Samsung remains the undisputed king of software updates in the world of Android smartphones. Samsung decided last year that it would provide four major OS upgrades to all flagships and its mainstream Galaxy A smartphones starting 2022, and it even extended the new long term update promise to devices launched in 2021.
Some manufacturers are trying to emulate Samsung, probably because they realized what the Korean giant is doing is worth copying. That said, the list of Galaxy devices eligible for four OS upgrades remains small right now as Samsung's policy was only announced last year, but it's about to get a little bigger come February. The Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra will, as you would expect, be eligible for four generations of OS upgrades.
The three Galaxy S23 models will launch running Android 13 and One UI 5.1 out of the box, so they will go all the way up to Android 17, followed by a year of security updates before official software support ends (although an update or two could still be released every now and then even after the fifth year of support if a critical issue, especially as far as device and user security is concerned, crops up).
Galaxy S23 series will be updated all the way up to 2028
People are basically going to be getting updates till 2028 if they decide to pick up one of the three Galaxy S23 models, which is a solid deal any way you look at it. And who knows, maybe Samsung will decide to start offering five years of OS upgrades to its devices in the near future and the Galaxy S23 series will be among the eligible devices, though that is wild speculation on our part.
Anyway, the gist here is that Samsung's fantastic software update policy is being extended to more Galaxy phones and will continue to do so in the coming years. And it's one of the reasons that you might want to keep in mind if you're out shopping (or shopping online) and decide to buy any of the three Galaxy S23 models once they go on sale next month.
