Samsung Promises 3 Major OS Updates For Select Phones

Samsung is taking a bold step forward by committing to an extended update cycle. It has officially announced that it will be providing its current crop of devices with three generation of Android OS updates. This will effectively allow many users to experience three major OS updates with a single device, which is something of a rarity among Android smartphones.

The following are devices that are eligible for for this ‘extended-life’ plan:

Galaxy S series:
Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, S20 Ultra, S20+ 5G, S20 5G, S20 in addition to S10 5G, S10+, S10e, S10 Lite and upcoming S series devices.

Galaxy Note series:
Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G, Note20 Ultra, Note20 5G, Note20, Note10+ 5G, Note10+ 5G, Note10, Note10 Lite and upcoming Note series devices.

Galaxy Foldable devices:
Galaxy Z Fold2 5G, Z Fold2, Z Flip 5G, Z Flip, Fold 5G, Fold and upcoming Z series devices

Galaxy A series:
Galaxy A71 5G, A71, A51 5G, A51, A90 5G and select upcoming A series devices

Tablets:
Galaxy Tab S7+ 5G, Tab S7+, Tab S7 5G3, Tab S7, Tab S6 5G4, Tab S6, Tab S6 Lite and upcoming Tab S series devices

This means that devices such as the S20, which was released with Android 10, will see three major Android OS updates starting with Android 11, before being phased out. This is a commendable move by Samsung, because it will allow customers to keep their phones for a longer period of time without worrying about app compatibility or security issues.

Many critics have liken this move to Samsung shooting itself in the foot, but we believe the contrary to be true. One of the main reasons why Android users flock to the iPhone is due to the relatively long update life-cycle. Apple faithfully pushes updates to phones for several years, choosing to phase out those that are about 5 year or older.

Samsung is simply taking a page out of Cupertino’s book, with its extended life cycle program. This way, customers will stick with their phones for a longer period, which increases the chances of them purchasing another Samsung when the time eventually comes for them to upgrade.