Last week Google extended their software support policy to a bonkers 7 years with the Google Pixel 8 series. This became a big headline for not only Google but for Android in general. Now Samsung also talks about updating their software support policy.
Samsung currently provides 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patch updates. And the company does it quite fast. The latest patches usually become available between the middle to the end of the month. This timely rollout process has definitely taken the company I heavy investment in it.
For example, Samsung rolled out the October 23 security patch for the midrange Galaxy A54 within the first week. Samsung is also in the forefront of OS upgrades. They rolled out the Android 13 with OneUI 5 for most of their mid-range and premium devices before the end of last year. And this year’s story is likely to be similar. The Galaxy S23 series has already reached the 6th update of OneUI 6 beta.
The current scenario regarding software support
After the iPhones that provide 5 major iOS updates, Google joins the team. And this very event has seemingly led Samsung to get in talks about restructuring their update policy to maintain their position in this regard.
Last week, Samsung hosted its annual developer conference in San Francisco. During the event, Shin-Chul Baik, Principal Engineer, and Technical Program Manager of Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX) Security Team, addressed a question from SamMobile. He mentioned that the company has been in talks about extending security update support for its devices beyond the current five-year period.
The company official at the developer conference talked specifically about the security updates. But there are some specific traits in this industry. And following the track record in this regard it’s safe to say that there is a pretty good chance of seeing 6 or even 7 years of OS upgrades in a Samsung device going forward.
If Samsung extends their software support policy, it’s most likely to start with the Galaxy S24 series that is coming between January to February next year.
2023-10-10 15:07:31