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Samsung's February 2023 security patch now on Galaxy S20 and Z Flip 4 in the US
And a whole bunch of other carrier-locked phones
For many great Samsung devices, February's monthly software update not only brings new security patches, but also a major move up to One UI 5.1. And, as we've come to expect in recent times, the company is doing a spectacular job at getting their updates around quickly. But it can't be instant gratification all over the place — we've got our eye on when American carriers are pushing the February 2023 monthly update to your Galaxy device.
Samsung's January 2022 security update is arriving for more phones internationally
Now available for the Galaxy A51 5G and several other A series phones
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Samsung used to be one of the worst companies when it comes to updates. Back in the TouchWiz days, software support for Samsung phones was absolutely abysmal. But the arrival of One UI saw a change of direction for the company, currently promising up to 3 years of major updates and 5 years of security patches — and actually doing a decent-ish job at rolling them out in a timely manner. Now Samsung's saying "happy New Year" a little early as the first January 2022 security patches for its phones (and specifically, for the Galaxy A51) start becoming available.
Samsung's January 2022 security update is arriving for more phones in the US
Now available for the T-Mobile Galaxy Note10 and Verizon Tab S7+
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Samsung's been doing its part to earn a reputation for delivering regular, reliable updates for all its phones, flagship and budget alike. That continues today as the unlocked Galaxy S21 series receives the January 2022 security patch, only a few days after international models.
Samsung's November 2021 security update is hitting more devices in the US
Now available for the Galaxy Note9 from Verizon
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Put those pumpkins away and bring out your string lights, because it's finally November. That frosty chill in the air doesn't just mean the holiday season is on the way — it also means it's time for another round of updates from Samsung. A week after international patches arrived on phones, the first set of devices is receiving new software stateside.
Samsung ships October 2021 security patch to more international models, Z Flip3 gets pet portrait mode
The update is also available for the Galaxy S10 lite and several A series phones
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It didn't take Samsung much time at all to start bringing a fresh security update to some of its phones. The company began with a handful of devices internationally, including the Galaxy S21 series, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3, and it's continued to come to more phones over the last few weeks.
The international Galaxy S21 is finally getting the June 2021 update after a delay
The camera is buttery smooth now
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Samsung started updating its phones with the June security patch before May was out, but the S21 series seemed to be having issues. Now things seem to be back to normal as the update is rolling out widely.The June patch first appeared for Korean S21 users on May 27th, but instead of rapidly spreading to more regions, things went quiet. Another June update rolled out a short time later but, like before, failed to reach any other countries. Whatever problems or bugs were plaguing the update seem to have been squashed, with the US S21 getting it yesterday and it reaching the UK today.As well as the usual security fixes, the cameras have gotten a significant improvement. Until now, switching lenses in the S21 camera app was far from smooth, stuttering, and lagging as it zoomed in and out. That's finally been fixed, and switching between the cameras is smooth and buttery.I got it on my UK S21 Ultra today, carrying G998BXXU3AUF6 as the build number and weighing in at 477MB. Hopefully, it will arrive in other regions soon.As always we'll continue to update this post as new devices get updated.
March Pixel update OTA and factory images are live (Update: Missing images for Pixel 3 and 3a)
Not all Pixel Feature Drop changes are present for everyone (yet)
Google has posted images for the March Pixel update to the usual spots for manual installation, if you're too impatient to see it roll out via the traditional means. However, although this month's update is supposed to correspond to the latest Pixel Feature Drop, some of the new features don't seem to be live in the March update just yet. As we noted in our prior coverage, some things may require app updates or server-side changes before they work. (Update: Though they're almost all live for me as of around two hours later.)
By all accounts, Essential doesn't have a whole lot going on right now. It launched one phone about 18 months ago and has been cutting staff ever since. If Essential is working on another phone, it hasn't seen fit to talk about that. So, what is there to do other than keep the Essential Phone updated? Another month, another instant update for Essential Phone owners.