Once the darling of the big and bold Samsung phones, it could soon be time to put your Galaxy Note 20 out to pasture. And if you have one Samsung Galaxy S20 series phone, it could also go the way of the dodo.
That’s because Samsung’s latest Patch notes for April has indicated that all models from the aforementioned Galaxy series will no longer receive monthly security updates. This pushes them towards the end of their lifespan and can expose the phones to cybersecurity threats and bugs.
This is expected as these models were released in 2020 and operational support has already ended. The One UI 5.1 update based on Android 13 was the last update these models received and they will not receive the latest updates for 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 ran Android 10 at launch, meaning 2024 will be the last year with security updates.
This is a normal part of the lifespan of phones, with updates occurring less and less frequently until a device eventually no longer receives an OS or security update from the manufacturers. While these phones will still function, less frequent updates may make them more vulnerable to the latest threats and malware. Additionally, newer versions of apps may become less stable over time and may even stop working altogether on older devices.
Any critical threats found will likely still be patched, but even these critical updates become less likely as time goes on and fewer people use these phones. Ultimately, users of these older devices will need to consider updating to something more modern at some point if they want to ensure their devices are secure and all their apps continue to work properly.
The Galaxy Note S20 and Note S20 Ultra were notable (no pun intended) for being the last phones in the Galaxy Note series, with that line somewhat replaced by the Ultra models, which were a major flagship of the Samsung Galaxy series have become. .
If you’re still using a Galaxy S20 or Galaxy Note 20 handset and want to upgrade, check out our list of best phones to see our recommendations.