem”.
He further noted that, “98% of Android smartphone brands still offer
inconsistent software and security updates or none at all. OnePlus
also did well by providing faster software updates to all its devices
currently selling in the market followed by Samsung and realme.”
“In a crowded smartphone market, every manufacturer is trying hard to
differentiate its offering from its competitors. From design and build
quality, to screen size and the number of cameras, a lot goes into
this effort to differentiate”.
“The software that the smartphone runs on is also an important
consideration. Consumers should expect it to be updated regularly to
ensure that potential security vulnerabilities are kept at bay and new
features are delivered as they become available”.
Commenting on the performance of smartphone brands, Global Content
Manager, Ritesh Bendre, highlighted, “Some brands focus on keeping
their products up-to-date, while others only issue software and
security updates after a considerable delay.
He disclosed that regular software and security updates helps not just
the overall device experience, but also helps devices retain their
value over time.
To him, “surprisingly, there are top 10 smartphone manufacturers that
don’t have any clear strategy to inform customers whether their
devices are eligible for security and software updates. We think this
issue will become increasingly important as consumers keep their
smartphones for longer and rely on them more. Nokia and OnePlus
devices have done well here.”
Commenting on build quality results, Associate Director, Tarun Pathak
commented, “The build quality pillar was evaluated on several criteria
including product robustness, force measurement, drop and impact,
fatigue, wear and scratch, thermal tests, moisture and liquid tests,
and others which included both qualitative and quantitative
observations.
“We found that Nokia phones undergo tougher tests than the industry
average. We therefore concluded that, when considered alongside the
faster software and security updates the strong build quality means
Nokia phones will last the test of time which is increasingly
important at a time when global device replacement cycles are getting
longer, now approaching 30 months.”