Samsung ends software updates for Galaxy A51, Tab S6, and more

Ben Schoon | Feb 7 2024 - 9:51 am PT

samsung galaxy a51 november 2021 security update

While its latest Galaxy S24 series will get updates for the better part of a decade, Samsung is currently saying goodbye to some of its older Android products, with software support and updates now ending for the Galaxy A51 and others.

Samsung’s software update policy varies from device to device, but most modern releases get at least 4 years of major Android updates, and 5 years of security patches too. But even that is a pretty recent development. Back in 2021, Samsung’s policy was to offer 3 years of major Android updates and 4 years of security updates. That policy applied to devices sold in 2019 or later, which means we’re starting to see devices drop off of the map.

In an update to its “Work Scope” this week, Samsung has dropped four devices from getting updates, including the popular Galaxy A51. Affected models include:

Galaxy A01
Galaxy A51
Galaxy Tab S6 5G
Galaxy W20 5G

The Galaxy A51 was the most popular of the bunch, having been released in 2020 and offering a pretty solid overall experience on a budget. The Galaxy Tab S6 5G, notably, is just and variant of a slightly older tablet which also lost update support a while back. Galaxy W20 5G is the Chinese version of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, which is still getting security updates in the rest of the world.

Other notable tweaks to Samsung’s current update work scope include that Galaxy A03 and Galaxy Tab A8 have moved from quarterly to biannual update schedules, the last step before software support ends. The Galaxy S24 series, Xcover 7, and Galaxy Tab Active 5 have also been added with monthly support.