Samsung has just launched the Galaxy S22 series and Galaxy Tab S8 series at the Galaxy Unpacked event. They also announced their commitment to provide support for updates to the Android operating system for up to four generations.
With this new commitment, the Galaxy S22 series and several other Samsung flagship devices will get up to four operating system updates and five years of security updates.
"As part of our commitment to provide users with the best mobile performance and experience, the entire Galaxy S22 series will be supported for up to four generations of Android OS upgrades," Samsung said in an official statement, as quoted by The Verge.
"Now millions of Galaxy users can take advantage of security, productivity, and other exciting new features, for a longer time. Samsung will enhance these efforts across our product lineup to ensure you are fully supported across the Galaxy ecosystem."
Usually Android phones get operating system updates three times and security updates for the same duration. Even Google only provides Android updates for three years and security updates for five years for Pixel phones.
Although Samsung's new commitment is quite impressive, their efforts are still inferior when compared to Apple. Look, the iPhone 6s from 2015 is still getting the iOS 15 update, although it's missing some new features.
There are 12 Samsung devices that are guaranteed to get Android updates for up to four generations. Owners of the Galaxy S21 series don't need to worry because the 2021 flagship devices also get the same support.
But, judging from Samsung's wording, it's likely that the Android update that users will receive will vary depending on the model, age of the phone, and country.
Here's a list of Samsung phones and tablets that will receive Android updates for up to four generations:
Samsung Galaxy S22
Samsung Galaxy S22+
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21
Samsung Galaxy S21+
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3