Latest news with #softwareupdates
Car and Driver
02-08-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Skipping a Software Update in a GM Vehicle Could Cost Owners Later
GM's policy for software updates on 2025 vehicles reveals that not updating on time could result in higher repair costs later, as reported by GM Authority. Owners must install the over-the-air updates within 45 days of the update becoming available. If they do not, any damage related to the out-of-date software will not be covered by the warranty. In a world of constantly changing technology, it can be hard to keep up. Applications and operating systems are constantly being improved, pushing updates to your phone, laptop, other smart devices—and nowadays, even cars. Sometimes we don't update right away, however, whether it's out of laziness or fear that the updated system will introduce new bugs of its own. But if you own a vehicle built by General Motors, you won't want to procrastinate, as delaying an update could cost owners big time. According to GM's official Limited Warranty and Owner Assistance Information booklets, owners need to install over-the-air updates within 45 days of the update becoming available, as reported by GM Authority. If owners do not install the update within that period, any resulting damage caused by the failure to perform the update will not be covered by the vehicle's warranty. This applies to 2025 and 2026 models and includes all four brands under GM's umbrella: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. Michael Simari | Car and Driver Over-the-air software updates are becoming increasingly common in the automotive world. GM has been rolling out a new electronic architecture that allows for OTA updates that fix bugs, improve performance, and sometimes add new features without forcing the owners to bring their car to the dealership. However, leaving it up to the customer to install the update means that some updates might get missed, and if something goes wrong later due to that uncompleted update, we now know it could lead to an expensive dealership visit. For those who tend to wait on updates to make sure all the bugs are ironed out, GM's policy states that that won't be an issue, stating, ". . . if an Over-the-Air software update causes damage to the vehicle, that damage will be covered for the applicable warranty coverage period." Since any new bugs would be fixed for free, the best move seems to be to install any OTA updates as soon as they become available. We've reached out to General Motors for clarification on the policy and will update this story if we hear back. Caleb Miller Associate News Editor Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
Phone Arena
31-07-2025
- Phone Arena
The Galaxy S24 didn't get updated on time, but should you trust Samsung to do better next time?
For years, one of the biggest downsides of Samsung smartphones has been how slowly they get major software updates. Whenever Google released a new version of Android, Samsung users with older devices would often be left hanging out to dry. Even if that Android version debuted on a new Galaxy device, owners of older Galaxies would wait for months before receiving the update for their devices. Now, Samsung appears to be addressing the issue by changing its release strategy. Instead of debuting major Android and One UI versions with its Galaxy S series, the company may do it with the Galaxy Z series. Then, with the Galaxy S series, Samsung may introduce One UI X.5 updates with major new features, redesigns, and software enhancements. On the surface, that move is about Samsung following the new Android schedule. This year, Google moved the OS releases from October to June, which is why the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Galaxy Z Flip 7, and Galaxy Z Flip FE could be the first phones to run Android 16 and One UI 8 out of the to handle such a release only a month after the official launch of Android 16 was an impressive feat for Samsung. It is also a signal that the Korean company may be on the verge of a beautiful change. However, a technical change is far from enough to make me consider the bigger issue of updating its older devices solved. After all, launching new phones is awesome and supporting old phones is wholesome, but keeping your users updated is essential. One UI 7 on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, long before older Galaxies got updated to it | Image credit — PhoneArena To say that Samsung dropped the ball with One UI 7 would be the understatement of the year. Based on Android 15, Samsung's software suffered delays from the get-go, but the company never talked about dropped Android 15 in mid-October last year along with the Google Pixel 9 series. Typically, Samsung releases a beta of the new OS shortly after it's available on Pixel phones, and follows it with a public rollout in a few months. That's not what happened with Android 15 and One UI 7 . The first One UI 7 beta was released for Galaxy S24 devices in December 2024, which was already a months-long delay. For a short while, it appeared that Samsung was catching up as beta releases were flowing steadily, and the Galaxy S25 series launched with One UI 7 pre-installed and fully functional in February. One UI 8 Beta | Image credit — Samsung' After that launch, things