Owners of older Samsung phones may have noticed their devices slowing down following the latest update to the Android OS, but is the tech giant really trying to kill off the likes of the Galaxy S5 with unnecessary bloatware?
One user of Reddit named AdmiralCole seems to think so. He took to the site to suggest that apps such as Samsung Plus “bogged down the phone to a crawl”. AdmiralCole went on to suggest that the battery life was cut in half and came to the conclusion that it was because Samsung wanted owners of older phones and tablets to upgrade not just their software, but their hardware too.
Related: Android Marshmallow review
While we wouldn’t like to comment on the veracity of these accusations, it isn’t the first complaint to surface since users upgraded to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Battery life, problems with Wi-Fi, phone freezes and other issues with apps have all been reported to phone networks in recent months.
To solve the problem, AdmiralCole resorted to rooting his S5 using a guide on YouTube. Since then, the battery has apparently begun to work as normal and the freezing and lagging have disappeared. The two-year-old phone, now “runs like the day I bought it”, according to the Admiral.
Related: 12 Best Android Phones in 2016
We wouldn’t necessarily recommend rooting your phone, but since this software update seems to have affected tablet users as well, we created this how to speed up your Android tablet guide to help you out.
TrustedReviews has contacted Samsung about AdmiralCole’s claims and will provide an update once we hear back.
Related: Samsung Galaxy S8 news, rumours and specs
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Have you been affected by the Marshmallow updates or tried rooting your phone? Leave a comment below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.