Samsung may follow Google and give the Galaxy S24 updates for 7 years

The latest software, for longer

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It was a pleasant surprise when it was announced that theGoogle Pixel 8and theGoogle Pixel 8 Prowould be gettingseven years of updates– meaning new Android versions all the way to 2030 – and it would seem thatSamsungis going to follow suit, to some extent, with its upcomingGalaxy S24phones.

According to unconfirmed information obtained byAndroid Headlines, the Samsung Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, andGalaxy S24 Ultrawill all also get seven years of updates direct from Samsung – up from the current five years of support.

This hasn’t come completely out of the blue, because Samsung was reportedly mulling the increaselast year. It would also make sense for the company to keep pace withGoogleand its flagship Pixel phones when it comes to software updates.

Everything about the Samsung Galaxy S24 series should be revealed this Wednesday, January 17, when Samsung isholding its next Unpacked launch event. If the rumors that we’ve heard so far are to be believed, we could seeplenty of AI featuresincluded, alongside the usualperformance upgrades.

Keep me updated

There are actually two types of software updates to know about. The first type is the major Android version update – so most recently,Android 14. This is where you get all of those shiny new features for your mobileoperating system, which with Android 14 includes more customization options for the lock screen, for example.

Then there are security software updates, that usually carry on for longer than major version updates. While these updates don’t come with any big new features for you to play around with, they do keep your device protected against the newest security threats.

Once these updates stop, your phone doesn’t immediately turn into a brick – you can still make use of it, but the hardware and software will become increasingly vulnerable to bugs and hacks. That’s why software support time periods are so important.

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Google’s seven year promise for the latest Pixels covers both major version updates and security software updates, butone tipstersays Samsung’s seven year pledge will only cover the latter. For reference, the most recentiOS 17update pushed out byAppleworks on iPhones going back to 2018.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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