Apple’s Long Software Support Makes Samsung’s Past Feel Dated

Samsung has made big promises about software updates, but WWDC 2026 just reminded everyone how late those promises came. Apple took the stage, showed off iOS 27, and casually confirmed that the iPhone 11 from 2019 is still getting another major update. That’s seven generations of iOS on one device. 

Go back to 2019 and Samsung’s story looks very different. The Galaxy S10 series shipped with Android 9 and topped out at Android 12 with One UI 4. The original Galaxy Fold, Samsung’s first foldable and one of its most ambitious products at the time, followed the same pattern. These were premium devices that pushed hardware boundaries, yet their software lifespan was relatively short.

Samsung was late on updates, but it’s no longer behind

That was the reality back then. Three Android updates, maybe a bit more in security patches, and that was your lot. Samsung improved gradually, but the real shift didn’t happen until the Galaxy S24 series in 2024, when it finally committed to seven years of Android and One UI updates.

It sounds great now, but it also shows how many users missed out simply because they bought in too early. And that’s the uncomfortable bit. A Galaxy S24 will age very differently compared to a Galaxy S21, even though both were flagship phones not that far apart in release. That kind of inconsistency sticks.

One UI itself has come into its own. It’s polished, feature-rich, and easily (one of) the best Android skins around. But updates still don’t land the same way for everyone. Rollouts depend on region, carrier, and model, so the experience can feel a bit scattered.

You can see where Samsung wants to go with this, and it’s the right direction. The problem is, Apple is already there, and has been for a while. Samsung is catching up though, and if it sticks to its current approach, the gap should narrow with time.