The Galaxy S7 series is over 4 years old, but it just got an update

Samsung announced earlier this year that it will be delivering three generations of Android version updates to a variety of devices. Unfortunately, the oldest phones and tablets included in this pledge only date back to 2019.

So we’re quite surprised to see the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge now receiving an update, according to SamMobile and users on Reddit. This isn’t an Android version update unfortunately, but rather the September 2020 security patch.

It’s still a noteworthy move for an Android OEM to update a phone line that’s well over four years old though. In fact, the Galaxy S7 series was dropped from the list of phones receiving even quarterly security updates, with the Galaxy S8 series being the oldest S series flagship still getting security patches. Presumably Samsung is throwing a bone to S7 owners or the patch simply fixed a critical vulnerability.

In any event, the update itself weighs in at 69MB according to a screenshot posted on Reddit, and is apparently hitting devices in Canada and the UK.

Samsung isn’t the only brand to offer updates to ageing devices in 2020 either. Huawei reportedly updated its 2015-era Mate 8 and 2016-era P9 earlier this year, delivering a security patch and smart charging feature to reduce battery degradation. Hopefully this becomes a trend of sorts for even more devices and brands.

Next: Samsung has raised the bar for Android updates