Samsung promises up to 5 years of security patch updates for some devices
Recently, Samsung has upped its game in terms of software support for its devices. A few years ago, the company refused to provide more than two OS updates for its flagships, but it has since extended this to three. By contrast, OnePlus has gone backwards and LG, despite releasing hardly any devices before rolling up its smartphone division, is yet to upgrade many of its recent devices to Android 11.
Now, Samsung has committed to providing up to five years of security updates to some of its devices. Typically, Android OEMs provide three years of security patch updates, although Samsung has already promised an additional year of coverage to devices released after 2019. Samsung's new update policy applies to Enterprise Edition devices, which include:
- Galaxy S20 series
- Galaxy S21 series
- Galaxy Note 20 series
- Galaxy XCover 5
- Galaxy Tab Active3
Samsung has not stated how frequently these devices will receive new security patches beyond a vague commitment to monthly or quarterly updates. It is also unclear if Samsung plans to exclude consumer versions of these devices from this five-year pledge. Android Authority believes that there is a 'good chance' that Samsung will provide the devices listed above with the five years of coverage regardless of their status, but the company has not publicly commented on the matter yet.
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