Google has begun requiring that OEMs roll out regular security patches

For Android, one of the biggest problems the platform has faced has been getting everyone on the same level when it comes to security patches and updates. Over the years, progress has been made but there's still more work to be done and Google knows that, as highlighted in their "What's new in Android Security" talk held by Google's head of Android platform security and coincidentally enough, former BlackBerry employee David Kleidermacher.

As part of the discussion, Kleidermacher highlighted how Project Treble will help OEMs with getting patches and updates out to customers but he also laid down a new piece of info that highlights one other way they're looking to improve the situation.

We've also worked on building security patching into our OEM agreement. Now this will really lead to a massive increase in the number of devices, and users, receiving regular security patches.

That change is pretty significant in that it essentially forces OEMs to get security patches out to users as part of their agreement in using Android. Still, we'll have to wait and see how that plays out over time plus, it doesn't address the fact that often, it's not the OEMs that are the bottleneck for updates. It's the carriers.

For their part, BlackBerry and BlackBerry Mobile have issued updates at a pretty steady pace, especially when compared to other OEMs, but there have still been small periods of time where updates haven't arrived as expected. Kleidermacher didn't expand further on what "regular" updates actually means but hopefully it'll improve the overall situation over time. You can check out the full talk below.