What happened just now? There could be half a billion Samsung Galaxy phone users who are still using them today; they should check for firmware updates. Because the impacted handsets are much older than the earliest smartphones that generally receive security upgrades, Samsung is sending a small but unusual update.
Samsung began distributing small upgrades this month for its Galaxy models that are many years old and no longer receive support, potentially reaching hundreds of millions of users. The Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S6 series, Galaxy S5 Neo (Vodafone’s version), and Galaxy A7 are among the models that are impacted.
Owners of the Galaxy S5 should check the settings app for the firmware version G903FXXU2BFG3. The Galaxy Alpha receives software version G850FXXU2CVH9, the Galaxy S6 phones receive G92xFXXU6EVG1, and the Galaxy A7 devices receive A750FXXU5CVG1.
Although Samsung hasn’t specified what the updates contain or why it received them, they seem to fix a GPS problem. A security fix is included in the A7 upgrade. Samsung hasn’t said much, but official updates for outdated technology typically fix significant security issues that could affect many users. Furthermore, the A7, S5, and S6 are not included on the official list of smartphones that are still receiving security upgrades.
Security patches for new Galaxy phones will be available for at least four years, according to a pledge made by Samsung last year. All Galaxy S10, Note 10, and A10 devices from 2019 are the earliest models that the company officially supports.
For comparison, Apple just made a crucial iOS security upgrade available for all iPhone models dating all the way back to the 2015-released 6s. Since most customers don’t always upgrade to the newest versions, manufacturers should provide security updates for as many of their products as they can.
Recent Galaxy phone owners should eagerly anticipate Android 13, which will launch on a variety of Android handsets later this year. The new OS came preinstalled on Google’s most recent Pixel phones, although it is still unknown which Samsung models it will support. The following version of iOS, which supports all iPhone models back to the 2017 iPhone 8, is also being prepared for release by Apple this year.
