The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is the company's new mid-range smartphone, and while buyers could be swayed by its specs and price, it appears software support will be another key selling point for the phone. Samsung has improved its software update policy in recent years and is now among the best in the industry at providing software support, even beating Google.
Software support has become a factor that can't be overlooked when purchasing a phone. In a market where it's the norm for manufacturers to cram the best specifications into a phone along with a competitive price tag, software upgrades and security updates have become a key deciding factor for buyers. Phones with good software support get regular updates with bug fixes and new features, and the longer a phone is supported, the longer owners can hold off before upgrading to a new device.
At its Galaxy Unpacked event for the Galaxy S22 series, Samsung announced that select phones in its Galaxy S, Galaxy Z, and Galaxy A lines would receive four OS upgrades and five years of security updates. In a press release for the Galaxy A53 5G, Samsung revealed that the new smartphone is among those devices that will be supported for the aforementioned duration. This means the Galaxy A53 5G will join the Galaxy S22 series and the Galaxy S21 series in receiving “four generations of One UI and Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates.”
Up To Android 16
The Galaxy A53 5G runs One UI 4.1 based on Android 12, and with four years of OS upgrades, it means the phone will be updated through to Android 16. Five years of security updates also ensures it will continue to receive security patches up until 2027. While the Galaxy A53 will be outdated by then, those who hold on to the phone for that long won't have to worry about the device running older software or being at risk to privacy and security vulnerabilities.
There aren't many Android smartphones that receive software updates for four years, with some mid-range phones only getting two OS upgrades at best. Most manufacturers provide only one OS upgrade for entry-level and mid-range smartphones with a few exceptions providing two. Now that Samsung has set such a high bar, it is hopeful that other brands will try to match it by improving the software support cycle for their own devices.
Source: Samsung