Reminder: Samsung’s 2020 smartphones won’t get Android 14

Samsung was providing the longest software support in the Android landscape until Google decided to leave everyone in the dust by promising seven years of OS and feature updates.

Samsung announced in 2020 that it will start providing three major Android OS upgrades to flagships and some mid-range devices, following a decade of offering only two major OS upgrades to most devices irrespective of their price tags. Soon after, the company further extended the eligibility for OS updates for flagships and select mid-range phones to four years.

The policy of four Android OS updates is still in place, and there are a lot of devices to which that policy is applicable. But does the policy include devices launched in the last four years, and will those devices all get Android 14? Some people think that is the case, but the reality is different.

The four-major-updates guarantee is only applicable to devices launched in and after 2021, so whether you bought something like the $1399 Galaxy S20 Ultra or a cheaper phone like the Galaxy A51, it will be stuck on Android 13 — and One UI 5.1/5.1.1 — forever.

Here are some of the popular Galaxy devices from 2020 that won't be getting Android 14/One UI 6:

• Galaxy S20/S20+/S20 Ultra
• Galaxy S20 FE
• Galaxy Note 20/Note 20 Ultra
• Galaxy Tab S7/S7+
• Galaxy A51/A51 5G
• Galaxy A71/A71 5G
• Galaxy Z Flip/Galaxy Z Flip 5G

This might be disappointing to hear considering many of Samsung's 2020 phones and tablets, especially flagship ones, have hardware that is still pretty capable, but it's not surprising as it has never been a criterion for how many updates a particular Galaxy phone or tablet will get, and it probably never will be.

If you care about having the latest software, your only option now is to upgrade to a device launched after 2020. Samsung has some excellent Black Friday deals ongoing at this time that can help you make the upgrade for a cheaper-than-usual price, though if you own a flagship phone that has received Android 13, sticking with it for another year before switching to a newer device makes more financial sense.