Has your Samsung Galaxy device finally received the latest critical security update, or are you still waiting—and why are some devices not getting updated at all? Does this leave your phone at risk?
Meanwhile, Apple has just sent an enticing message to millions of Samsung users…
This has not been a good month for Samsung Galaxy users on the security front. After a good start, when the company beat even Google to the punch in detailing the month’s wider Android and Samsung-only fixes, the rollout has been a mess—it’s late May, and millions of users have been kept waiting.
According to the latest reports, “Samsung’s May 2024 update is rolling out widely,” finally; and while “things are a bit more exciting this month, as this update will bring One UI 6.1 to a host of older phones and tablets,” the stark reality is that security updates should be issued quickly and efficiently.
The One UI 6.1 in itself is not a blanket reason for the delays—let’s remember, that the monthly schedule might usually be less messy than this, but it’s still confusing. Users await the right install for their country, device, network and whether or not their phone is unlocked. “The updates started as early as May 10th for select models, and by the end of the month, many devices across different series and carriers will have received the update.” Not a good look at all—not in 2024.
And it gets worse. For users of one two-year-old midrange device, the surprising news is that the just released UI 6.1 update “doesn’t come with the latest May security update. Instead, it brings the April security patch, and it’s not clear whether Samsung will roll out a separate update for it.”
I’m sorry—but what? This is also made worse because May’s update includes a critical Android fix that was issued by Google in April, delayed by Samsung until May, and is now delayed further. When I first reported on this nearly three weeks ago, I said that it should be installed urgently.” I haven’t changed my view, but a good amount of time has passed since Google made the fix available.
From a user perspective, how should they interpret this kind of advice: “a few days ago, Samsung rolled out the May SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to the Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Z Flip 4, and a few other devices in the US. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 also started picking up the update around the same time but only in select international markets. Thankfully, the company didn’t take long to bring it to the US.”
Let’s contrast this with Apple for a moment, Samsung’s major rival in the premium handset market. Within days of its release of iOS 17.5 to all its users, everywhere, all at the same time, it became clear that there was a worrying issue where users reported long-deleted photos reappearing unexpectedly. Apple issued a fix right away, to everyone, meaning that it managed to provide two global updates to all its iPhones—regardless of country, carrier, network or lock status—inside a week.
Google is tidying up Android on the security front—that was clear anyway, and has been made even more so with the Android 15 innovations that push even Apple hard in certain areas. But where the security update process and schedule is this complex and confusing, it undermines both the safety nets and also the latest battle in just how many years of updates each device might receive.
In a month where we have seen Google update Chrome multiple times and Apple update iPhone multiple times, Samsung’s process needs to be simplified. Yes, it might take a few days to reach its install base, but users shouldn’t be inundated with news update reports on which model, which country, which network for week after week, especially when security has become such a front and center issue.
Over to you, Samsung…