went astray again, and Samsung didn't even mention an update for its older phones for over a month. Finally, in March, the company broke radio silence and announced a release date in April for the update. When the update finally started rolling out, the joy was short-lived. Just a few days later, Samsung halted the release because of an unexpected bug. By the time the update was finally rolling out again, One UI 8 leaks had started popping up. Even if it misses on features, Apple delivers every iOS update in a very predictable manner | Image credit — PhoneArena I am sure that many of you would blame me for being too harsh on Samsung, but I can't overlook how things look from the other side. Apple announces new iOS versions at WWDC and releases them in September, along with the premiere of new iPhone models. Last year, Apple announced the iPhone 16 series on September 9, followed by the launch of all models on September 20. Those were the first devices to get iOS 18 out of the box, but the software release was already available for older devices. Apple shipped the iOS 18 update for all devices released after 2018 on September 16, 2024. While the scale of Apple's blunder with Apple Intelligence is similar to the One UI 7 fiasco, the company has at least delivered its updates in a very predictable manner for years. Samsung's only excuse – One UI is based on Android, so it's dependent on external factors – would've been a valid one if the company wasn't boasting about its close relationship with Google. While Android updates aren't as crucial as they once were, clear communication and the feeling that you'll be treated as a valuable user even if you have an older device is Apple as your main competitor makes it crucial. One UI 8, based on Android 16, was launched with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 | Image credit — PhoneArena It's not all bad for Samsung. For years, Android phones were not only slow to get new OS versions, but they also didn't receive that many updates. Samsung is now leading the way, promising up to seven years of major Android updates for its most popular devices. Such a promise makes the release schedule even more important, and Samsung may be aware of the issue. Android Authority reports that the company started following the same development process that helped Google speed up and streamline its own release schedule. The first result of it is the One UI 8 release along with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 . However, Samsung hasn't announced an official date when older devices will receive the Android 16 -based software. We can only guess that the final release is close, because One UI 8 for the Galaxy S25 series is currently in its third beta. That highlights Samsung's efforts to fix the issue, but also its biggest failure. We keep hearing about internal improvements mostly from external sources and leaks. Leakers and analysts are also the main source of information about One UI 8 on older devices. Instead, Samsung should start talking about its software plans more openly and manage user expectations. Taking control of the conversation about the software updates might feel risky because you can't break a promise you haven't made. However, keeping your fans in the dark only exacerbates their confusion and doubts. I hope Samsung uses this moment to learn its lessons. If the rumors are true, the technical teams may have already done it. Now it's time for the communications teams to demonstrate that they're not falling behind and make us believe the One UI 7 story won't repeat.
Motor 1
31-07-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
Ignoring Over-the-Air Updates for Your Car Could Cost You Thousands. Here's Why
Over-the-air software updates are a game-changer. Whereas before cars had to go to a dealer for a simple software update, costing everyone involved time and money, now automakers can push out important fixes and improvements while their customers' cars sit parked. But customers are responsible for making sure their vehicles are updated, and the consequences for not doing so could be expensive. GM Authority brought our attention to an interesting stipulation in the warranty booklets for 2025 and 2026 GM cars . The booklets say, "The owner is responsible for ensuring all [brand]-provided Over-the-Air software updates are installed within 45 days of software availability to the vehicle. Damage resulting from failure to install Over-the-Air software updates is not covered." In other words, if a part of your car fails because you didn't do the software update in time, it's your responsibility. A mistake that could prove costly in certain circumstances. We've all pushed off doing software updates on our phones, computers, etc., and the results usually aren't catastrophic. Often, forgoing a software update on, say, your phone could leave you vulnerable to cyberattack, but that's about the worst. A car, however, is a large, heavy object that operates at speed out in public. Putting off a software update could have serious consequences. On the flipside, GM says that "[i]f an Over-the-Air software update causes damage to the vehicle, that damage will be covered for the applicable warranty coverage period." So there's no need to worry about performing a software update. GM isn't the only one, either. Tesla's