How should the AOSMark score be interpreted? The score is roughly the number of Android OS upgrades you should expect from an OEM excluding the initial version with which a device is launched. For example, Sony with a score of 1.63 will probably send 2 Android OS updates to their flagship phones and 1 Android OS update to their budget phones, where as LG with a score of 0.83 will probably send 1 Android OS update to their flagship phones and none to their budget phones.
Does the score include minor Android versions too? Yes and No; the score include only updates to Android versions that changed API levels*. For example, Android 7.0 -> 7.1 is considered one upgrade even though both their names are Nougat. But Android 7.1 -> 7.1.1 is not considered as an upgrade since their API level is unchanged. Additionally security updates and other minor updates are not counted.
* API levels mirror how Google manages Android versions and are the real indicator for significant changes in the Operating System.
How accurate is AOSMark? Our scores are meant to be directionally accurate. Aspects such as how many devices a manufacturer releases and how many are on the latest android version may skew the results a bit but they still would be generally in the same place in the list.
* The actual formula for manufacturer scores adjusts values slightly based on multiple complex parameters. So if you count everything by hand, expect to see a small discrepancy.
Why is a phone listed as having a particular version when it is not? Our data also includes devices that have beta Android versions (usually close to the release cycle).
What would the AOSMark for Apple be? We don’t track the scores for iOS devices because Apple does a good job of making latest iOS available to older devices. If we really had to pick a score it would be around 5-6. This is a high benchmark for Android ecosystem and Google.
Does the score factor in how quickly OS updates are released? We just track if an update was released – i.e. the score doesn’t consider how soon updates are released. We know the speed/quality is as important as the frequency of updates and may add it into the mix in the future.