Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S10 still only gets quarterly updates, but for 7 years

Ben Schoon | Oct 8 2024 - 9:32 am PT

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S10 series makes some key changes, but one thing that doesn’t change is the frequency of updates, which only arrive four times per year even on the $1,000+ tablets.

The Galaxy Tab S series has been putting out some of the best Android tablets on the market for years, but one annoying quirk has been the update policy. While Samsung offers updates for a few years on these high-end tablets, they don’t arrive very frequently. The Galaxy Tab S9 and its predecessors only received updates four times per year, a far cry from the monthly update cadence found on Galaxy smartphones.

In an update to its policy, Samsung is offering 7 years of updates on the new Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra. The company’s website only lists security updates through October 2031, but Samsung has reportedly confirmed 7 years of Android updates as well.

That’s great news, but the cadence hasn’t changed.

Samsung this week added the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra to its software update work scope, confirming that both tablets are only getting quarterly support. That means you can expect four software updates per year, one of which likely includes an Android OS update on top of security improvements.

This is still better than many other Android tablets out there – the vast majority, in fact – but we can’t help but wonder if Samsung will ever offer monthly updates on its pricey tablets.

The Galaxy Tab S10 series is available now.