Editor's note: 4 April 2024
Samsung has clarified that the information provided on its security bulletin website, which serves as the basis for this story, was inaccurate regarding the update frequency for Galaxy Note 20, Note 20 Ultra, and Galaxy S20 FE. These devices will continue to receive monthly updates for another six months before transitioning to quarterly updates, with support ending later in the year. The original story follows unchanged as it was originally published.
Once the darling of big and bold Samsung phones, it could soon be time to put your Galaxy Note 20 out to pasture. And if you have a Samsung Galaxy S20 series phone, it too could be going the way of the dodo.
That's because Samsung's latest April patch notes has flagged that all models from the aforementioned Galaxy series will no longer get monthly security updates. This pushes them towards an end-of-life status and could leave the phones open to cyber security threats and bugs.
This is expected, as these models were released back in 2020, and operating support has already ended. The One UI 5.1 update based on Android 13 was the last update these models received, and they won’t be receiving the latest updates to One UI 6 or Android 14.
What does this mean for Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20 users?
The Samsung Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 20 were running Android 10 at launch, which means 2024 is the last year of security updates.
This is a normal part of the lifespan of phones, with updates becoming less frequent until a handset eventually no longer receives any OS or security update from the manufacturers. While these phones will still function, with less frequent updates they can become more vulnerable to the latest threats and malware. In addition, over time newer versions of apps may become less stable and could even stop working on older devices entirely.
Any critical threats found will still likely be patched, however, even these critical updates become less likely as time passes and fewer people are using these phones. Ultimately, at some point, users of these older devices will have to consider updating to something more up-to-date if they want to ensure that their devices are secure and all their apps continue to work properly.
The Galaxy Note S20 and Note S20 Ultra were noteworthy (no pun intended) for being the last of the Galaxy Note series of phones, with that line having been somewhat replaced by the Ultra models, which have become a mainstay flagship of the Samsung Galaxy series.
If you’re still using a Galaxy S20 or Galaxy Note 20 handset and are looking to upgrade, check out our best phones list to see our recommendations.
