Samsung Electronics offers three OS updates per model

Kim Bo-sung, 33, who is using Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S10 5G model, saw a notice for software update as soon as he got up in Tuesday morning.

This is the third operating system (OS) update for Kim after purchasing his smartphone in 2019. After 20 minutes, his smartphone has become completely different. The pop-up notification for text message and e-mail has become smaller and more concise, and the design of “device care,” which is used when organizing memory (RAM) capacity, and the guide text have also become friendly. “I used to feel the urge to change my smartphone after one and a half years, but now it feels like having a new smartphone after an update,” Kim said.

Samsung Electronics released the update for “Android 12,” Google’s latest OS, on Monday for the users of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10 series released in 2019. Samsung, which used to offer two OS updates per a model, has begun offering three OS updates, a first attempt by the company since it began its smartphone business. The South Korean company made a promise in August 2020 that it will guarantee three OS updates for flagship models released after 2019.

Users, who have received the update this time, will not only be able to use Android 12-based One UI 4.0 but also use the latest features provided only for Android 12-supported models. The case in point is “RAM Plus” feature. It allows users to use certain amount of storage space from the smartphone in case the memory (RAM) capacity, a temporary storage space for program operation, is insufficient. Other strong features include animation effect, battery life protection, and camera and microphone kill switch. In particular, speed improvement is considered one of the best parts of Android 12 update. One Galaxy S10e user wrote on an online community that after an update, smartphone performance has become faster and smoother in general.

Samsung Electronics’ decision to break the existing practice and offer three OS updates appears to be its strategy to boost consumer trust in the long run. Apple is also making iOS15 update available for iPhone 6s released in 2015.


Hyung-Seok Seo skytree08@donga.com