As the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, Samsung is generally held to a much higher standard than most of its rivals in terms of things like software support and the overall stability and performance of the company's many popular handsets. But because the Korea-based tech giant sells so many different mobile devices around the globe, rolling out both fast and smooth OS updates across its entire product portfolio can be tricky.
To its credit, the company started laying the groundwork for a comprehensive Android 10 rollout almost unusually early by opening the public beta doors for owners of Galaxy S10-series devices in select markets way back in mid-October. The Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ joined the party just a few days later, seemingly leaving Samsung plenty of time to fix all the inherent bugs and deliver stable Android 10 goodies for at least one of its 2019 flagship lineups by the end of the year.
Unfortunately, that's apparently not going to happen after all, at least according to a tentative release schedule revealed by Samsung Israel earlier this week. The company's Indian branch is today confirming the January 2020 objective for the Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e, Note 10, and Note 10+, but surprise, surprise, a bunch of other phones could also receive their official Android 10 updates in the region at that same point in time.
Justice for the Galaxy S9 and S9+
While it's certainly not unusual for update timelines to differ from region to region, we highly doubt the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are indeed slated for Android 10 promotions in India in January, followed by April rollouts in markets like Israel. That three-month gap is simply inconceivable, which makes us think Samsung Israel erroneously listed its expectation for the early 2018-released high-end duo.
It feels far more plausible that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will jump on the Android 10 bandwagon in January pretty much worldwide, alongside the Galaxy Note 9 and shortly after the Galaxy S10, S10+, S10e, Note 10, and Note 10 Plus. What's perhaps more surprising is to see Samsung India gunning for stable Android 10 updates in January 2020 as far as the mid-range Galaxy M20, M30, and A30 are concerned.
That would be completely unprecedented, proving however once again that budget-friendly handsets are the key to Samsung's short-term growth prospects at a time of general high-end market stagnation. Curiously enough, the modest Galaxy A30 is apparently scheduled for a swifter update than the significantly better A50, which is pretty popular in markets like the US apart from countries like India.
An onslaught of updates from April to September
It looks like Samsung's software engineers will have their hands full a pretty long time going forward, preparing a full dozen Android 10 goodie packs for OTA deliveries in April, followed by half a dozen updates in May, three more in June, another half a dozen in July, two in August, and two in September. And let's not forget about the odd single rollout scheduled for March as far as the Galaxy M40 is concerned.
It's worth pointing out that a large chunk of the schedule revealed in India coincides with the Israel timetable, which probably means we should expect global updates for the mid-range Galaxy A50 handset and high-end Galaxy Tab S6 in April 2020. The Galaxy Tab S4 and Tab S5e are expected to leave Android Pie behind sometime in July, followed by the Galaxy Tab A 8.0, Tab A 10.5, and Tab A 10.1 in August or September.
The 10 people owning an experimental Galaxy Fold should also be (relatively) pleased to hear the first-gen foldable device is currently set for an Android 10 overhaul in April (at least in India), although it's important to remember the entire itinerary is tentative and subject to change.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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