Starting with the Galaxy S21 and S22 series, all Samsung flagships — and a handful of Galaxy-A mid-rangers — will get Android upgrades for four years and security updates for five years. The announcement made during the most recent Unpacked event builds upon the commitment Samsung made a year ago when the company promised four years of Android security updates on its high-end phones and tablets.
Back then, Samsung assured that the Galaxy Fold and Z Fold 2, and their respective generation clamshell foldables will be getting the aforementioned treatment, alongside Galaxy S phones. However, that doesn’t mean updates will be delivered at the same pace throughout that duration. As the phone ages, the update frequency will be reduced from monthly to quarterly, or even further. Either way, it was still a step in the right direction, with the company raising the bar further in 2022.
Samsung announced a fresh roadmap that includes four generations of Android updates and an assurance of security updates for a span of five years. The list of eligible devices includes flagships across the Galaxy S series and its foldable phones. Basically, the Galaxy S22, S22+, S22 Ultra, S21, S21+, S21 Ultra, S21 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 3, and the Galaxy Z Flip 3. All upcoming phones in the Galaxy Z foldable and Galaxy S flagship series will also follow the same update route. Interestingly, “select A series devices” set to arrive in the coming months will also be getting a similar update commitment from Samsung.
Samsung Closing The Gap With Apple
A reason for preferring iPhone over Android is the superior software update cycle. Take, for example, the iPhone 6s. In spite of being released all the way back in 2015, the iPhone 6s still runs the latest version of Apple’s operating system. No Android phone on the planet can claim such support when it comes to software updates, let alone major OS upgrades. A major reason that Google’s Pixel phones have become popular was the fact that they got updates quicker than any other Android phone, and for a longer duration. Samsung, on the other hand, has been lambasted in the past for its poor software update approach, sometimes even ignoring its high-end phones.
Over the past year, however, the company has made some major strides, delivering updates at a breakneck pace to its phones, both new and old, and now that welcome streak looks set to continue in 2022 as well. Even though it is nowhere close to what iPhone offers, four OS upgrades are better than what even Google promised Pixel 6 buyers. Not only does this make investing in a Samsung phone more worthwhile than ever before, but Samsung is not depriving tablet and smartwatch buyers either. Starting with the freshly launched Galaxy Tab S8 trio, all flagship Samsung tablets will get four OS upgrades and an extra year of security updates. Likewise, all Galaxy Watch 4 series smartwatches will be getting four years of One UI Watch and Wear OS updates from Samsung.
Source: Samsung