Shawdesh desk:

Before the Google Pixel 8 launched, Samsung was the undisputed king in the Android ecosystem with its software support. The company promises four OS updates and five years of security patches for its mid-range and flagship devices. But then, Google took the game to a new level by promising seven years of OS updates and security patches for the Pixel 8 series. As it turns out, Samsung is also considering providing software support to the best Galaxy phones for longer than five years.

Samsung held its yearly developer conference in San Francisco last week. Responding to a question from SamMobile at the event, Shin-Chul Baik, Principal Engineer and Technical Program Manager of Samsung’s Mobile eXperience Security Team, noted the company has been discussing expanding security update support for its devices to more than five years. His response was not a knee-jerk reaction to Google’s announcement, as this is also Samsung’s vision.

Baik notes that Samsung has invested heavily in providing timely security patches to over 150+ Galaxy devices worldwide. The Korean giant currently updates over a billion devices monthly and over 10 billion devices annually. These figures become even more impressive when you consider that Samsung is typically the first every month to roll out the latest security patch, beating Google. Plus, the company rolls out the update for its mid-range and flagship Galaxy devices at almost the same time.

While some companies also promise five years of security patches for their devices, they can’t beat Samsung’s rollout speed. They typically release a security patch for their Android phone towards the middle or end of the month. The Korean giant seemingly worked closely with Google to achieve this. You can find Samsung’s current Galaxy models eligible for monthly, quarterly, or biannual security updates on the Samsung Security Updates page.

Samsung has also been quick in updating its premium and mid-range devices to the latest Android release in recent years. In 2022, the company rolled out Android 13 and One UI 5 to most of its devices by the end of the year. A similar story could repeat this year, as the Galaxy S23 series has already received its sixth One UI 6 beta, and the stable release is due for public release any day now. Other flagship and premium Galaxy phones should follow soon after.

It’s important to note that the Samsung executive only talked about security patches here, not One UI or Android OS releases. The company could promise longer security patches for its new devices while continuing to provide them with four OS updates. If Samsung plans to enhance its software policy, expect it to go official alongside the Galaxy S24 series launch next year. Current rumors suggest the Korean smartphone maker’s 2024 flagship phone might debut as early as January 18.