In case you missed it: Galaxy S20 series getting a fifth year of updates

Back in August 2020, Samsung announced that it would start providing three major Android OS upgrades to its flagship smartphones and tablets and security updates for four years.

The Galaxy S20 series launched in early 2020 and was included in the list of devices eligible for Samsung's new support policy, and this year, the original three Galaxy S20 models ended their four-year run on retail shelves.

Select devices from 2019 and later get four years of security updates minimum

But the Galaxy S20 series will continue to get security updates for another year. Well, there's no guarantee that the extended support period will last a whole year, but the 2020 flagship lineup will get at least a few more updates than it was supposed to.

This is not completely surprising. Samsung has been known to release updates for some devices after the support period has expired. It also officially promises security updates to select devices launched in 2019 and later for “a minimum of four (4) years following their global launch,” so a few other older phones may get updates after four years as well.

Bonus Android OS updates are not a thing

While extra security updates are expected, there are no bonuses where Android OS updates are concerned. If your device is promised three Android version updates, it will get three Android version updates. Devices eligible for four Android OS updates will not get a fifth big update.

Samsung is also restricting its latest policy of a whopping seven years of OS and security updates to the Galaxy S24 series (and eight years of updates to select new enterprise edition devices). Flagship smartphones that launch in the future will likely be eligible for the new policy, but no older devices will get the courtesy.