current warranty booklet states that "coverage may be excluded for issues arising from your failure to follow specific instructions and recommendations in your owner documentation, or from your failure to [i]nstall the vehicle's software updates after notification that there is an update available." If other automakers don't have stipulations like this for vehicles that receive over-the-air updates, we imagine that could soon change. Automakers don't want to be on the hook for a problem their customers could've prevented, and none want to pay out any more in warranty claims than absolutely necessary. So, if you get a notification for a software update in your car, just do it ASAP and save yourself a lot of trouble. More GM Software GM's New Technology Could Help You Avoid Crappy Roads GM Swears Ditching Apple CarPlay Was Still the Right Move Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
The Drive
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
How Rivian Is Future-Proofing Its EVs 7-10 Years Out
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Buy a Rivian today or tomorrow and it will gain new features, functionality, and different software interfaces for years to come unlike a Toyota or Honda. Rivian Chief Software Officer Wassym Bensaid told The Drive 'we like to think about 7 to 10 years' in terms of how long the automaker will upgrade the software within its vehicles. And Rivian's baking that plan into the development of its vehicles. Bensaid said the electrical architectures developed, which the automaker's now buttoning up its third that will debut in the smaller R2 electric crossover in 2026, are designed with that 7 to 10 year timeline in terms of headroom for upgradeability. A functional concept not seen anywhere else in the automotive industry outside of Tesla to date. But updates won't stop after just 7 to 10 years, as that timeline is simply limited to functional feature updates. Bensaid said 'for anything related to safety or security, it would go beyond those 7 to 10 years.' Bensaid noted that Rivian is developing its own operating system that runs on multiple sets of hardware and that the beauty of doing things this way, the hard way, is it's flexible and modern enough to run on different versions. 'It's not easy, it requires a lot of work,' Bensaid said. Staying far away from software updates that enable fart noises, Rivian's have gained Soft Sand mode along with low and high regenerative braking settings since the R1T and R1S launched. That's in addition to a myriad of other software updates, including one that redesigned the 15.6-inch touchscreen's user interface. Ford has updated the F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E's software multiple times enabling bits of extra functionality through the touchscreen. But the automaker's limited by its electrical architectures and outsourcing of components to simple tweaks. No Ford EV on sale today is going to suddenly ride better because of a free over-the-air (OTA) software update. The same can be said about most EVs on sale in the U.S. for the same reasons. The vertical integration and in-house developed electrical architecture at Rivian has paid dividends in this arena. Rivian R1S Quad performing a Kick Turn Joel Feder Joel Feder The upgradeability will be put further on display later this year. In September the Rivian RAD Tuner software and Kick Turn function will both arrive via a free (OTA) software update, but only for the 2026 R1T and R1S Quad. Cars are expensive. The average transaction price of a new car in May was $48,799 according to Cox Automotive . Trucks and large SUVs cost even more. Bensaid acknowledged cars aren't like smartphones stating, 'this is a big purchase and a lot of our customers will keep their cars for a long time, it's important for us that those cars feel fresh.' Bensaid is right about consumers keeping cars for a long time. The average age of a vehicle on U.S. roads today is 12.8 years, according to a S&P Global report. Sticking to the smartphone comparison, Apple typically provides consistent software updates for 5 to 7 years before deeming a phone obsolete, but it too continues to provide security updates after that timeframe. Addressing concerns of how a software-defined vehicle will operate in 12 years (sticking to that average age of a vehicle on the road today timeline), Bensaid said Rivian's will 'it will absolutely work' but that 'it just will not necessarily get new features.' 'I think that's the point where sometimes people don't necessarily get it, which is like, there will be no degradation, it will not be a brick, it will be a perfectly functioning car,' Bensaid said. Bensaid is open to evolving the mindset. 'We own our own destiny,' the exec said. Today's goal is to continue to update the automaker's vehicle software about every month, but things change. 'Maybe we'll change our opinion,' Bensaid said while noting maybe the automaker shifts its 7 to 10 year software upgradability to '9 to 11 (years).' At least Bensaid went up in terms of years and not down in his theorizing, which is great news for Rivian buyers. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
Entrepreneur
08-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Shipping Slow? Here's How European Entrepreneurs Can Pick Up The Pace in An AI-First World.
