Samsung again beats Google in rolling out the latest monthly security patch
Right at the beginning of February 2023, Samsung held its first in-person Galaxy Unpacked event in three years to unveil the Galaxy S23 series. Packing a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, a 200MP primary camera, and other improvements, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is all set to become one of our favorite Android phones of the year. With such a major device launch on its plate, you’d expect Samsung to be a bit late with its monthly security patch release this time around. That’s not the case, though, as the Korean giant has started rolling out the February 2023 security update for the Galaxy Note 20 series.
For now, Samsung is only rolling out the latest monthly patch for the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra via the GWB1 firmware in Switzerland (via SamMobile). There are seemingly no other new features or improvements in tow. The update should soon be available in other European countries as well. With this rollout, Samsung has again beaten Google in updating its devices to the latest monthly security patch. The latter typically releases the update for Pixel phones on the first Monday of the month.
Oddly, Samsung is first updating its last flagship Note phone, launched in mid-2020, to the February 2023 patch. The device launched with Android 10 onboard and has received three OS updates since then. As per the Korean company’s software support policy, the Note 20 series is not eligible to receive the Android 14 update. However, it will continue to receive security updates for the time being. Last month, the Galaxy Note 10 was the first device in Samsung’s lineup to get the January 2023 security patch.
At the Galaxy S23 launch event, Samsung noted One UI 5.1 would soon make its way to other Galaxy devices. So, the company could possibly delay the February 2023 update rollout for its current flagship devices. Once the S23 starts making its way into customers’ hands, Samsung could release One UI 5.1 along with the February 2023 patch for eligible devices.
