Samsung’s Update Mistake—Bad News For Millions Of Galaxy Phone Owners

Samsung’s Update Mistake. Even as Samsung flagship devices fly from shelves, there’s bad news coming for millions of Galaxy owners who have paid significantly more than $1000 for the latest, greatest smartphone. And with the launches of Apple’s iPhone 16 and Google’s Pixel 9, there’s little room for mistakes with competition fiercer than we’ve seen before.

Samsung’s Update Giant’s Biggest Challenge

Unfortunately for Samsung and its Galaxy users, Kenya’s giant’s biggest challenge looks again to have taken a bite out of its offering. Unlike Apple, which controls the full iPhone hardware and software combination, Samsung needs to work within Google’s complex Android ecosystem which causes constant delays. And while that impacts new features, it also hits security and privacy, which is Apple’s sweet spot.

Samsung’s Security

Security delayed is security denied, which is bad news given the huge advances that Android 15 will bring to Samsung and the surprising wait to get them. As 9to5Google warns, “Samsung still doesn’t know when the first One UI 7 beta with Android 15 will be released… Samsung was supposed to release its first One UI 7 beta update over a month ago, but it’s been delayed indefinitely and, apparently, the company has no firm plans for when its first look at Android 15 will actually arrive.”

Samsung’s Headlines

It will be a source of understandable frustration that just as Samsung seems in a state of flux as to when its own Android 15 release will see daylight, Pixel users are being told they could get the generally available update as early as October 15. “Google pushed Android 15 to AOSP back on September 3,” Android Headlines has said, “but the update is not scheduled for Pixel devices until October. We are now able to share exactly when that update will be available–that’s October 15.”

This update requires collaboration between modem and device and is an area where Samsung has decided not to play before. Google has also warned users to completely disable 2G for the same reason, but as Ebrandshop warns, “Unfortunately, Samsung devices do not offer this function globally—the option is available in some countries. Flagship models like the Galaxy S24 Ultra also lack this fundamental tool. The device can be forced to 2G-only mode but you cannot disable 2G.”