The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 in Canada is now receiving the Android security patch for the month of October. The update is reportedly only available for the Galaxy Note 8 model launched by the country’s largest network operator, Bell. As usual, the package is distributed over the air, and the October security patch should include fixes for vulnerabilities found in both the Android operating system and Samsung’s proprietary Android skin.
The changelog for the new firmware version “N950WVLU2BQJA” doesn’t seem to contain any new details related to new features, so in other words, the end-user experience will remain unchanged following its installation. That’s not to say that Samsung isn’t working on an update to Android 8.0 Oreo, and in fact, the company has already launched its Oreo beta program for the Galaxy S8 series in several countries, with the Galaxy Note 8 expected to get a similar treatment in the near future. As for Bell customers, the October security patch at hand arrives roughly two weeks after the software package was originally distributed to Galaxy Note 8 units in China and Hong Kong. The update’s availability will likely continue to expand in other regions and will be picked up by different carriers around the globe, likely before the end of November when a new monthly security update will be prepared by Google. Eligible device owners in Canada can now either wait for the update notification to land or attempt to trigger the update manually from the “Software Updates” section of the phone’s main Settings menu. Either way, it’s advised to apply the update to a fully charged phablet connected to a Wi-Fi network.
The Galaxy Note 8 is one of the most important flagships for the South Korean company, mainly because it is a direct sequel to last year’s faulty model which had to be prematurely retired. The tech giant made additional efforts to prevent the same battery issues from recurring with the new model and as a result, the Galaxy Note 8 is arguably one of the best Android smartphones money can currently buy. The flagship will continue to be supported with new monthly security updates and should receive at least two major Android upgrades throughout its lifetime, with the upcoming Android Oreo build being set to push the Samsung Experience skin to version 9.0 up from the current 8.5 build.