South Korean firm extends security updates for its devices

Feb 22, 2021 16:52 GMT  ·  By

Samsung has just announced that its phones and tablets would be provided with up to four years of security updates, with the new policy to apply to all devices launched since 2019.

In other words, phones and tablets launched by the South Korean company would now benefit from an extra year of security updates, and this is without a welcome change, especially as Samsung previously confirmed three major system updates for its new devices.

In the first two years after launch, each phone and tablet would get monthly security updates, while beginning with the third year, the company would ship these updates on a quarterly basis. In the fourth year, Samsung says the updates would go live regularly, without actually sharing more specifics on the schedule it intends to use.

“Samsung Electronics announced today Galaxy devices will now receive regular security updates for a minimum of four years after the initial phone release. By extending support for security updates delivered on a monthly or quarterly basis, Samsung is giving users peace of mind knowing their data is protected for as long as they use their Galaxy device,” the company says.

Devices getting four years of security updates

Here’s the full lineup of devices that are eligible for the four years of security updates (released in 2019 or later):  

  • Galaxy Foldable devices: Fold, Z Fold2 5G, Z Flip, Z Flip 5G
  • Galaxy S series: S10, S10+, S10e, S10 5G, S10 Lite, S20 5G, S20+ 5G, S20 Ultra 5G, S20 FE 5G, S21 5G, S21+ 5G, S21 Ultra 5G
  • Galaxy Note series: Note10, Note10+, Note10+ 5G, Note20 5G, Note20 Ultra 5G
  • Galaxy A series: A10e, A20, A50, A11, A21, A51, A51 5G, A71 5G
  • Galaxy XCover series: XCover FieldPro, XCover Pro
  • Galaxy Tab series: Tab Active Pro, Tab Active3, Tab A 8 (2019), Tab A with S Pen, Tab A 8.4 (2020), Tab A7, Tab S5e, Tab S6, Tab S6 5G, Tab S6 Lite, Tab S7, Tab S7+