Last year, Samsung announced that it will be providing up to three years of updates to its upper mid-range and premium Galaxy devices. And now, the company has confirmed that it will be extending security updates to a minimum of four years. In this post, we will discuss the latest security updates policy of Samsung and take a look at all the eligible Galaxy devices.
Samsung’s extended security updates
Over the years, Samsung has shown that it is committed to improving its software experience. From getting criticism for TouchWiz UI to praises for One UI – the company has lived it all. It has also been working on providing timely updates to its users. From last year, all high-end Samsung devices will receive at least three major Android updates. And to top it off, the company has promised a minimum of four years of security updates for its Galaxy devices.
“At Samsung, our number one priority is offering the best and most secure mobile experience to our users, and we’re constantly optimizing the security of our products and services.” – Seungwon Shin, VP & Head of Security Team
Eligible Devices
The security updates won’t be limited to premium and high-end phones. The majority of the phone launched in 2019 and onwards will be benefitted from this. The list of eligible devices spans across multiple lineups including the Z, S, Note, A, M, XCover, and Tab series. Following Galaxy devices (smartphones & tablets) will be getting security updates for four years since their initial introduction:
- Foldable devices: Fold, Fold 5G, Z Fold 2, Z Fold 2 5G, Z Flip, Z Flip 5G
- S series: S10, S10 5G, S10+, S10e, S10 Lite, S20, S20 5G, S20+, S20+ 5G, S20 Ultra, S20 Ultra 5G, S20 FE, S20 FE 5G, S21 5G, S21+ 5G, S21 Ultra 5G
- Note series: Note 10, Note 10 5G, Note 10+, Note 10+ 5G, Note 10 Lite, Note 20, Note 20 5G, Note 20 Ultra, Note 20 Ultra 5G
- A series: A10, A10e, A10s, A20, A20s, A30, A30s, A40, A50, A50s, A60, A70, A70s, A80, A90 5G, A11, A21, A21s, A31, A41, A51, A51 5G, A71, A71 5G, A02s, A12, A32 5G, A42 5G
- M series: M10s, M20, M30, M30s, M40, M11, M12, M21, M31, M31s, M51
- XCover series: XCover 4s, XCover FieldPro, XCover Pro
- Tab series: Tab Active Pro, Tab Active 3, Tab A 8 (2019), Tab A with S Pen, Tab A 8.4 (2020), Tab A7, Tab S5e, Tab S6, Tab S6 5G, Tab S6 Lite, Tab S7, Tab S7+
If you look closely, Samsung has excluded some of the budget devices under the A and M series from the list. We don’t get to see any phone with the 0x moniker. For instance, recent launches like the Galaxy M02 and M02s have not made the list. Similar is the case with Core-branded devices like the M01 Core.
Regular Updates
Another thing to note is that the company is promising regular updates for four years. In case you don’t know, Galaxy devices receive monthly, quarterly, and regular updates depending upon the model. The regular update here is the least frequent update among the three. Also, the availability of the update also differs according to the region, model, and carrier.
Move towards Right Direction
Nevertheless, the fact that Samsung has just announced extended security updates for over 130 models is big news. Right now, the South Korean tech giant is the biggest supplier of Android smartphones (and smartphones in general). This could cause the competing rivals to adopt a similar strategy in their products. At the end of the day, announcements like this work in the favor of the whole Android community rather than users of certain brands.
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