Samsung has downgraded the security update schedule for the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Note 20 lineup from monthly to quarterly, as revealed by the company's April 2024 security patch bulletin that was published earlier today.
All Galaxy S20 models–the Galaxy S20, S20+, S20 Ultra, and S20 FE–will now get security updates once every three months. The same applies to the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
While Samsung usually downgrades the update schedule for devices based on when they hit retail shelves, the company has made an exception here by downgrading the Galaxy Note 20 lineup and the Galaxy S20 FE alongside the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra even though they came out six months after the OG Galaxy S20 trio.
However, what's surprising here is that Samsung will continue to support the Galaxy S20 series for a fifth year, even though it's officially eligible for only four years of updates. For the Galaxy S20 FE, Galaxy Note 20, and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, we can expect a support extension of six months.
All of these devices will likely be stricken from the list of supported devices entirely around the same time next year. They may get new updates after that if critical security threats are detected, though that is not something that happens too often for devices that are no longer officially supported with software updates.