Seven years of updates not coming to Galaxy S23 and other existing devices

Firmware

Rumors had revealed that the Galaxy S24 series would be Samsung's first to be eligible for seven years of Android, One UI, and security updates, and the company confirmed as much at its Galaxy Unpacked event. But there's bad news for everyone who owns a Galaxy S23 or another older device, as Samsung says the seven-year update policy starts with the Galaxy S24 lineup.

This does not come as a surprise. While Google was able to offer seven years of updates to both its latest Pixel phones and some existing Pixel devices, Samsung probably isn't keen on doing the same because of how many phones it sells every year. Samsung is also more dependent on hardware sales than Google, which likely contributed to the company's decision to keep older devices out of its new update policy.

Could Samsung change its tune in the future? It's possible, but we wouldn't hold our breaths. For now, four generations of OS upgrades continue to be the maximum guarantee for anyone who owns a Galaxy device launched before 2024.

Galaxy S23, S23+, S23 Ultra, S23 FE, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Tab S9 can look forward to the One UI 6.1 update in the coming months. One UI 6.1 has some amazing new features that you can check out in the video below, but keep in mind that some of them may stay exclusive to the Galaxy S24 lineup.