Another day, another Samsung smartphone receives the May 2023 update in the US. The Korean firm is widely rolling out this month’s security patch to the Galaxy Note 20 series and Galaxy S21 FE stateside. The new SMR (Security Maintenance Release) contains patches for more than 70 vulnerabilities.
Samsung’s May update reaches more Galaxy devices in the US
The Galaxy Note 20 series was one of the first Samsung devices to get the May update in the US. The company began the rollout earlier this month but initially only covered factory-unlocked units. A few weeks later, it has now released the May SMR for carrier-locked models as well. Both Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are widely picking up this update. Depending on your network provider, the new firmware build number is N98*USQS4HWE3 or N98*USQS4HWE4. The update doesn’t bring anything apart from this month’s security fixes.
The Galaxy S21 FE also recently started receiving the May SMR in the US. The rollout began for carrier-locked units on Comcast’s network last week. Samsung doesn’t seem to have pushed the to devices on other networks. Meanwhile, unlocked units are now widely receiving the new SMR. The updated firmware build number is G990U1UEU6EWDA. While the build number suggests a feature update, Samsung’s official changelog doesn’t mention anything more than the latest security patch. Carrier-locked units didn’t get anything else either.
These updates may not bring anything notable for users, but the Galaxy Note 20 series and the Galaxy S21 FE are getting plenty of security fixes. As mentioned above, the May SMR contains more than 70 vulnerability patches. About 50 of those are Android OS issues, while the remaining are Galaxy-specific issues. At least six vulnerabilities patched this month were labeled critical issues by Samsung and Google. If you’re using any of these Galaxy smartphones in the US, watch out for a notification about a new update in the coming days.
Samsung is working on Android 14 but the Galaxy Note 20 series won’t get it
Android 14-based One UI 6 will be the next major feature update for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablets. The company has already begun work on this update. But unfortunately, the Galaxy Note 20 series won’t get it. The last note-branded phones debuted running Android 10 out of the box and will end their lives on Android 13. The Galaxy S21 FE, meanwhile, will get Android 14. The update may arrive late this year, or in early 2024. Stay tuned for Samsung’s One UI 6 beta programs.
2023-05-25 15:10:16