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Samsung is now bringing Android 11 to one of the world's best-selling 2020 handsets

Feb 04, 2021, 6:36 AM

Adrian Diaconescu

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Samsung is now bringing Android 11 to one of the world's best-selling 2020 handsets

The big day has arrived for owners of one of the world's most popular Android smartphones of 2020, as Samsung continues its industry-leading software support tour de force.

Commercially released more than a year ago with Android 10 out the box, the 6.5-inch Galaxy A51 has reportedly begun to receive its first-ever major OS promotion. The Android 11-based One UI 3.0 rollout is apparently underway in Russia before undoubtedly spreading its wings to many other territories across Europe, Asia, and North America over the next few weeks.

This is the 4G LTE-only variant we're talking about here, mind you, although it's obviously safe to assume the Galaxy A51 5G will also follow suit around the world sometime in the near future. Just like a number of recent Android 11 goodie packs delivered primarily to high-end Samsung handsets, this seems to be making its way over the air slightly ahead of schedule, further emphasizing the company's commanding lead in the software update field right now.

What's perhaps even more impressive to hear is that February security patches are heading out to the Galaxy A51 as part of this OS promotion. In other words, Samsung is essentially giving a mid-range model the full flagship treatment, which shouldn't be that surprising however when you consider the incredible global popularity of this particular mid-ranger.

Back in Q1 2020, the Samsung Galaxy A51 was ranked third overall among the world's top-selling smartphones, behind Apple's iPhone 11 and Xiaomi's Redmi Note 8/8T only. While the Exynos 9611-powered device dropped a couple of places between last year's first and third quarter, its sales numbers in the July - September timeframe still exceeded those of every single Galaxy S20 family member.

That's no small feat for a non-flagship with a trendy hole punch design, sizable 4,000mAh battery under its hood, and a grand total of four cameras slapped on its plastic back that you can normally buy for a fairly reasonable $400 unlocked in the US.