Businesses can boost their competitive streak by getting quality software updates into the hands of users in record time. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur Europe, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In 2025, even the largest software companies are recognizing that speed is the name of the game. With innovation in the U.S. and China leaps and bounds ahead of Europe, speed of is also being looked at across the continent as a lever to accelerate the pace of AI adoption. And in 2025, European policymakers are grappling with how to uphold the "EU's values-based regulatory model while catalyzing a homegrown AI industry." This is particularly true in the AI-first world we live in, with consumers and business customers drawn to the enterprises who are quick to offer the latest innovations and bring new products to market ahead of the competition. Companies also need to master the art of fast software deployment to maintain and improve live software products as quickly as possible once a performance issue or bug has been identified. For software engineers, DORA metrics are widely viewed as the gold standard. The performance framework provides a baseline for software productivity, but these metrics aren't being measured in a silo. It also considers how improvements are likely to drive business improvements and improve ROI. Here, it recognizes that elite engineering teams with fast-moving teams aim to balance speed with resilience, in environments where deploying 20 times a day is no longer rare. Until recently, deployment frequency was a footnote in board decks. Today, it sits next to ARR on the dashboard. When pipelines sputter, the cost isn't just velocity—it's revenue protection. If software development workflows aren't operating smoothly and efficiently, it has a direct impact on the bottom line and stands to undermine the company's competitive edge. For the region, faster software release times also promise to unlock overall economic improvements. For instance, AI companies on the continent received over €11Bn, helping to "drive automation and cost savings" across the continent with their technological developments. Yet releasing high-quality, bug-free software products in shorter time frames is much more challenging than one might imagine. It's important to get to grips with why this is the case. Here's how to address some of the most common reasons for slow software release cycles to recoup time and gain a first-mover advantage against others in the market. The problems caused by environmental sprawl First, we need to recognize the challenges associated with something we call environmental sprawl. Put simply, it refers to the significant increase in how many development environments are involved when building a software application today. In our experience, we frequently see engineering teams tasked with the maintenance of more than five disconnected pre-production environments, including staging and quality assurance (QA), to mention just a couple of examples. As a result, code updates have to hop back and forth between these various environments with distinct tests taking place at each stage before we can even think about deploying code into the production stage. Further, microservices communicate via a well-defined interface using lightweight APIs. However, API behavior is inherently complex, and it's unrealistic to place the burden on the shoulders of software teams with only manual methods. Not only is it almost impossible for them to keep pace with the volume of tests, but it also diverts their time and resources away from activities that can drive value for the organizations. Instead, AI-powered screening and automation tools can be leveraged to reduce the burden associated with API tests and environmental sprawl to keep microservices working smoothly and seamlessly. In summary, environmental sprawl is a direct contributor to slow release cycles. In addition, maintaining this messy and complex system is a drain on resources that only multiplies with app growth. Why code tests are draining bandwidth Since the early 2020s when cloud computing adoption rates and SaaS offerings exploded, computing infrastructures had to adjust. This marked the moment we largely moved from monolithic infrastructures to microservices, in which each application is built as an independent, lightweight component. What this did was allow organizations to adopt new services as needed, and for software engineers to have an infrastructure that supports flexibility, scalability and ease of maintenance. However, testing across these microservices can now be a mammoth task for teams, with a hidden productivity tax. This is a particular burden when we remember that the region has an ongoing shortage of AI software engineers and tech talent The key aspect is that a "shift left" testing approach is essential when it comes to interconnected microservices. Without this, testing happens late leading to long feedback cycles as code gets reworked after being tested in various environments. Current product release cycles demand that each developer has to wait for a deployment window, fight for staging access or work out which of the many changes broke the build. Further, microservices communicate via a well-defined interface using lightweight APIs. However, API behavior is inherently complex, and it's unrealistic to place the burden on the shoulders of software teams with only manual methods. In turn, it's created a complex and fragmented pipeline where multiple teams are involved in the process, from cloud engineers and software developers to DevSecOps. Not only does this make it harder to manage as there is no single team responsible, but every transition increases the likelihood that delays slip into the process, adding days or even weeks to the overall timeline. Reducing complexity to boost delivery speeds The good news is that there are proven ways to improve the speed of software release cycles and tackle the problems outlined above. When it comes to environment sprawl, modern stacks like Kubernetes and Service Mesh make it easier to implement multi-tenant environments. Multi-tenancy address the compartmentalized nature of current environments. Instead, developers can validate each change in isolation before adding to the main build and do fewer environments. AI should also be employed here to reduce the burden associated with test maintenance, debugging test failures and also helping decide which tests to even run. At Meta, predictive testing is a key component of continuous integration. When deployed in production the strategy was found to guarantee that "over 95% of individual test failures and over 99.9% of faulty changes are still reported back to developers." Developers can also use AI to rapidly test smaller changes without waiting for other teams or disrupting the overall product. AI-Powered Smart Testing, a recent product from the company I founded Signadot, is one such solution. Modern solutions for software deployment Although the industry has been grappling with a disjointed process, AI is here to help developers automate testing, handle validation, and move deployment cycles from weeks to days. The approaches outlined here can help to save costs, increase velocity and improve software quality. By employing these new strategies and techniques, companies can boost their competitive streak by getting quality software updates into the hands of users in record time.
