Samsung says goodbye to one of its iconic Galaxy phones
Summary
- Samsung has finally ended software support for the Galaxy S20, which launched in 2020.
- The company extended the security support for the phone by a year in 2024.
- S20 FE and Note 20 series, which feature similar internals, should receive security patches for the next one or two quarters.
When Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 in early 2020, it promised three years of OS updates and four years of security patches. Based on this timeframe, software support for the phone should have ended in April 2024. However, in a surprising move, Samsung decided to provide security patches to the S20 series for another year, albeit once every quarter. Now, that time is also up, with the company dropping support for these devices entirely.
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Samsung’s updated Security Updates page drops the mention of the Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra from the list of devices eligible for quarterly security patches (via Android Authority). It’s typical for Samsung to downgrade its devices to a quarterly update cycle in the last year of their software support.
The Galaxy S20 FE and Note 20 series are still mentioned, as they launched later in 2020. These devices will likely receive security patches for the next two quarters before Samsung drops support for them, too.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 with Android 10 and One UI 2.1, with Android 13 and One UI 5.1 being its last major OS update, which released in late 2022. Add in two years of security patches after that, and Samsung has done well to support its 2020 flagship.
Since the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series share the same internals, Samsung could have again extended the former’s software support cycle for a few months. But the company had to draw the line somewhere.
Galaxy S20 marked the debut of several innovative features
The Galaxy S20 stands out in Samsung’s flagship smartphone lineup as the first to debut an Ultra model. It also marked the debut of the company offering an insane 100x Space Zoom feature on its phones.
Samsung ending software support for the Galaxy S20 does not mean you should go out and buy a new phone immediately. But if you are still using the company’s 2020 flagship as your daily driver, it’s time you upgrade to a newer device.
You can consider switching to one of Samsung’s newest flagships, which now promise seven years of updates. There’s even a special Galaxy S25 edition that will receive eight years of OS updates — until Android 23 in 2032.
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