Samsung has become the best choice for Android users looking for reliable software support. There were promises of four Android upgrades and a five years of security fixes for both the flagship and affordable Galaxy S, Z, and A series of models that came into market after the Galaxy S21. Three Android upgrades with five years of patching were all that Google provided. The heavy software layer that was applied to Android was called TouchWiz, and it was terrible. It performed worse, looked awful, and you were never promised software updates; the ones you did get were usually out of date.
However, that was before Google suddenly overthrew Samsung, as it had established itself as the king of Android updates. As a summary, it can be said that an affordable Galaxy A54 will outlast Google’s software-focused Pixel 7 Pro. After using its own proprietary CPUs in Pixel phones, Google has been promising seven years of Android updates and security patches for the Pixel 8 series, which will keep the device current until 2030. With the October Pixel event, Google has fulfilled a promise everyone had been hoping for ever since it began using its own CPUs in Pixel phones.
While this is an amazing accomplishment, it is awaited to see how Samsung will react. Although Qualcomm is a major hurdle in the way, it will be great to see Samsung fulfill Google’s latest update promise. Devices like the OnePlus X will not receive the promised upgrades as Qualcomm will no longer be releasing new drivers. It is possible to update an outdated device’s drivers, but it is labor-intensive, unpredictable, and may result in performance issues. As of now, Samsung employs Exynos processors, although it would serve as a wake-up call for Qualcomm. Samsung powered the Galaxy S10+, S20 Ultra, S21 Ultra, and S22 Ultra. However, Snapdragon-powered devices outperformed others.
Extended software support is only important if the phone is worth keeping for too long. It is great to avoid devices that have the same performance problems as prior Exynos CPUs. It will be great to look into a future Exynos CPU from Samsung if they can really turn things around and provide something that’s on par with the Snapdragon.
