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More than 20 Samsung devices have already received the Feb 2022 security patches
Samsung has already pushed the February 2022 security patches to over 20 devices. Check out the post for more info on the rollout.
Samsung has been doing an excellent job of keeping its devices up to date with the latest security patches. The company started rolling out the Android security patches for February 2022 to its devices towards the end of last month, and the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy A50s were the first devices to receive the February 2022 patches. Over the last few weeks, Samsung has released One UI updates with the latest security patches to a bunch of other devices. Here's a quick rundown of all the Galaxy devices that have received the February 2022 patches so far.
Samsung rolls out October 2021 security patches to the Galaxy S21 series
Samsung has started rolling out October 2021 security patches to the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
We're still a couple of days away from moving into the next month, but that's not stopping Samsung from releasing October 2021 security patches for its flagship lineup. This isn't the first time the South Korean giant has started rolling out new monthly security patches even before publishing the security bulletin. For several months now, the company has consistently bested other Android OEMs in rolling out monthly security updates. And that trend continues this month with an early release of the October 2021 update for the Galaxy S21 lineup.
Samsung rolls out July 2021 patches to Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Note 10 series
Samsung has started rolling out the July 2021 security update to the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Note 10 series. Read on to know more.
Samsung has substantially improved its update game over the past couple of years. Not only the South Korean giant has improved the speed at which it delivers major Android updates to its portfolio, but it’s also become one of the fastest to deliver monthly security patches. In fact, for the past few months, it has been consistently beating most Android OEMs to the punch to roll out these critical monthly updates. Keeping up with this trend, Samsung rolled out the July 2021 security patch to the Galaxy Fold a few days ago, making it one of the first Android phones to receive the latest patches. It was only about time that other Galaxy flagships would follow suit. And that’s exactly what’s happening as Samsung extends the update to the Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Note 10 series.
Samsung phones with May 2021 security update are protected from Qualcomm's modem vulnerability
Samsung today confirmed that all Galaxy phones with the May 2021 security update are protected from the recently disclosed Qualcomm modem vulnerability.
Israeli security firm Check Point Research recently disclosed a flaw in Qualcomm's Mobile Station Modem that affects millions of Android phones worldwide. According to the firm, attackers can exploit this flaw to gain access to your text messages and phone calls, and even unlock your SIM card in some cases.
Samsung Galaxy A51 receives One UI 2.1 with April 2020 security patches
The Samsung Galaxy A51 has started receiving its One UI 2.1 update in multiple countries. The update weighs 1.2GB and brings April 2020 security patches.
The Galaxy S20 series and Galaxy Z Flip were the first phones to run the latest revision of One UI. Since then Samsung has brought the new update to several of its high-end phones such as the Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, and Galaxy Fold. After updating the Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite last month, Samsung has now begun rolling out One UI 2.1 to the Galaxy A51 in multiple regions, giving the same update treatment to its upper mid-range phone.
Google publishes April 2020 Android Security Bulletin and patches for Pixel devices
On the first Monday of this month, Google has released the April 2020 Android Security Bulletin and patches for Pixel 4/4 XL and the other Pixel phones.
Google has a monthly tradition of releasing new updates for its Pixel devices as well as publishing a new Android Security Bulletin. While the world around us seems to have come to a halt due to various lockdowns imposed by governments and authorities to contain COVID-19, Google is keeping up with this tradition. Google's April 2020 security patches along with some bug fixes specific to the Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL are now available.
How Monthly Android Security Patch Updates Work
Ever wondered how the monthly Android security patch updates work? Wonder no more, as we've got just the primer for you to understand the entire process.
Google has been publishing monthly security bulletins since August of 2015. These security bulletins contain a list of disclosed security vulnerabilities that have been fixed which affect the Android framework, Linux kernel, and other closed-source vendor components. Every vulnerability in the bulletins was either discovered by Google or disclosed to the company. Every vulnerability listed has a Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) number, along with associated references, the type of vulnerability, a severity assessment, and the AOSP version affected (if applicable). But despite the seemingly simplistic process behind how Android security patches work, there's actually a somewhat complicated back-and-forth behind the scenes that allows for your phone to get monthly or (hopefully) near-monthly patches.
