It has happened at least once before, and it seems to be happening again. Samsung has gone ahead and released the security patch for the upcoming month for one of its devices, before Google has released official details of what that patch entails or rolled it out for its Pixel phones. The device in question is the Galaxy J3 (2017), which is receiving an update in the Netherlands and Luxembourg with the April 2018 security patch. We don't have the J3 (2017) in our possession at the moment so we can't confirm anything, but the details for the latest firmware for the phone do include a mention of the April patch.
No one knows what the April 2018 security patch will fix
Naturally, there's no telling what or how many vulnerabilities the April patch will fix, though it won't be long before Google makes the customary announcement on its website. If the new J3 (2017) update indeed packs next month's security patch, it would mark yet another instance of a budget Samsung phone getting the latest security update before devices in the flagship lineup. If recent history is any guide, the next device to get the April 2018 patch would probably be from the Galaxy A lineup, while Samsung's flagships might be waiting around till the end of April (or maybe even longer) for the same.
We're working on getting confirmation that the update does indeed come with the April patch, but if you have the Galaxy J3 (2017) and live in the Netherlands or Luxembourg, try downloading the update from the Settings » Software update menu and letting us know the security patch date you see in the About phone section of the phone's settings. You can also update using the full firmware files from our database.
Update: We can now confirm that the J3 (2017) update does include the April patch. See the screenshot below.
Firmware Details:
Model | SM-J330F |
Model name | Galaxy J3 |
Country | |
Version | Android 7.0 |
Changelist | 13297845 |
Build date | Mon, 26 Mar 2018 23:59:57 +0000 |
Security Patch Level | 2018-04-01 |
Product code | PHN |
PDA | J330FXXU3ARC5 |
CSC | J330FPHN3ARC5 |