American's Are Done With Updating Their Devices

Like death and taxes, software updates are something we have to deal with in life, but according to a new survey, the majority of Americans think they make devices worse instead of better. It shows that very few people install updates as soon as they’re available and many just don’t trust them, including 54% who believe updates are only used to push them toward premium features or device upgrades.

The poll of 2-thousand U.S. adults reveals that more than half (55%) think software updates are actually designed to only make sense to younger people. That feeling is even stronger for Gen Zers, as 63% of them believe updates are only designed for them. Over half of millennials (54%), Gen X (52%) and baby boomers (56%) agree.

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) think OS updates disrupt their daily use of their devices and 53% feel the same about app updates.
• All this leads 78% to avoid changing anything on their devices unless it’s absolutely necessary, suggesting a growing resistance to updates in general.
• In fact, when an update becomes available, only 20% install it immediately. Some wait a day or two (26%), or at least a week (30%) before installing it. And 15% don’t do it until they’re finally forced to.
• People say they’re hesitant to update their devices because they just forget an update is available (23%), or they’re happy with the current software and feel nervous about the new version being worse (22%), while others feel it takes too much time to install (15%), worry the update will reset or change their settings (15%) or add unwanted AI features (15%).
• Some have also been burned in the past, as 44% say app updates have negatively affected their ability to do tasks they could do before.
• For 40%, they need a few days to get comfortable with changes made by updates and 25% take weeks or months to get used to it, while 29% say they adapt within minutes.
• More than half (56%) admit they feel anxious or annoyed just before hitting “update,” but as soon as the update is installed, 35% say they feel happy and 23% feel excited.

Source: Talker