The Samsung Galaxy S24 series phones are here. But with all the talk about AI, you may have missed one of their most important upgrades.
The three new handsets – the S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra – will be supported by Samsung for no less than seven years. This means OS and security updates until 2031.
With devices running Android 14 out of the box, it should still be compatible with Android 21, assuming Google continues to release new major versions every year.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
This is the longest software support you’ll find on any Android phone, although Samsung wasn’t the first company to promise seven years.
As you may recall, Google’s 2023 Pixel 8 and 8 Pro also offer seven years of OS and security updates. And as an Android maker, Google’s phones will always get the new version first.
Samsung’s version of Android also looks and performs very differently. The Galaxy S24 phones run on top of the company’s latest One UI 6 skin, which adds many of the company’s own apps and subtle changes to notifications and quick settings.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Unfortunately, the seven years of updates seem to be exclusively for Samsung flagships. There’s no sign of cheaper Galaxy phones going beyond the current four years of OS updates and five years of security patches. However, we could see it for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 foldables, both due later in 2024.
Of course, just because a phone is supported for seven years doesn’t mean you’ll use it for that long. The S24’s hardware will likely be very obsolete by 2031, but it’s still nice to see Android phone makers committing to the longevity of their handsets, as users keeping their handsets longer is better for the environment.
You might also be interested in features exclusive to the S24 Ultra or AI features available on all three phones.
