Confusion led Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note 20 owners to expect an update to Android 14

Samsung Galaxy S20 series users, Galaxy Note 20 series users, and those still employing older Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models might feel terribly disappointed today. These smartphones were released in 2020 with Android 10 pre-installed and received their third and last Android system update last year to Android 13. However, confusion over an article published by the manufacturer led some handset owners to believe that the latest version of Android was heading to their phones.

The article describes new Enhance-X AI-based camera features that will be included with the One UI 6 interface that comes with the Android 14 update to certain Galaxy phones. A footnote at the bottom of the article says, "Available on Galaxy S23 series, S22 series, S21 series, S20 series, Note20 series, Z Fold5, Z Flip5, Z Fold4, Z Flip4, Z Fold3, Z Flip3, Z Fold2, Z Flip 5G and Z Flip LTE, A54, A53, A34, A33, M54, M53, M34, M33 devices operating on One UI 6.0 or above."

After reading that line, you couldn't blame owners of the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, Galaxy S20 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip 5G, and Galaxy Z Flip for getting excited over what they thought would be an extra Android update that Samsung didn't promise them. And since the manufacturer now offers four Android updates for its top-shelf phones, receiving the Android 14 update didn't seem so far-fetched.

But before anyone with one of the affected phones could write a thank you note to Samsung for the holiday "gift," Samsung clarified the situation and unfortunately, none of those 2020 Galaxy handsets will get Android 14. What they will get, and what Sammy was trying to point out in the footnote, is that some of the listed models will receive a limited number of Enhance-X features for their cameras.

After years of taking it on the chin from Pixel users, Google this year promised seven years of Android system and security updates for the Pixel 8 series. Will Samsung come roaring back with a response? We might know some time in January which is when we could see the Unpacked event that introduces the Galaxy S24 line.