Back in 2017, Samsung stunned the world with the Galaxy S8 series smartphones. The new design theme with slimmer bezels and high-end specifications made for a highly desirable Samsung flagship. Four years after its launch, Samsung is now dropping software support for the Galaxy S8 series. This means no more biannual updates and security patches.
Before you wonder why, note that Samsung only offers four years of software support on its flagship and midrange smartphones. Last year, Samsung confirmed delivering three years of OS updates and four years of security updates on the Galaxy S10 series and newer. Sadly, the Galaxy S8 series did not make the cut and only got two OS updates. The S8 was put on minimum support with biannual security updates.
Galaxy S8 series drops software support
When it launched in 2017, the Galaxy S8 was the first of many mainstream smartphones trying to reduce the display bezels. The S8 had a display with a slim chin and forehead, thereby having an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. Paired with the curved edges, the S8 was unarguably one of the most beautiful smartphones you could buy that year.
Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus
The Galaxy S9 was largely based on the Galaxy S8 with minute updates and a generation processor upgrade. The Galaxy S9 introduced variable aperture in cameras, something which the current-gen Galaxy S flagships lack. The S9 is also on life support with security updates coming biannually. Next year, Samsung will drop it from its support list.
In recent times, Samsung has worked a lot on its software update situation. Not only do the expensive Galaxy S, Note and Z series phones are regular on updates, but even the Galaxy A series and some M series phones are among the first few phones in their class to get the latest updates.
For example, the popular Galaxy A51 was one of the early few phones to get Android 11 along with the newer OneUI interface. This year’s Galaxy A52 is expected to get three OS updates in its life.
Currently, Samsung is expected to bring the Galaxy A52 5G to India in the coming weeks. The Galaxy M41 5G is already Samsung’s first affordable 5G phone in India utilizing the Snapdragon 750G chip and the A52 5G is also expected to use the same chipset.