Razer rolls out an update to the Razer Phone 2 with the September security patches
We're always happy to see Razer devices receive updates. The Razer Phone 2 is now being updated with the September 2019 security patches.
Razer is a company that is in a unique situation in the Android ecosystem. Smartphones are not a large part of their business. Even though they acquired a smartphone company back in 2017, the company has only produced two smartphones, both in the niche "gaming phone" category. Software support has been a bit of an adventure for these devices so it's always exciting when we see an update. The Razer Phone 2 is getting an update right now.
Samsung Galaxy S9 update brings scheduled Night Mode and February security patches
The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are receiving an update that includes the February 2019 security patches and a schedule option for Night Mode.
While all the attention in the smartphone world is on the Galaxy S10 and Samsung's event next week, last year's flagships are getting some love. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are receiving an update that includes the February 2019 security patches, a schedule option for Night Mode, improved WiFi stability, and more.
Verizon LG V20 starts getting Android 8.0 Oreo update
You will be excited to hear that the Verizon Wireless variant of the LG V20 is finally getting its update to Android 8.0 Oreo.
A lot of us enthusiasts here at XDA not only want major version updates as quickly as possible, but we also want to receive those monthly security updates as soon as they are announced as well. However, there's another segment of the community who dislike Android's OTA updates and have actually become afraid of them due to a bad incident in the past. So depending on which side of the fence you fall on, you may or may not be excited to hear that the Verizon Wireless variant of the LG V20 is finally getting its update to Android 8.0 Oreo.
Samsung Galaxy S8 update adds Super Slow Motion and AR Emojis
Super Slow Motion mode and AR Emoji debuted on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9. Now, the features are rolling out to the Samsung Galaxy S8.
Earlier this month, Samsung released an update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that included some features from the newest Galaxy devices. The update added Super Slow Motion mode and AR Emojis, which debuted on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Now, the update is rolling out to the Samsung Galaxy S8 as well.
ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 Update Adds VoLTE Support, May Security Patches and more
The latest update rolling out to the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 brings support for VoLTE for Vodafone, Airtel and Idea; May security patches and more. Read on!
ASUS has its guns trained on Xiaomi's market share, as is evident by their budget smartphone, the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC, the Max Pro M1 competes with the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. While the highest-end model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage is yet to go on sale, ASUS is going aggressive on the pricing of the other variants, selling the 3GB/32GB variant for ₹10,999 (~$163) and 4GB/64GB variant for ₹12,999 ($192). At these prices, the ZenFone Max Pro M1 comes out as a very sweet deal, better than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro too.
LineageOS Introduces "Trust" - A Centralized Interface for Security and Privacy
The developers over at LineageOS have introduced Trust: a centralized interface for security and privacy features in the ROM. Read on to know more!
The introduction of monthly security patches for Android was a welcome and much-needed move from Google. At that time, Android was infamous for its fragmentation issues, which negatively impacted how security vulnerabilities could be patched and then quickly distributed to devices. Monthly security patches provided a quick way for concerned users to judge how "secure" and "up-to-date" their device really was.
While the iPhone gets 5 years of support, my Galaxy S9+ still can't get timely Security Patches
My Samsung Galaxy S9 is currently four months behind on Android security patches. OEMs need to do better to compete with Apple in this regard.
Apple’s WWDC took place this week, not long after Google’s I/O conference. Each company spent time announcing their planned new features as well as new APIs, new apps, and new ideas. It isn’t a stretch to say that both Android and iOS have become advanced operating systems with complete and competitive feature sets. I’ve been running Android P on my Google Pixel 2 XL, and love it or hate it, a lot has changed in small but key areas of the user experience. On the contrary, iOS 12 looks nearly identical to the previous release but it comes with some “under the hood” changes and some quality-of-life improvements. Apple has mostly promised faster performance, AR improvements, grouped notifications like Android (FINALLY), and built-in Tasker-like Siri functionality that seems quite practical.