Samsung finally ends support for the Galaxy S7 after four years of updates

Damien Wilde | Apr 7 2020 - 5:14 am PT

After four long years of regular, and then not-so-regular updates, Samsung has now pulled the plug on support for the Galaxy S7 series.

Samsung’s own Security Updates page no longer lists the Galaxy S7 series, which in essence means that the Galaxy S8 will be the next device to stop getting any sort of post-purchase software updates and support (via Droid-Life).

Of course, you can’t expect Samsung to support the Galaxy S7 forever, but it is indicative of the long-term update schedule for most high-end Android smartphones. When the iPhone 6S released at the same time is able to get iOS 13 — and potentially iOS 14 — it’s frustrating we still have to make do with quarterly patches with our older flagships.

That gripe aside, four years of even modest support is better than many other devices out there that get almost none after release. LG might want to take a leaf out of Samsung’s book as of late, as we must admit recent flagship updates have been pretty prompt. We also must applaud Samsung for giving owners an extra year of support over the Google Pixel, which is limited to just three years.

It appears as though the last update to roll out for Galaxy S7 was for Verizon models over the weekend, therefore officially ending support after four years. For those of you out there rocking the Galaxy S7, your support system will be via third-party ROM like LineageOS or similar — although it too is no longer supported by Lineage.

Farewell, old friend.